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"May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books." -Thomas Carlyle
Welcome to my virtual book collection. Since collecting actual books is somewhat cost-prohibitive, I've begun to amass all of the books I would love to have if I had the means. Some are new, lots are old, all are unique or beautiful or unusual or in some other way have captured my fancy. Enjoy browsing!
Special Collections: Fine Bindings ~ Fairies and Fairy Tales ~ Terror and Madness ~ Poetry ~ Food, Drink and Apothecary ~ Science Fiction ~ Illuminations, Lettering and Hand-Coloring ~ Magic ~ Supernatural and Occult ~ Alchemy ~ Science and Technical ~ Maritime ~ Costumes ~ Humor ~ Children's books ~ Legend of King Arthur ~ Americana ~ 18th Century ~ 19th Century Authors and illustrators: Edgar Allan Poe ~ Jules Verne ~ Edmund Dulac ~ Kay Nielsen ~ Arthur Rackham ~ Edward Gorey ~ Charles Dickens ~ H.P. Lovecraft ~ William Hope Hodgson ~ Mark Twain ~ Lewis Carroll ~ Salvador Dali ~ George Cruikshank ~ Emily Dickinson ~ Geoffrey Chaucer ~ H.G. Wells
The Moonstone
Wilkie Collins, with illustrations by Stan Washburn
Text from Arion Press:
“The Arion Press is proud to announce the publication of a deluxe illustrated limited edition of Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone. A masterpiece of detective fiction by the inventor of the genre, it is, in the words of Dorothy Sayers, “probably the very finest detective story ever written”. No less demanding a reader than T. S. Eliot called it “the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels,” taking pains to remind us that the genre was “invented by Collins and not by Poe”. The Moonstone was first published in 1868, as a serial in Charles Dickens’ periodical All the Year Round, and in three volumes by Tinsley Brothers, London; a revised edition appeared in 1871. It is the latter text that we have followed. Collins’ prefaces to both are included in the Arion Press edition.”
via
arionpress.com
6 months ago on November 08, 2012 at 01:10pm
Moby-Dick, or, The Whale.
Herman Melville. Arion Press, San Francisco, 1979.
(Initial publication 1851)
Printed in blue and black on handmade paper bearing a whale watermark. 100 woodcut illustrations by Barry Moser. Folio, full blue Moroccan goatskin, spine slightly but evenly darkened, joints and ends lightly rubbed; internally clean; blue cloth slipcase, unevenly faded and with some surface marks.
One of 250 unnumbered copies of the first trade edition of the Arion Press edition, designed by Andrew Hoyem. One of the greatest achievements in modern bookmaking.
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“Warmest climes but nurse the cruellest fangs: the tiger of Bengal crouches in spiced groves of ceaseless verdure. Skies the most effulgent but basket the deadliest thunders: gorgeous Cuba knows tornadoes that never swept tame northern lands. So, too, it is, that in these resplendent Japanese seas the mariner encounters the direst of all storms, the Typhoon. It will sometimes burst from out that cloudless sky, like an exploding bomb upon a dazed and sleepy town.” ~Chapter cxix
1 year ago on March 02, 2012 at 02:15pm
Captivity Narrative of Hannah Duston
San Francisco: Arion Press, 1987.
Illustrated with wood-block prints by Richard Bosman. Edition of 400 copies, signed by the artist.
via
bonhams.com
1 year ago on September 16, 2011 at 04:03pm
The Alienist
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. Illustrated by Carroll Dunham.
Translated from the Portuguese with an Afterword by Alfred Mac Adam. With Twelve Drawings by Carroll Dunham. San Francisco, Arion Press, 1998. Limited to 250 copies for sale, numbered 1 to 250 and signed by the artist, this being copy number 165. Oblong quarto (10 1/8 x 13 7/8 in; 257 x 352 mm). 55, (1, colophon) pp. Ten full page drawings. Green cloth with paper title labels. As new in publisher’s slipcase.
via
antiqbook.com
1 year ago on June 25, 2011 at 10:13pm
