Golden Age books we would like to see re-issued (with top quality paper, bindings,etc)

The Ship that sailed to Mars ~ William Timlin
60 Reproductions from original drawings ~ Franklin Booth

The Rime of teh Ancient Mariner
Tannhäuser
Faust
Parsifal, or the Legend of the Holy Grail
The Tale of the Logengrin
~All illustrated by Willy Pogány

illustrationfan.
Welcome to the group. William Timlin and Franklin Booth are new names to me. Are they American. America has a great tradition of book illustration but much of their work didn't reach these shores (UK), which is a pity. I'd like to learn more about these two.

I'd certainly have the Pogany books if the publisher did justice to the artwork. I have seen several copies of the original editions and I have to say I have been disappointed by the quality of the reproduction. Perhaps these were so-called 'popular' (i.e. cheap) editions.

Folio Society has produced some fine re-issues of books illustrated by Golden Age Illustrators including Detmold, Dulac, W. H. Robinson and Kay Nielsen. The quality of production is generally excellent, but I was disappointed by the Rackham 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'. The reproduction of the plates is rather muddy. The plates in the Dulac 'Tanglewood Tales' lack sparkle (as reproduced). In my opinion the finest of these editions is the Kay Nielsen 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' and Detmold's 'Arabian Nights'. Quite a few of these books are now out of print but can be found at Ebay and Abebooks.

pageboy, thank you I did not realized the folio society had produced reproductions with the plates. It is too bad they are not all of the same quality.

I have a 1980s edition of East of the Sun and West of the Moon which is gorgeous but I have seen the first edition on line which is even lovelier and of course not affordable.

Marensar,
The Foilo Kay Nielsen is very beautifully produced, the quality of the plates is excellent. One of the best reproductions I have seen of any Golden Age Illustrator's works. All the others apart from the Rackham and the Dulac I mentioned, are very good indeed. Folio also brought out a six-volume edition of 'The Arabain Nights' (out of print) with each volume having a different illustrator. The first volume had Kay Nielsen's wonderful illustrations (the other volumes had modern illustrators).

All my Pogány books are first editions with Yapp leather bindings and gold inlaid .... tipped-in colour plates throughout...etc. If anyone is interested.. They can view them at my library on
librarything.com Great Golden Age author bio and book (with illustrations) information.....

It would be expensive to duplicate those books as such, but would be well worth it.. and give many classic book, illustration collectors, and lovers a chance to experience what "the Golden Age" truly is about.

illustrationfan
You are very fortunate to have de luxe editions of the Pogany. I would imagine the greatest attention has been paid to the quality of reproduction. Yapp is an unusual type of binding for non-religious books -my Bible has such a binding. I think I would prefer morocco if I had the choice. I have seen special editions of Rackham and Dulac in vellum covers and I can't say I like them at all.....a step too far!.. a case of gilding the lily. Leather bound editions are great if they have been brought out by the original publisher, the cover and the design usually match the spirit of the work, but I wouldn't be drawn to books which had been disbound to make way for a leather binding post purchase. I still find the clothbound first editions of Rackham and Dulac the most desirable.
I haven't been able to access the link you kindly provided, I don't know why.

My apologies.. this is Librarything!.. been a long day..thus far!!!! Just check out my library when you get a chance.. or do an author search for willy pogany, franklin booth, etc......

Re: message #1
This may not be what you had in mind, but have you seen the 1993 StoneWall Publications re-printing of "The Ship That Sailed to Mars"?
It may not be a deluxe reprint, but it seems ok.

Yikes! I just checked ABEbooks.
The '93 edition is going for 125.00 to 200.00!?
It's nice...but I don't know if it's that nice.

Then again....it's better than several thousand dollars...

I have the stonewall edition.. not bad. 9 1/2 X12 size book. clear pictures and text. It will show up on Ebay from time to time... maybe twice a year if you are lucky. Original editions will run 3 to 5K depending on condition.
Only 2000 copies were produced and only 250 copies were distributed to the US. view an online version of the true rarity at: http://www.geocities.com/anaiselise2nd/index.html

Oh illustrationfan, I peeked at your library and you are lucky I confess. I was not terribly familiar with Pogany and I am going to add that to the list of names I search when I am hunting for books.

Just FYI... I created a fan (group) page on Facebook.. for Willy Pogány, Franklin Booth (and modern illustrator the late Dave Stevens)... many posted illustrations and interesting bio and book info.... several hundred members and counting..... when you have time!

I like someone to come out with a nice new edition of William Russell Flint's Le Morte d'Arthur. I've found several illustrations in books here and there, but to have it all together would be nice.

#14
I second that. These are terrific illustrations. You might be interested in this book which is due for publication early April:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/048646816X

or you can drool over them at the Camelot Project site. They are wonderful - I like the Chaucer illos too. These do pop up on sites like eBay at quite reasonable prices :)

Jeff Menges and the merry folks at Dover now have Willy Pogany Rediscovered scheduled for August release. It doesn't get much better!

Thanks for the Pogány update!!! I can't wait for the book!!!

bookstpshere.
Fantastic news! Pogany illustrated over a hundred books so it wil be interesting to see what Jeff Menges chooses for the book. The Dover 'Images of Arthur' should be out soon.

Pogány illustrated 158 books.. to be exact... including calendars for Tannhäuser and Parsifal in 1916

I've seen a few of the Pogany books at Charles Vess' studio.....they're quite something to behold!

I wish I had picked up a copy of The Ship That Sailed To Mars reprint when it was comparitively cheap!

Just to be a jerk...I'll mention that I got my "Ship That Sailed to Mars" on sale way back when, for about 9.00$

I only mention that because of the 8 million other times I failed to buy the darned things when they were cheap.

A mention here- because I have privilege to see what Dover and Calla books are coming down the pipe—as soon as I am permitted to—I will keep you informed as to what is coming that fits in with theme here. I mentioned in a private message the other day one that most of you may want to know about-

It's up at Amazon under this big mess-
http://www.amazon.com/Childs-Garden-Verses-Robert-Stevenson/dp/0486470016/ref=sr...

Not yet up on Dover's site. This is a reprint of Stevenson's Child's Garden of Verses, with the Charles Robinson line Illos. Dover did it as a hardcover, with a frosted vellum dust-jacket that carries the type. (Only the gold stamp image is on the actual case.) It really came out nice. Should be available at Dover's site very soon.

Jeff A. Menges

I saw a copy of Pogany's 'Green Willow' at a book fair last weekend. A nice copy with all 40 of the tipped-in colour plates. The asking price was £250 ($380?). I might have considered it if a couple of the plates hadn't creases. When I returned to the stall an hour later the book was gone. Now that is book that would be a good candidate for a new edition (by Calla?) but it would have to include all of the illustrations. Dover already has a paperback version with the 16 plates commonly seen in the later editions.

Hey pb-

You had me scratchin' my head there for a bit.

I couldn't recall anything Pogany had done by that title, and I am deep in the workings of the upcoming book on his work...I couldn't find it in his bibliography either (IBIS Journal I) After a few searches with his name, I tried one without it- and I think I hit upon the mystery-

Dover's "Green Willow and Other Japanese Fairy Tales" is illustrated by Warwick Goble, not Pogany. They are some great plates, and I believe Dover does possess a copy with the full 40. (though it is great stuff, it may be pretty far down the list of books to reprint in full. We used some of these in our book on Goble's Fairy Tale work) In addition to being a beautiful presentation piece, marketability has a say in this all as well. There are just not enough of us—who would largely purchase these books on merit of their art alone—

Then again, The Knave of Hearts, is Calla's most recent Golden Age volume— anyone who is not buying that for the Parrish illustrations, well, there just isn't anybody...

There's some info out there on Amazon, without images, about our new Fall 09 list- When I can point you at cover images, I will, but until then I can at least give you these two titles, as the info is out there-

Maidens, Monsters and Heroes: The Fantasy Illustrations of H. J. Ford (Paperback)
by H. J. Ford (Author), Jeff A. Menges (Editor)

Worlds of Enchantment: The Art of Maxfield Parrish (Paperback)
by Maxfield Parrish (Author)

I'm editing the Parrish as well—both titles due out in early '10. There are some other goodies on the list- I'll be back with some more titles shortly. I have to get busy- Jeff

Thanks Jeff. A senior moment! Of course it is Goble. I have your Dover book of Goble illustrations. They are so incredibly beautiful that I just want to have everything he produced. It looks as if I will have to save up for a used copy of the original with its 40 glorious plates.
'The Knave of Hearts' is on my list of pending purchases. The coming Parrish paperback is eagerly awaited. The H. J. Ford book is a must. I hope the book contains a good selection of his colour plates for the Lang series. In the later reprints of the Lang books (the ones most of us can afford) the reproduction of the plates leaves a lot to be desired.
So, some goodies on the horizon. Thanks, Jeff, for updating us.

Dear everyone,

I'm new on the forum. I love used books and I'm always looking for the next interesting one..

I bought a copy of "Green Willow and other Fairy Tales" by Grace James, printed in 1923. It has 16 japanese illustrations by Warwick Goble.

I would like to know how much this book worth?

The book is in pristine condition. No writting, no foxing, no mark on the book, solid binding, all 4 corners are like new. No page are fold, no discoloration, red binding is as red as the day it has been print. I don't know how to describ this book other than it's at least 90% to 95% like new. I don't think it has ever been read. The only think I noticed is that the book has been over-open at page 224-225 and the spinal is very visible just a little, but pages hold ferm and there's no loose in the book.

I knew nothing about this book before today.. what an interesting find..

Charles

correction, it should be:

at page 224-225 and the spinal is visible just a little (and not: at page 224-225 and the spinal is very visible just a little).

Sorry

Charles

Welcome to the forum, Charles. That seems a very good copy of 'Green Willow' - you don't often see copies in such fine condition. The first edition of 'Green Willow' (1910?) had 40 colour plates. Subsequent editions had 16 plates. In spite of the reduction in plates the later editions 1912, 1923, 1926 etc still fetch good prices, depending on condition. You might find it useful to look at the prices asked at Bookfinder. It lists details of secondhand books offered by Abebooks, Biblio and Amazon and some others, and is a good guide to the retail values of used books - you will find their listing of 'Green Willow' here:

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=fYVOFntV94J6Y7STr3Aer3G...

One of our members Jeff A. Menges produced a beautiful collection of Warwick Goble's illustrations for Dover Books (includes all of the illustrations in your edition of 'Green Willow)'.

If you are intending to sell your book you are unlikely to get a decent price from a dealer. You could list it at Ebay or Amazon naming your own price. I would think £70 would be the least you could expect and £100 the best price.

Thanks Pageboy,

The link BookFinder is awsom! Great tool for anyone searching a book.

I really enjoy Warwick Goble's work. It's all new for me and I found that he is an exceptional illustrator. I will take some pictures of the book and probably post it on eBay. I have a few others that I want to sell, I will work on this when I found time. For the moment, I will enjoy his work a little.

I really appreciate your help, thank you!

Charles

I post my Green willow and Japanese Fairy Tales, 1923 edition. Illustrations by Warwick Goble... on "Big"-bay now.

Europeans buyer welcome!

Thanks to everyone for your help.

Charles

perhaps a John Austen retrospective similar to the wonderful Pogany volume? I'd buy that

I like this idea. And thanks for the kind word on the Pogany Book. Honestly, I haven't seen a lot of Austen's work, but everything I have seen has been great. Did he do any color work?

Dover's Fall 10 list will be released in a few weeks, and I'll have some good news on a couple of items that will be of interest to this group then.

Jeff

eureka - like Austen's Hamlet - a gorgeous book - Calla is doing a lot of fine work - putting terrific illustration in the hands of common folk, making the world a better place . . .

thanks - keep it up!

aha - the fall Calla list is very nice - now perhaps the Franklin Booth Flying Islands of the Night?

and you can never have too much Rackham :)

sigh . . . or Jessie King's House of Pomegranites (Wilde)

or a nice retrospective collection of Dugald Stewart Walker - or a new version of his Dream Boats (lovely stuff)

...Like I was saying. The new Dover Fall 10 list is out, and there are quite a few titles that this group should be keen on. First off, Calla Editions- things that pertain to this particular message board- Near Facsimile editions of;

John Austen's Hamlet
http://www.amazon.com/Hamlet-Prince-Denmark-William-Shakespeare/dp/1606600052/re...

oh, and you can see some of this at my blog-
http://withaviewto.blogspot.com/

How about René Bull's Arabian Nights?
http://www.amazon.com/Arabian-Nights-Rene-Bull/dp/1606600087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&...

An Edition of The Jungle book with the Detmold plates reproduced from the original portfolio of plates (which predated their use in any text) The images in this book will be larger than they have printed in any edition.
http://www.amazon.com/Jungle-Book-Rudyard-Kipling/dp/1606600095/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UT...

And lastly - Grimms Fairy Tales by Rackham- slightly abridged mind you, but with ALL of the original color plates 40, plus many ink pieces.
http://www.amazon.com/Grimms-Fairy-Tales-Jacob-Wilhelm/dp/1606600109/ref=sr_1_2?...

If you like what Calla is doing, let them know! It will help bring more of these out... Back shortly with news on my compilations for the season-

Jeff A. Menges

A breath-taking list of new and upcoming titles, Jeff. I've pre-ordered the lot at Amazon! I hadn't encountered the John Austen 'Hamlet' before - it's marvellous. Couldn't help thinking of Beardsley and Harry Clarke. I have Austen's 'Don Juan' and the style is quite different.
I'm relieved that the Calla series is continuing - I had feared it was going to be discontinued. There are so many great illustrated books that would be at home in the Calla line-up, including many of the Rackham tilles 'Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Undine', 'Some British Ballads', 'Comus'. I'd like to see the Harry Clarke 'Hans Andersen' and 'Perrault Fairy Tales'. And Pogany's 'Faust'. Goble's 'Stories from the Pentamerone' would be right at the top of my wish-list.

Hey all. The Calla list is growing, again, and by quite a bit this season. I just laid it all out in my blog, you can see that here-
http://withaviewto.blogspot.com/2011/05/william-m-timlins-one-hit-wonder.html

but I'll snip the titles for ya-

As the link above might lead you to believe- first on the list (in my eyes, and many of yours) Is Timlin's The Ship that Sailed to Mars. Then there are 6 other Golden Age works-

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Illustration by William Heath Robinson
Alice in Wonderland, with 92 color images by Harry Rountree
Oscar Wilde's A House of Pomegranetes, with illustration by Jessie King
Edmund Dulac's Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales
Arthur Rackham's Engish Fairy Tales
Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp in Rhyme by Arthur Ransome, Illustrations by Thomas Mackenzie.

In other news- My collection of Dulac works— An Edmund Dulac Treasury, will be out in a few weeks, and Shakespeare Illustrated—Golden Age images from 12 of Shakespeare's best works— will be hot on its tail.

Pageboy, it's great to have you back, and I hope you're continuing to mend. Be in touch-

Jeff A. Menges

Many thanks, Jeff. That is a truly mouth-watering list of titles coming up at Calla. I'm sure they will be popular. The Harry Rountree 'Alice' is a real surprise - a pleasant one I have to say. I have friends who love evrything about 'Alice' so I must tell them the good news. The Jessie M. King must be quite a rarity, I can't remember ever seeing a copy.

So there's plenty to look forward to in the world of Golden Age Illustrators. Keep up the good work!

David

nice list Jeff - and the Dulac volume just arrived - again, well done! I suspect that thanks to Calla, a copy of the Wilde/Jessie King has just shaken free and I must say it's lovely!

In the line of what Calla is doing, I would recommend the Dugald Stewart Walker Andersen Fairy Tales (lovely color and B & W work) or, for a small volume, Frank Brangwyn's wonderful dense illustrations for the Rubaiyat or Phillpotts" Girl and the Faun - simply gorgeous!

Keep it up! scott

‘Tis the Season.

With all of the changes that publishing is going through at this time, it is impossible to predict what may remain in place from one year to the next. Who would have thought, five years ago, that Borders bookstores would be no more, and Encyclopedia Britannica would cease printing? It makes me shiver to think of what may take place in the next five years.

That being said, I’m happy to be telling you that despite the difficulties described above, and big organizational changes at Dover, The Calla Line has endured for another year. The 2012 list has just been released, with more than one title that has appeared in discussions on this forum before. Here’s a list of the Golden Age titles that will be available in the Fall—

The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Walter Jerrold, Illustrations by Charles Robinson

Cinderella, by C. S. Evans and Arthur Rackham

The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, by Charles Perrault, Thomas Bodkin, and illustrations by Harry Clarke

Tanglewood Tales, By Nathaniel Hawthorne, Illustrations by Virginia Frances Sterrett

The Tempest, William Shakespeare, with illustrations by Edmund Dulac

Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Tales (originally titled, In Powder and Crinoline), by Sir Arthur Quiller Couch , illustrations by Kay Nielsen

And this year’s modern masterwork follows last year’s rerelease of Dinotopia with The World Beneath, the second of James Gurney’s Dinotopia volumes. (again, with additional materials not previously published)

Keep an eye out for em. More news as it comes in.

Jeff A. Menges
http://withaviewto.blogspot.com/

Hello all, just wanted to say how pleased I am to have found this group, and how WONDERFUL that list of upcoming Calla titles is! The Tempest and Dulac, In Powder and Crinoline and Nielsen, Perrault and Harry Clarke... I've been looking for so long for second-hand copies of these books that are in my price range, and well, no such creature exists. But to know that they're on their way, and that they'll be beautifully produced, has just made my... day? No, my month.

Bookstops—I'm assuming that you got one? I mean a Jessie King House of Pomegranates?

Getting an effect like we did on the cover stamping was a real trick (Gold over Black), but I think it added real character to the book. I also feel good about adding the second color to the endpapers- thought it was a nice improvement.

Jeff, thanks so much for bringing us up to date with Calla's plans for 2012. I second letterpress's enthsiasm for the Calla series. All of the titles published so far have been worthy of the originals, and I am sure that the forthcoming titles won't disappoint.

I felt uneasy when I read 'and big organizational changes at Dover.' Do we have reason to be worried? It's so easy to take for granted companies like Dover. They've certainly been part of my cultural life as long as I can remember.

46> Jeff
I picked up half a dozen and made presents of them - very nice indeed!

I'm looking forward to the Perrault & Hawthorne volumes too - can't say the series gets better & better, but that's the modest risk you run when you start near the top; very nice though - hope it can keep going - :)

48 /pageboy—
Don't be any more afraid for Dover than you should be for the rest of book publishing...being part of a corporate entity means having to perform well to survive. It's harder than ever in today's environment, but Dover is constantly trying new things to broaden its market. Calla was one of those ideas, and it turns out that it was one of the better ones.

If Calla was going to hit a bump, it might very well have been this past year (with said changes) But as you see here, it came through just fine, and they are holding their own (or better)
as far as sales go. Reception for them has been, and continues to be, good.

Keep feeding me ideas for titles (believe me when I say your ideas concerning this are not ignored), buy them as gifts, tell your friends. All that helps, really. (This next group is all off to press already, and I'll let you know again when they are actually available, though pre-orders work too.)

It IS easy to take some things for granted. Like me thinking books would always be printed. I'm sure Kodak always thought there would be film, too. Technology changes things, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's just change. I hope Dover sticks around for a long while, too. We're working on it.

The list mentioned above(#44)- is NOW OUT— available from Amazon or at Dover's site. And to my surprise, there is already post up on Amazon, regarding TWO SPRING '13 Callas. The companion volume to Rackham's Cinderella is his Sleeping Beauty, and the second is a Charles and Mary Lamb "Stories from Shakespeare" volume, with plates selected by editors here. Images by a great number of different Golden Age illustrators. Jeff

Wagner's Ring Cycle illustrated by Arthur Rackham. My parents have a three volume set in leather, the only thing I've ever hoped to inherit. But it would be wonderful to have a fresher printed version without any spotting and other imperfections!

I received an email from Easton Press offering their latest Limited Edition - 'Rip van Winkle', illustrated by Rackham. It purports to be a luxury facsimile of the first edition. I cannot get enthusiastic about Rackham's 'Rip van Winkle'. The plates strike me as drab and uninspiring. The plates in my 1905 edition are quite dreary, and none of the reproductions I have seen elsewhere improve matters. Is it the artist's fault or have the plates deteriorated over time? I'd love to see the original artwork.

51> Jeff. I am getting hold of the new Calla titles apart from the ones I have in the original editons. I already have a nice leatherbound edition of Dulac's 'The Tempest' but I would gladly exhange it for the one illustrated by Rackham. The Dulac plates are fine but I question whether printers of that time could do justice to the quality of the originals.
I hope Warwick Goble will be represented in a Calla Edition. 'Folktales of Bengal' would be welcome. So would Dulac's 'Sindbad the Sailor' and W. Russell Flint's 'Morte d'Arthur'.

#53

The plates strike me as drab and uninspiring.

As much as I admire Rackham's draughtsmanship, I must say this is one thing I seem to feel every time I see his work reproduced in colour. Was it really a question of his palette, or reproduction techniques, or what? It's true I don't have any fine editions with his work--the most expensive one (for what that may be worth) is a Folio Society edition of Grimm's fairy tales with his illustrations. The quality isn't better than that in Dover and Perseus compilations I've seen.

So, yes, I too would be very interested in seeing a different example of his work, if anyone has any links.

55/ Lola

It would be really interesting to know the reason for these anomalies. I would say that in the majority of his books the artworks are well reproduced. I've never seen decent reproductions of his plates for the Wagner opera titles. Later titles seem to fare better, 'The Tempest' is a good example. The Calla edtions of 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' and 'English Fairy Tales' have made a decent job of the reproductions. The illustrations in Dover's edtion of Rackham's 'Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens' are beautifully reproduced.

Oh, I could talk this one up all night.

But to just touch on it, yes, Rackham's palette, is one of muted, earthy tones, by choice. It's fairly well documented in some of the better studies of his life and work, like the James Hamilton biography of him. Rackham even (at times) worked with brown ink, rather than black.

56/pageboy—have you seen a "recent" Dover print of the Wagner images?
A few years ago we went back and digitally reproduced and corrected the plates, vs. the older photographic repros Dover had in print for years. In my opinion, the new images are greatly improved. Not perfect throughout, but much better.

Dover is constantly working to improve its scanning formulas, to gain a full range, being true to original materials while allowing for age and process. It's much better now than it was 10 years ago, and the subtleties continue to grow with improved technology.

When something was printed badly in 1910, should we repeat that today, or make some of the adjustment that could not have occurred then, like filling in blacks that broke up because they were printed on coarse paper stock? If the paper takes on oxidation, should we return it to white, adjusting the colors with it? There are numerous variables to consider, and it comes down to a judgement call—Then there is the printing, when all those presets are subject to change, again. New paper stock, its absorbtion, color....

The same reproduction could be seen by two different people, and one would call it too dull, where the other would say it was over-saturated. It depends on your knowledge of the work, your frame of reference, and no two opinions will share that same background. Working from originals vs. early prints is great when it can be done, but that is no guarantee that the color will be truer to *your* memory of what the image should look like. The originals age as well as the books; paper and pigment change over 50-100 years.

Every internet post online can be boosted—most are—but that doesn't make them correct. (or wrong, for that matter) AND, every viewing of those sites will look different from screen to screen. It's like asking what's the perfect way to take your coffee. It's not going to be perfect for everybody.

Jeff A. Menges