Guide to collecting nice/fine books: part 1

[@dlphcoracl9645]

Collectors's hint: As 'Ubiquitous' has mentioned, many collectors (myself included) believe a private press book must be printed letterpress, preferably from metal type. However, there is enormous variance in the quality of letterpress printing and, frankly, some of it is little better than books printed digitally or by offset. During this splendid review, look for and carefully study the quality of the letterpress printing from the Ashendene Press at 11:31-11:50 and 20:16-20:20 and Doves Press books. In particular, the Ashendene presswork (printing) is considered by many to be the finest example amongst modern private press books (1890-2024) and this will help set the standard for you when evaluating the quality of the letterpress printing in other private press books.

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks oracle, I couldn't agree more. Few collectors will start with the likes of Ashendene and Doves, but those who follow the journey that far are in for a treat. Of course, they are also just the foremost of a range of exquisite presses running right up to this day (I know you could show people some real gems).

[@robbiechan1234]

Well made books are a pleasure and luxury to read (provided it has good translation where applicable). Looking forward to part 2! Also, if you have experience with publishers of well made paperback, please talk about that too! Thank you!

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Yes, it's a good point. I have a number of nice books with bad translations, including the Nonesuch Montaigne and the Limited Editions Club Verne novels featured in this video. I'm not much of an authority on paperbacks, but I'll see what I can come up with.

[@notachance213]

Its always very fascinating to learn a bit more about an actual physical book and the different aspects of it / Thank you for posting this wonderful experience. ( i can't wait for part 2 )

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks for the nice comment; it will come soon I hope.

[@thenamelessrat]

As a hobbyist bookbinder struggling to find 'nice' books to buy as Christmas presents, I am Really looking forward to the next parts of this series! Folio is an obvious choice, but terribly expensive even at the cheap end of the scale...

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Yes, there's a bit of a gap between trade editions and Folio Society. But did you see this forum thread? www.librarything.com/topic/313131 It might have some useful ideas.

[@dw5s]

I’ve often found books published by Folio Society at very modest prices at used book stores or other secondhand sources.

[@ignaciopya]

Very informative video, greetings from a brazilian bibliophile!

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks very much for commenting and the kind words!

[@amb3Rly11]

Amazing video. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Glad it was helpful!

[@PierreLeSang]

Great video on a great topic, please cover it more!

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks very much. Yes, the next in the series is already in planning. Stay tuned!

[@AdnAwd24]

Thank you for this informative and "nice" video, I already know most of the information, but the more you go into a topic the more you give finer new information. waiting for the next parts

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks very much for the kind words!

[@Tlocf]

Fantastic video!

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks very much!

[@thecaveofthedead]

Thanks. This is very helpful.

[@peekaboo1308]

Thank you, Ubiquitous, for another excellent video and all your helpful posts on LibraryThing! :)

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks very much for the kind comment!

[@kenthomas1109]

Lovely! I can’t wait for part 2! In the meantime, I’ll explore your other videos. Quick question - If you had a choice between a first edition in “good” condition and a later edition in “fine” condition that was signed by the author (now deceased), which might you lean to as a collector?

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks for the question. I don't have much of a collection interest in first editions or in signatures, so I would take the copy in the best condition. If, as is sometimes the case, the first edition was made from better materials (e.g., nicer paper) then I would be more likely to go for that. But then I'd probably save and wait to get at least a very good condition copy.

[@kenthomas1109]

Thanks for your thoughtful response!

[@HannaOdintsova]

Thank you!

[@UbiquitousBooks]

You're welcome!

[@llywrch7116]

What about the text itself? I mean by this that when one considers older books -- or translations -- where there is more than one version of the text, is there any identification of what the exemplar is? For example, as someone who also reads the books I collect, if I have a fine printing of one of Shakespeare's plays, I'd like to know the version of this play as many of Shakespeare's play exist in several forms. The quarto & folio texts of King Lear are perhaps the most divergent in Shakespeare's case. To silently present one or the other -- or the work of a scholar working to harmonize the two -- I feel is a disservice to the reader. (Obviously I haven't seen a copy of the Folio Society's Letterpress Shakespeare, but I would be very disappointed if after all the labor spent on the physical volumes the text was some cheap knock-off. Even faithfully reproducing one of the original texts & documenting that in the colophon would be much preferable.)

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Yes, of course the text is important. For example, the copy of Montaigne featured in this video is a beautiful book marred by an archaic translation. Even worse, the 20,000 Leagues I showed has a translation that bowlderised the text to avoid offending Victorian English readers. I too read my books and these points have to always be kept in mind. Sometimes you have to choose between a nice book and a good text. But a decent edition will normally identify which text is used so you can at least make an informed decision. Regarding the Letterpress Shakespeare, they use the text of the Oxford Shakespeare, which are fairly well-regarded editions that draw from a variety of sources. The letterpress editions include commentary volumes with all the requisite scholarly notes. But, like the Oxford Shakespeare they are based on, they use the modernized orthography, which upsets some purists. Fortunately, there is no shortage of nice editions of Shakespeare.

[@jamieglover4853]

I like books

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Ma too!

[@avefreetimehaver5154]

why don't they print the illustrations on the same abbey wove paper? should make it more durable right?

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Occasionally, you do see that. But full-colour, digitally-printed images look more vibrant and crisp on bright white paper with a slightly satin or gloss surface. Text, on the other hand, is often more comfortable to read on a slightly off-white paper and that paper is nicer to handle if slightly rough. So it makes sense to use different papers for the different purposes.

[@avefreetimehaver5154]

​@@UbiquitousBooks some say that mixing paper types is not great durability wise? im probably overthinking this but these are expensive stuff so if that's true, some people might rather have the simpler illustrations with duotones or non-full-color. would be nice if you can show some samples from your collection of both and tackle it on your upcoming videos.

[@UbiquitousBooks]

@@avefreetimehaver5154 There is no durability problem from mixing different types of paper. The only time that would be a problem is if one of the papers was non-archival and leached harmful chemicals into adjacent sheets. But the Folio Society does not use acidic or non-archival papers. You can see examples of books with colour printed straight onto the same paper as the text in the recent reviews of Charline and the Chocolate Factory, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Great Gatsby on my channel.

[@burner37]

Amazing video. I already know all of that but it is still a pleasure to listen to you going through all these details. I hope it will help and inspire a lot of people.

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks very much for the kind comment.

[@General_reader]

20:52 I’m red green colour deficient.😢

[@UbiquitousBooks]

That is unfortunate. The Ashendene Press holds a similar level of distinction to the Doves Press but sometimes published books with blue initials. Also, many modern editions can be found with two-colour printing in a variety of colours. For example, the Folio Society edition of Kafka on the Shore also has nice blue two-colour printing.

[@kurjan1]

I find it a bit of a shame that first editions are usually never published in a "nice" way. I understand why, it is still a shame. The endless battle of preserving them against yellowing and failing glue. I have just paid a few thousand AUD$ to have Solander boxes made to house my growing collection. But, a first edition is a first edition Haha!

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Yes. I don't collect first editions so I deliberately steered clear of mentioning them. But they have their own obvious appeal and their own collecting challenges.

[@kurjan1]

@@UbiquitousBooks Oh right… Sometimes I question my collecting choices when a beautiful LE Folio Society or Suntup edition turns up. I buy those as well. However, often I have found, so many books which are first editions in my collection will never be taken up by a fine book publishing house. Certainly not in my lifetime. So to own them as a first edition is, I believe, putting my money to the best use in building out a beautiful book collection.

[@DingbatGoldfarb]

fantastic, thank you!

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Glad you liked it, thanks!

[@parvezf603]

Excellent video! Thank you for this series, I expect to benefit tremendously from it. I'm new to fine press collecting myself, and it was this channel that introduced me to conversation tree press (now my favorite publisher)

[@UbiquitousBooks]

Thanks for commenting. Always happy to help enable new collectors!