Amaranthine Books — Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass

Edit 12/22: High-quality photos & production details:

https://amaranthinebooks.com/product/alice-jabberwock-edition/

https://amaranthinebooks.com/product/alice-bandersnatch-edition/

Live presentation video: https://www.facebook.com/AmaranthineBooks/videos/138906774673226/

What do y'all think? I've yet to support AB; this seems like a great first purchase. I've only heard good reviews about their Jekyll/Hyde and Dracula productions as well.

Edit: The Bandersnatch edition is insane (in a good way). What a beautiful and creative presentation!

I have no first-hand experience with their books; they look nice enough. I do feel that so far they have been focused on making gimmicky versions of books that have been fine-pressed to death. So that greatly diminishes my interest.

>2 AMindForeverVoyaging: That's a fair point: even the Bandersnatch edition relies on a gimmick rather than pure literary inspiration. I'm interested in knowing more about the production details of the books themselves.

I like that they decided to do all the illustrations from Alice's perspective, though I'm not sure the art style is my preference. The mirroring is also a wonderful touch.

>2 AMindForeverVoyaging:

But as far as gimmicks go, this seems a lot more interesting than what they did for Dracula.

I can't say I'm happy that they're now introducing the same system that Suntup has. It clearly works for that publisher, so I guess it seems attractive to others because of that. But I can't say that I find it customer friendly to basically pressure people into buying no matter what so they won't lose the right to buy future releases. Unless it's a series where you should have the chance to continue what you started, I find it preferable if everyone can get a chance to buy if they're interested in a book, like it works with Folio Society, Subterranean Press for non-series etc.

>5 SF-72: I think in AB's case, current patrons will have only a day's head start on the general public. Full details on everything should be revealed tomorrow.

>5 SF-72: I'm sympathetic to the rights system, even if it can be frustrating at times. These are capital-intensive businesses, and the number one reason small businesses fail is poor cash flow. This evens out the cashflow for the publisher and lets them know come hell or high water that they can basically depend on $XX in revenue per published edition.

I have to admit, after struggling through the seemingly unrehearsed video of the livestream, I'm unimpressed. Nothing explains why this book should cost $600 - no details on the paper, printing process, binding; perhaps those details will come tomorrow when it gets listed on the website. The only intriguing thing was the choice to go with first-person illustrations, but the style isn't to my taste.

The lettered version of the book also seems incidental to what appears to be an over-engineered pet project someone had - let's create a massive chest set and stick a book in it.

Having said all that, I think they're excelling at what they do - making gimmicky versions of books, and they seem to be making a living out of it. So good luck to them.

>8 U_238: fully agreed.

>8 U_238: >9 astropi: I emailed Marko to get answers to some of those questions, and this was his reply (quoted with permission):

“ The book is not letterpress, it’s all high quality digital print which enabled us to achieve striking colours and to place the illustrations right next to text they illustrate. The books were bound and then glue was used afterwards for extra durability. There are also simple head/tail bands, black for Jabberwock Edition, orange for Bandersnatch Edition. The paper is Pergraphica Natural Rough 100g, which proved to be extremely versatile when we used it for our editions of Dracula.”

He said we was going to include that information (or at least a part of it) in the description when the web site goes live

The books are now for sale on the AB site and the sales pages have much production detail. I do like the overall look and concept of the Jabberwocky. The optical illusion touches are appropriate and clever. Still, for $600 it's a hard no for me. There are two points about the sales page that bug me. 1. The book is signed, but it doesn't say by whom. 2. There is zero mention of who the illustrator is. I like to research unfamiliar illustrators but that can't be done here, not without reaching out to AB. If the book were maybe half the price I might be motivated to do that :)

I can't see anything, it says there's a 'routine maintenance' of the website. Hardly an ideal time when you're introducing a new book.

>12 SF-72: This morning they had the books in the "Shop" section, but now I see that "routine maintenance" page. I guess I was a successful peeker :)

>13 AMindForeverVoyaging:

It's back in the shop now. It looks interesting and I would have bought it at a price like the one for Dracula (let alone Dr, Jekyll), but this is a bit too much for my taste. To each their own, I do respect their creativity, but I'm generally not willing to go into this price range unless it's something I'm extremely interested in. I'll give it some more thought, but a purchase is highly unlikely in my case. It's a pity, I liked the fact that they were really creative and still in a price range that 'normal' people could afford. That's not the case at almost 500 Euros.

>14 SF-72: I completely agree with you. I do like what I've seen of Alice but the value isn't there for me. With that said, I think I'll get the Jekyll as my first AB book. The price is fair, and the free shipping is a nice bonus. I think the only thing that could get me to plunge on Alice would be to get on AB's new subscription bandwagon, but that only if I knew what was in their publishing pipeline and if it appealed to me. Without that knowledge, I can't do it.

Their ultra-expensive edition of Alice (priced at $4899) comes with a chess-set. Depending on your preference, you can either say it's clever and original, or kitsch. I'm going with the latter. I feel that their books in general are kitsch. I actually like the look of their "basic" Alice, but not for $599. If it was letterpress, I would genuinely be interested, but it's not letterpress. This is a fine-press price, without the fine press. I understand the slipcase is handmade. Okay, fine, but no way does that justify the price. Also, it comes with a bookmark... who uses bookmarks?? They crease pages!
Despite my negative reception, I do wish them luck. I'll be interested if they ever actually do letterpress.

>16 astropi: For $5000, one could probably find both "Alice" LECs signed by Alice Hargreaves in Near Fine condition.

...

>11 AMindForeverVoyaging: I don't know if they added this after you last looked, but this info is now available: Signed by Marko Matijašević (creative concept) and Damir Mazinjanin (illustrations)

Count me among those not interested. I fully agree with >16 astropi: that this is fine press prices without the fine press.

>19 whytewolf1: Yes, that was added later, and I'm glad they did. Thanks for pointing it out

I very much respect everyone's opinions here that have decided to pass (and why). That being said, I'm actually in for the Jabberwocky edition (US $599). To me, this seems like a comparable price to most of Suntup's recent S/N offerings, with a somewhat different but comparable value proposition. I'm a fan of letterpress also, but I think of these guys as somewhat brash young designers, pushing the boundaries of what fine press (okay, "fine-ish" press), limited edition publishing looks like. Their previous editions of Jekyll & Hyde and Dracula were generally well-received, though, ofc, nothing is ever to everyone's taste, and I not only think they're carving out an unexploited niche in this marketplace, I'm pretty excited to see what they come up with next.

After reading the production details, I have to agree, much to my disappointment. The production has creativity and flair peripheral to the literature itself, but the most important piece of the puzzle is unfortunately lacking relative to the asking price, in my opinion.

I suppose I'm happy with my EP DLE Alice. :) However, Amaranthine's publication rekindled my interest in looking for other fine/private press editions of Alice. I know the Folio Society LE and Pennyroyal editions are highly esteemed—do y'all have any other favorites?

Though it probably doesn't qualify as fine press, what do y'all think of these Books Illustrated editions with exclusive illustrations by Christian Birmingham?

Editions: Collectors' | Deluxe | Prestige

Presentation video of the Deluxe edition and an image of the same below.



From what I've researched, Birmingham published his beautiful art himself through Books Illustrated (not sure if that's his publishing company or a third-party vendor). The leather binding is handsomely done; it also features hand-marbled endpapers. It's very likely not letterpress; I doubt the typeface or page material are selling points, either.

Interesting take on the illustrations, but that's pretty much it. And for almost $5000 one can buy the Pennyroyal Alice which is in a totally different universe from these books. I wish them well but neither Alice nor Dracula got me very interested. J&H somewhat, but still not enough to buy. It doesn't seem like they have the know-how to run a fine press, yet they are trying to charge fine press prices. IMO they would do better if they tried to compete with Folio in prices rather than with Suntup/CP.

>23 PatsChoice:

Birmingham illustrations look marvelous to me. Realism to heighten the surrealism. Too bad I don't care enough about Alice in Wonderland itself to pay for any of the limited editions. I do have the trade Moser edition which is a great bargain.

Regarding Amaranthine, I don't have anything against a new press going for a few sure things. Running a private press involves a ton of risk. The question is whether they will branch out later, after they've found their footing.

Well, guess I'll jump in. These guys are graphic designers making pricey trade artists' books loaded with gimmickry. Easy pass for me w/o the issue of astronomical price. Add that to it, and it becomes very easy for me to ignore this press henceforth. Yes, I am an old, grumpy curmudgeon.

I bought a black and a white copy of their Jekyll & Hyde books when they first came out. Definitely not fine press but then they were priced like standard FS editions so I felt it was worth giving them a shot. Their Dracula doesn't interest me a bit. I do like Alice in Wonderland, I own 8 different editions of the book, and find this an attractive edition but at a ridiculous price point. I'll pass but wish the press well.

Well the super-mega-ultra-deluxe Bandersnatch Edition of Alice was advertised in my inbox today. There's a chess board, a deck of cards, a Cheshire cat bookmark, a marching band, a partridge in a pear tree, and I think there is a book in there somewhere...

Not my 'cup of tea' (see what I did there?), but maybe someone's.

Side Question: Is it written in some stone tablet somewhere that all of these presses MUST do Alice and or Wind in The Willows?

>28 L.Bloom: The Bandersnatch edition is interesting because it reflects Amaranthine's design philosophy for this book. They said that they wanted to make the numbered (Jabberwock) edition the ultimate edition of the book so the lettered book is almost identical to the numbered edition (I actually prefer the numbered edition due to the colors) and all the extra cost has to go OUTSIDE the book. I think most of us would prefer that the extra cost go IN the book, but this does concord with the stated design philosophy.

IMO the Amaranthine (numbered) Alice is a much better design than their Dracula, but overpriced for what you get.

Alice and WiTW are popular because they are classic books which people may have fond memories of from childhood, and very amenable to illustration. They are also both in the public domain which makes it much easier. For non-letterpress it is hard to compete with the FS SE editions of these books, which happen to be among the very best values in the entire FS catalog due to the extensive illustrations at the price points.

>29 punkzip: "... make the numbered (Jabberwock) edition the ultimate edition of the book so the lettered book is almost identical to the numbered edition"

Interesting that it sounds from their description of Dorian that they're abandoning this philosophy. IMO, I think it's for the best. If they'd kept the two designs the same but upgraded the printing / paper / other materials that would be one thing, I think the Bandersnatch edition really highlighted that at that point you're really buying an add-on rather than a more valuable book.

>30 NathanOv: Yes I noticed that as well in the email today. I wonder if the Bandersnatch edition not selling out (yet) made them change this design philosophy.

>31 punkzip: That's a possibility, but I know Marko was already planning on a lower price for the next lettered so he seems aware that that's the biggest barrier.

In most cases, it would be the lettered collectors who'd be the completists and more likely to buy a numbered edition if the design was more different, but maybe it's true that some potential lettered collectors felt they could get the same value just from a numbered.

>23 PatsChoice:
I'm very pleased with the 1983 edition of "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" from A. Colish Press. It's in a very handy octavo format; printed letterpress on nice paper; bound in full cloth with leather labels on the spine and upper board; and illustrated with the classic Tenniel engravings, with one colored for the frontispiece. And it cost me about $100, if I recall correctly.