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Very cool, thank you for sharing. I do feel the need to comment on one particular line of hyperbole though: > the likes of which we seldom, if ever, see in th

Very cool, thank you for sharing. I do feel the need to comment on one particular line of hyperbole though: > the likes of which we seldom, if ever, see in the printed books of our own, infinitely higher-tech century. Advances in technology have generally been used to increase the availability of books and lower their cost. Yesterday I purchased "The Hogwarts Library" for I think $40 and it included 3 large books full of hundreds of pages of full color images. That type of quality, especially at that price, would be unheard of in the 1800s. And if you want books with similar features (and more!) to those this article describes you can get them: Folio Society: https://www.foliosociety.com/usa https://www.foliosociety.com/usa Easton Press: https://www.eastonpress.com/home https://www.eastonpress.com/home Amaranthine Books: https://amaranthinebooks.com/ https://amaranthinebooks.com/ Lyra's Books: https://www.lyrasbooks.com/ https://www.lyrasbooks.com/ Suntup Editions: https://suntup.press/ https://suntup.press/ (Also Arion Press, Centipede Press, Curious King, Subterranean Press, and St. James Park Press) Books with those features are far more common today than they were when the Chaucer book was published. And if you ever want to get into collecting rare, limited edition, and antique books come join us! We're a fun community (though like all things collectable bank accounts will suffer the consequences).

_1tan 3y ago
Where does the community hang out online? Reddit or some private forum?
- iamacyborg 3y ago
  Mostly Facebook groups, from what I’ve seen.
- CSMastermind 3y ago
  It's mostly Facebook groups. Vintage, Rare, & Antique Books: https://www.facebook.com/groups/657123184415628 https://www.facebook.com/groups/657123184415628 Small Press Limited Book Collectors: https://www.facebook.com/groups/193517360836341/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/193517360836341/ Fans Of The Folio Society: https://www.facebook.com/groups/60943174501/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/60943174501/ (^ Each press typically has their own following so you can find groups for Fans of Amaranthine Books, etc.) + dozens of more groups. --- Maurice is working on building out a more cross platform community for collectors, still early days there: https://www.collectiblebookvault.com/ https://www.collectiblebookvault.com/ --- There is a Reddit: r/BookCollecting but I don't go there often. --- Edit: Oh and Youtube! Booktube is a real corner of the internet and lots of discussion happens in the discords of individual creators people enjoy.
iamacyborg 3y ago
Did you see the new Curious King and Arete Edition roman numeral editions that were teased this week?
- CSMastermind 3y ago
  I had not but once I read your comment I went and looked! They're beautiful, thank you for mentioning!
fho 3y ago
> That type of quality, especially at that price, would be unheard of in the 1800s. Just compare role playing rule books from 30-40 years ago with those today. Back then they were mostly text with the occasional b/w line art and 10-ish full color pages on the middle. Today every single page is full color and most of them feature some sort of art piece.
Bluestrike2 3y ago
> And if you ever want to get into collecting rare, limited edition, and antique books come join us! We're a fun community (though like all things collectable bank accounts will suffer the consequences). Oh, god. Some of those links and names are new to me. I'm not sure whether to thank you or curse you. I've bought Easton Press and Folio Society books for years, and that was bad enough. Still...there's nothing quite like sitting down and reading a really well-made book. It's a totally different experience.
mkoubaa 3y ago
How do book rights work? I'm working on a novel and it's my dream to have a beautifully illustrated hardcopy, but I thought that publishers had the exclusive rights to make copies
- CSMastermind 3y ago
  These prestige book makers will negotiate with the publishers for the rights to do a printing. Almost always this is done for a set fee to publish x number of books within a set period of time (limited edition runs) or with a set fee per book printed (I believe this is the arrangement Folio has for the A Song of Ice and Fire books). This is the main reason that these shops will always have 'the classics' in rotation but their printings of more recent books are typically one and done. This is not my area of expertise but my understanding is that publishers are generally happy to have these collectors editions of books made, the limitation is typically with the prestige makers themselves needing to sell 800 to 1,000 copies to make their economics work. Keep in mind they typically commission illustrators to make art for the books in addition to acquiring the rights and the actual production costs. One thing I will say is that if what you're after is a single personal copy then there is an entire community of amateur bookbinders, similar to woodworkers, some of whom make truly beautiful works of art. If you're willing to pay an illustrator, a designer, and commission one of these bookbinders you can get yourself a bespoke copy that's exceptional.
  - mkoubaa 3y ago
    Thanks for the information. I want many copies as personal gifts to friends and family, but not on the order of 800. So if my book is commercially successful and my publisher is supportive enough it could happen. Thanks again

_1tan 3y ago

Where does the community hang out online? Reddit or some private forum?

iamacyborg 3y ago
Mostly Facebook groups, from what I’ve seen.
CSMastermind 3y ago
It's mostly Facebook groups. Vintage, Rare, & Antique Books: https://www.facebook.com/groups/657123184415628 https://www.facebook.com/groups/657123184415628 Small Press Limited Book Collectors: https://www.facebook.com/groups/193517360836341/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/193517360836341/ Fans Of The Folio Society: https://www.facebook.com/groups/60943174501/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/60943174501/ (^ Each press typically has their own following so you can find groups for Fans of Amaranthine Books, etc.) + dozens of more groups. --- Maurice is working on building out a more cross platform community for collectors, still early days there: https://www.collectiblebookvault.com/ https://www.collectiblebookvault.com/ --- There is a Reddit: r/BookCollecting but I don't go there often. --- Edit: Oh and Youtube! Booktube is a real corner of the internet and lots of discussion happens in the discords of individual creators people enjoy.

iamacyborg 3y ago

Did you see the new Curious King and Arete Edition roman numeral editions that were teased this week?

CSMastermind 3y ago
I had not but once I read your comment I went and looked! They're beautiful, thank you for mentioning!

fho 3y ago

> That type of quality, especially at that price, would be unheard of in the 1800s. Just compare role playing rule books from 30-40 years ago with those today. Back then they were mostly text with the occasional b/w line art and 10-ish full color pages on the middle. Today every single page is full color and most of them feature some sort of art piece.

Bluestrike2 3y ago

> And if you ever want to get into collecting rare, limited edition, and antique books come join us! We're a fun community (though like all things collectable bank accounts will suffer the consequences). Oh, god. Some of those links and names are new to me. I'm not sure whether to thank you or curse you. I've bought Easton Press and Folio Society books for years, and that was bad enough. Still...there's nothing quite like sitting down and reading a really well-made book. It's a totally different experience.

mkoubaa 3y ago

How do book rights work? I'm working on a novel and it's my dream to have a beautifully illustrated hardcopy, but I thought that publishers had the exclusive rights to make copies

CSMastermind 3y ago
These prestige book makers will negotiate with the publishers for the rights to do a printing. Almost always this is done for a set fee to publish x number of books within a set period of time (limited edition runs) or with a set fee per book printed (I believe this is the arrangement Folio has for the A Song of Ice and Fire books). This is the main reason that these shops will always have 'the classics' in rotation but their printings of more recent books are typically one and done. This is not my area of expertise but my understanding is that publishers are generally happy to have these collectors editions of books made, the limitation is typically with the prestige makers themselves needing to sell 800 to 1,000 copies to make their economics work. Keep in mind they typically commission illustrators to make art for the books in addition to acquiring the rights and the actual production costs. One thing I will say is that if what you're after is a single personal copy then there is an entire community of amateur bookbinders, similar to woodworkers, some of whom make truly beautiful works of art. If you're willing to pay an illustrator, a designer, and commission one of these bookbinders you can get yourself a bespoke copy that's exceptional.
- mkoubaa 3y ago
  Thanks for the information. I want many copies as personal gifts to friends and family, but not on the order of 800. So if my book is commercially successful and my publisher is supportive enough it could happen. Thanks again