"Annals of The Jinn" from Pegana Press now available for preorder

Just a heads up for anyone not on their email list: https://peganapress.com/r-h-barlow-1

It's by far their most expensive new release to date, but it sounds like it could be the press's magnum opus.

They were kind enough to send me a print sample showing off the deep violet ink on the moonstone paper, and it's a really beautiful affect that I think is unique to this edition.

I ordered the numbered edition. The lettered edition, while beautiful, is far too expensive vis-a-vis the page count to justify the additional expenditure in my mind.

>2 ultrarightist: I agree, that the lettered box and binding, while nice, aren’t something I would pay the additional cost to upgrade to.

I don’t know that the page count has anything to do with it, though, since with the text locks being the same you’d be getting the exact same upgrade even if it was a 300 page book.

What is the page count? I'm guessing around 30, can someone please confirm?

>4 astropi: First edition was 31 pages, so I'd guess 30-40. Not really a factor in the pricing IMO though.

>5 NathanOv: I know what you're saying, but for many the number of pages does matter since most of us have a limited amount of funds. I think price-per-page is a reasonable measure of "value received" although certainly far from the only deciding factor.

>6 astropi: Agreed. Spending $2500 on a 30-40 page book is too much for me.

>7 ultrarightist: Me, too, by a great deal. It's all in perceived value. Those with more spare money to throw around will not be as concerned about the number of pages they're buying for that 2.5k as I am because that extra cash allows them to consider other factors. Size isn't an issue for them. I have a hard time justifying spending 1/10th that on a book of that size!

>8 Glacierman: I'm honestly confused by the perceived value of putting a $1600 design binding on a 400 page book versus a 40 page book when the contents remain exactly the same. I don't think I'd ever spend that much on a binding upgrade even if it was an inch-or-so thicker on the shelf, which would be essentially the only difference.

The whole concept of length = more value when we're talking purely about a binding upgrade just doesn't make sense to me.

>9 NathanOv: At least on my end I'm not talking about the numbered vs lettered editions, I'm saying in general price-per-page is a benchmark I consider when purchasing very expensive books, and most any letterpress released today is pricey - not saying it's not worth it, but nevertheless pricey and hence I have to choose what I think I will get the most pleasure and time for my money.

>10 astropi: Well, if I'm going to pay a premium for a fine press reading experience, I know I'll get more enjoyment out of 30 pages of beautiful handset type where the paper, ink, page design and printing are all meticulously thought out and combine into a unique reading experience over 300 pages of photopolymer on superfine, but to each their own I guess.

There's merit in both, and I do like reading longer works in letterpress, but you rarely get the same level of craft and attention to detail in those works, and when you do they end up proportionally more expensive.

>11 NathanOv: you rarely get the same level of craft and attention to detail in those works, and when you do they end proportionally more expensive

Not entirely convinced this is true. Lyra's Press released their magnificent Christmas Carol and the price was around $700 delivered. Foolscap Brief Lives that Live Forever is $1100, so $200 more than the numbered Jinn. That said, it's a novel and not a short story. I love what Pegana Press is doing, and I think they found a great niche with their Lord Dunsany and Lovecraft volumes -- all truly exceptional! That said, they were also about $300 a volume. At the end of the day, I'm not trying to argue with anyone, I'm just pointing out that for many people like myself, we just can't afford to drop $900+ on a 30-page work because there won't be any money in the pot for Lyra or Foolscap etc. And at the end of the day, I want to get my time's worth for something I order. If I drop $900 on a novel and enjoy it for a couple of weeks I feel satiated. If I drop $900 on a work that takes me 30 minutes to finish, well, I might start to exhibit buyer's remorse... Truly though, I'm glad there are people like you who can afford it, and if I could, I would certainly order the new Pegana edition -- please post pictures and thoughts once you get it :)

>11 NathanOv: I think with Foolscap's Brief Loves, you've identified one of the rare examples I mentioned, and a still a fairly brief novella at that.

With A Christmas Carol, also fairly short, most of the merit is with the artwork and design - Rich's binding and Phil's printing are both nice, and certainly fine press, I don't think anyone involved intended for it to be same level of handmade, private press book.

It's definitely not a question of budget if you're comparing to Foolscap and Lyra's numbereds - it's just different collecting priorities. Which is totally fair, I just don't think there's any universal value in longer works.

>13 NathanOv: Stop trying to change people’s minds. He doesn’t think it’s good value, I don’t think so either, and multiple people I’ve spoken with today don’t either. If I can consume a $900 book in a 15-minute sitting it’s not good value for me.

It's certainly an attractive work, and I've wanted to get at least one Pegana piece for a while. But the pricing does put me off just about every time. It's not that I have a problem with short works, there are some that I happily own multiple iterations of (e.g., Goblin Market, The Yellow Wallpaper). Rather, it's when I compare what I get from Pegana with what I could get from another fine press at the same price that I hesitate. For example, I'm a Robert W. Chambers fan, and would love to have their Collector of the Port. But $225 for a chapbook gives me pause, when that amount allotted to No Reply or Fleece Press gets me so much more. Granted, if this is a title you want, this is the only place you're going to get it at the moment, so that can override any financial calculus. But for someone like me who has to budget his purchases and carefully allocate a smallish pool of funds between multiple presses, Pegana inevitably ends up bumped down the list every time. Which is unfortunate, as I think I would enjoy their work.

And here you are apparently trying to change my mind.

If you’re speed reading the book and only spending that amount of time on it when the craftspeople involved put years into making sure each page comes together perfectly and creates a unique affect, then of course you’re not going to get the real value.

If it’s just more reading time you want, you get the best value out of trade editions, or for letterpress publishers like ToC. No one would argue they’re the epitome of fine press because of their cost per page.

Maybe you’re just saying that it’s not a “value” priced book, which is absolutely true, but it’s odd to me that the length always dominates the discussion for new publications below a certain cutoff when so many fine press publications are quite short anyway.

Of course the question of value when it comes to fine press is always very subjective, but there does appear to be a fairly prevalent opinion around here, which I happen to agree with, that Pegana’s publications are quite overpriced. I have waffled on their Lovecraft volumes in the past, but in the end I’ve passed every time, as much as I would love to own Lovecraft’s work in true fine press.

I have (rarely) purchased more expensive single volumes from other presses, so it isn’t always a matter of “can I afford it?”, but rather “can my money be better spent?” And when I ask myself this question in reference to Pegana, the answer is invariably “yes”.

I do have a true appreciation for presses operated by 1-2 person teams, doing everything by hand - typesetting, binding, etc. It is a small market to be sure, but Pegana is not alone. I find the work from presses like Barbarian and Petrarch, for example, to be much better values.

Now it could definitely be argued that Pegana IS alone in the market when it comes to weird fiction with this level of craft, but that’s where the subjectivity comes in. If collecting weird fiction is your top priority then it may very well be worth it to you. That said, Lovecraft is a pretty high priority for me, and I still find their Dark Dreamlands series overpriced.

For what it is worth, I found their pre- increase pricing much more in line with the value I perceived for their work, and if they had been on my radar earlier I have no doubt that I would currently own a Dark Dreamlands matching set. Alas.

>15 Shadekeep:
>17 Nightcrawl:

I have the same dilemma with Nawakum Press, perhaps more so, and Nawakum Press editions are far superior to Pegana Press. The issue of quantity of content/number of pages vs. cost for private press books is not straightforward and a great deal depends on one's reading and collecting interests.

>18 dlphcoracl: Same here. I really wanted A Descent into the Maelström, but just couldn't justify it in the end.

>18 dlphcoracl: Nawakum Press editions are far superior to Pegana Press
Color me skeptical on that statement. That said, I'm keeping an open mind, so on what grounds do you make such a remark?

>20 astropi: I prefer Nawakum for their overall design, artwork, and focus on nature throughout he majority of their texts.

However, I do think Pegana surpasses them on printing and typographic design, and often uses finer papers for their texts, though I do like Nawakum's practice of using finer papers for illustration / embellishment.

So, Nawakum wins on the full package for me, but Pegana throws just about everything into the actual text and it really shows.

>18 dlphcoracl: " The issue of quantity of content/number of pages vs. cost for private press books is not straightforward and a great deal depends on one's reading and collecting interests."

I agree, and that is an important point. And as others have noted, the opportunity cost is arguably the major factor in this admittedly subjective value calculus.

>21 NathanOv: Although I don't favor Nawakum over Pegana, what you said is basically the impression I've always had as well. I consider the hardcover editions that Pegana has released, such as their Dark Dreamlands and Lord Dunsany, to be equal (or surpassing) in quality to most any letterpress editions coming from larger well-known studios such as Arion.

>22 ultrarightist:

I recently acquired 'The Vampire Cat of Nabeshima' (deluxe edition) from Cordes Press and 'The Lady or the Tiger' from Heavenly Monkey and one could easily make the same comparison and argument (cost vs. content) for these two books. However, I have a major interest in folk tales/folklore and pochoir illustration and did not mind paying up for both editions.

>23 astropi: " The issue of quantity of content/number of pages vs. cost for private press books is not straightforward and a great deal depends on one's reading and collecting interests."

I agree. The typography and pressmanship of the Pegana volumes are top tier. The deep, crisp black of the impression of the letterpress printing is reminiscent to my eyes of Kelmscott and the Roycrofters. The hard foundry type really does make a difference.

>17 Nightcrawl: "Now it could definitely be argued that Pegana IS alone in the market when it comes to weird fiction with this level of craft..."

This might change soon with Conversation Tree Press' Weird.

Edited to add: The first Weird. book will be The House on the Borderland & Others by William Hope Hodgson. See the news update from March 15.

>26 Dr.Fiddy: The first Weird. book will be The House on the Borderland & Others by William Hope Hodgson.

My favorite weird author, and a book I will be down for. I just wish they had selected Vladimir Zimakov to illustrate this one as well.

>26 Dr.Fiddy: Conversation Tree is definitely at the higher end of the production value spectrum for publishers of full-length fine press works, with mould-made and handmade paper on their higher states and, if I'm not mistaken, cast hot-metal type from Pat Randle.

Pegana's books are fully handset and hand-printed, though, which still puts them in a different category of craft.

>15 Shadekeep: Pegana did recently increase their prices rather dramatically.

I preordered a copy of Dark Dreamlands 3 during May 2021 and my records show the price was 350 USD. I believe the post-publication price was around 450 USD. Now they are 695 USD.

>29 abysswalker: Wow, yes, that is a significant rise. I think at $350 each I'd be happy to pick up the entire Dark Dreamlands trilogy.

>26 Dr.Fiddy: >27 Shadekeep: Yes! House on the Borderland might just be my favorite weird faction work of all time, or at any rate, right up there with The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. This will be an instant purchase for me, no need to think about it :)

>29 abysswalker: Wow... I know they released two states for DD3, the "Special Edition Signed by Michael Hutter, limited to 50 copies with special limitation page." was $450 on publication :O

>27 Shadekeep: I'm a huge fan of Vladimir's work as well and he is illustrating two of the books in the Weird. collection, so we thought we'd give other artists a go on the others :)

>28 NathanOv: Peter Pan is being printed by Pat from magnesium plates. Another project is in works with Pat where he'll be printing from lead type cast from his Monotype machine.

It will be nice to see them both at the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair this weekend.

>32 CTPress-Tony: I get that, and it's a good idea to have a variety of artists. I'm just not a fan of the work of Dave McKean and am not sure it will be a good fit for Hodgson's writing style. I'm willing to be proven wrong, of course. It's a shame Richard Corben passed a few years ago, he would have been a natural, having done the graphical novel.

>33 Shadekeep: The ultimate Hodgson artist (IMO of course) has to be Stephen Fabian. Here is one of his illustrations for The Night Land -

>34 astropi: I would have to second that!

>34 astropi: I concur. I've had The Dream of X since it was released and it's still the best visual portrayal of Hodgson's world.

So, this is not even close to the magnificent edition produced by Pegana -- that said, if someone is looking for a "nice" reading copy, or any reading copy, I think this is basically your only choice :)
On the plus-side, this will cost you around $40, as opposed to the rather higher Pegana price - again, not saying the Pegana Press edition is not worth it, I think it is, but unfortunately most of us simply can not afford the asking price. Anyway, pics!

>37 astropi: Nice find!

>37 astropi: Nifty! Reminds me of those self-made zines and RPG adventures we use to make back in college.

Pegana Press does excellent work but they have priced themselves out of the market, aside from a few diehard fans. Hopefully, they will realize this and reach a better balance between pricing their books high enough to make a decent profit and lower than current prices to make purchases a bit more feasible.

>39 Shadekeep: It really does :)

>40 dlphcoracl: I agree, and it's so unfortunate that their books are where they are now price-wise. Maybe it's no longer feasible for them to make such hand-bound books at $200-300 per volume :(