TOC Berlin

The No Reply Press thread seems to have been taken over by the discussion about TOC so I think it's about time for this press to get a thread of their own.
I recently got my copy of Half of a Yellow Sun and I really love it. It's like it was mentioned in the thread, it's not your traditional fine press, but still much nicer than a normal trade edition. I really like the price/quality tradeoff.
One thing that could be improved is the protection. Book comes in a box which makes it really awkward to put it on a shelf. It doesn't stand upright on its own so i have to keep it lying down, which means it's taking up lots of space, plus the shelf doesn't look as good. I would imagine a very simple slipcase would not cost much more and would be leaps and bounds ahead of the current solution. Plus, one could also show off the nice design of the book which is hidden away in the box.

>1 filox: I am pretty sure I will be ditching the box and just shelving in its jacket. I also thought this was a well-executed book.

For those interested, the TOC homepage can be found at https://www.toc.berlin/

How do you all feel about the list of authors due to be published as shared by the publisher Birgit in the No Reply Press thread?

To recap from that thread, here is the original post:

“hi, I‘m Birgit and I’m working at TOC with Erik. As publisher I‘m working at the programm:
2021
Deborah Levy, The Cost of Living
Chimamanda N. Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun
John Banville, The Sea (nesrly ready to print)
Richard Sennett, The Craftsman
William Boyd, Any Human Heart
2022:
Claire Messud, The Woman upstairs
Wolfram Eilenberger, The Time of the Magicians
And 4 more TBA.

All contemporay fiction and none-fiction, most of them prize winning or with an impact on writing, literature and society.”

To be honest, I haven’t read any of the upcoming titles, though the descriptions sound interesting enough and of the sort of books I’d like. I ordered the Adichie novel and am looking forward to its arrival, both for the novel itself and to see what TOC books are all about.

My thought exactly

I'm really excited by the choice of titles so far!

>5 mnmcdwl: My initial reaction is very positive because of the fact that they published Adichie and because three of their seven titles are women writers. I've read The Burning Girl, which I received as part of Powells Books Indiespensible subscription (highly recommended usually slip-cased, signed trade editions), and would be happy to read more of her writing. TOC also checks the Literature in Translation button, so maybe we can expect some exciting titles from the German (at least), maybe a mix of old, like The Artificial Silk Girl or Every Man Dies Alone, and some new exciting German language writers.

It is strictly for budgetary reasons that I did not instantly purchase the Adichie, which I have read and definitely qualifies for a reread. Preferably in a fine press edition. I would be honored to have her book in my library (despite her recent unfortunate publicity misstep that was hopefully just that...)

ErikSpiekermann or birgitmschmitz: Will the initial print run always be 998 (the number given for Adichie on the other thread), or is that going to vary from title to title? Will you do additional print runs based on sales?

I'll mention your books over on my blog, The Whole Book Experience, as soon as I can write up a little plug.

>2 LBShoreBook: The box for me is in this weird limbo state -- it's neither nice enough to keep nor ugly enough to throw out. They did go out of their way to emboss their logo on the box which makes me think it's not meant to be thrown in the trash? Anyway, I can't imagine a slipcase costing more than a few dollars extra and it would have been so much nicer...

I agree (though I haven’t seen the box) by an option for a slipcase would be great to add or available as an extra purchase. I know from the Library of America you can buy additional slipcases from customer service. So maybe TOC can do the same

>5 mnmcdwl: Since Banville's The Sea is my least favorite book on the planet, I'll be skipping that one.

>4 ironjaw: Not my cup of tea. I will leave contemporary lit to you folks.

>14 Glacierman: Same

Will probably get the Messud and could be tempted by Eilenberger. Still wish these came slipcased, and (esp. since I'll be skipping books in the series) I'm also not a fan of the spine of dust jacket. Would be much better to have the book title rather than the TOC number and the author, I think.

>2 LBShoreBook: hi, the box is more for protection reasons, we want that the books arrive safely. We love the box, but we love the letterpress printed dust jacket more: the Gmund Paper is a dream 🤩

>6 mnmcdwl: it’s pretty hard to clear rights in times of a pandemic, because people working remote. So we have to schedule the up-coming titles more cautious. But there will be more news in August and September for 2022.

>10 jveezer: The print run is limited to to 998 always. Th author have signed these books. I’m curious to read more on your blog. Erik is a typography genius and his work and input is tremendous for the beauty of TOC

>12 ironjaw: the discussion about the slipcase and the box is very good and gives us stuff to think about to make TOC better.

>13 kdweber: I just finished my notes for the afterword and why we choose it. This novel is actually for re-Reading, it changes every time I read it. Now it is an impostor novel for me and make even the surest thing unreliable. But his language is literary and not always easy to read.

>2 LBShoreBook: that is the general idea. We print colourful dust jackets which are a feature, not a bug. The books stand out on the shelf, and as we will publish more books like this, the spines will tell their own story. The box is mostly for shipping.

>16 gmacaree: as we’re planning to publish 12 books a year, there’ll be bookshelves with that many titles next to each other. That is why we have those (printed) labels. And as length of titles and author names vary greatly, we settled for the short version. Numbering them in sequence also points to the fact that these are not going to be one-offs. As we say: one is a book, two are a collection. Once the third title will be printed, the shelf presence will become obvious. And with very colourful dust jackets, slip cases are redundant. TOC is not a classic Fine Press and we take the liberty to question some of those traditions. The books themselves are bound in standard linen, with the title blind embossed on the spine. I normally take off dust jackets, but ours are hand-printed and each one will be slightly different. It would be a shame to hide them in a slipcase. It’s a feature, not a bug.

>24 ErikSpiekermann: It's a feature designed to prioritise one particular use case -- shelving the whole TOC collection next to each other -- over all other use cases. I don't think there's any such thing as a 'bug' in design. Y'all have made an understandable choice, but it's at odds with how I plan on collecting and shelving your work. Even if I was planning to pick up the entire TOC run every year, I'd still want to split them up to fit in with my shelving system, and the numbering still wouldn't work for me.

I'm not some stodgy collector wedded to tradition. I love experiments, and love that you're experimenting. And if that experiment works for you, great! It just doesn't for me.

>25 gmacaree: thank you for your thoughtful response. We are contemplating making additional slipcases. Not a big deal, and possibly as an add-on. Our boxes fit books from 96 to 474 pages, while slipcases have to be made for each title. We'll look into that. Can you show your favourite slipcase?

>26 ErikSpiekermann: I think my favourite slipcases are those made by the Yolla Bolly Press for their books. Their spines tended not to have much information on them, but they paired them with very simple slipcases with paper labels, giving the option of shelving spine-in or out depending on the collector's preferences. Here's an example:



Finding the title of the book (if anyone here hasn't read Saroyan, by the way, you absolutely should!) more interesting than the scribbled signature of the author on the spine of the book itself, this one goes spine-in for me.

I also quite like the Powell's Indiespensible slipcases, although these merely replicate the information on the dust jacket, and I shelve those ones spine-out.

I love slipcase. Hence the reason I collect LEC books and folio society. It’s just that extra sense of protection. Although I agree with your decision choice for dust jackets I have also found them a chore due to having to buy and enclose the dust jacket wrapper in a dust jacket sleeve protector such as Broadart. Slipcase are just easier. And as an add on it would easier cater to those that want to show off the slipcase and those that want the dust jackets. Unless of course you could include dust jacket protectors on your hand printed dust wrappers? I’ve seen some publisher selling books that are already protected. Pelican books especially the hard backs do sometimes come with a sleeve. The Shakespeare one I bought from Waterstones came with one.

>27 gmacaree: thank you. We will not want to paste 1000 small labels onto the spine of a slipcase. But we may provide the empty case and the sticker for those who want them!

>28 ironjaw: that’s sounds wonderful. A little DIY. Would you consider letterpress printed sticker/title?

of course we would. Self-adhesive labels printed on a platen press

>27 gmacaree: I want to ask you if their hardcovers are sewn with good paper…but I’m also worried about accumulating more books!

>32 RRCBS: “but I’m also worried about accumulating more books!”

Don’t tell me but I just subscribed to Thornwillow’s Monthly Dispatch. Enjoy your life and read your books. Don’t let them stay unread. I think Moses said it was one of the Ten Commandments.

>33 ironjaw: For sure! Just with two young kids to devote the bulk of my time to, I have much less time to read my books, but I seem to be accumulating books at a faster rate!

>29 ErikSpiekermann: Would work for me!

>32 RRCBS: They're Smyth-sewn and the paper is good. I mentioned in another thread that I'd prefer the paper a little thicker, but any minor criticisms or suggestions come out of a real appreciation for TOC's work, which is excellent. I plan on becoming a regular :)

>35 gmacaree: I meant the Powell’s Indispensables, sorry, wasn’t specific in my question!

I just finished reading the TOC Half of a Yellow Sun. I found it provided a great reading experience. Among the many nice things about it, the book size in perfect for a cozy but comfortable read (those who remember my posts know I’m not a fan of large books!). Will definitely follow future releases with interest!

>36 RRCBS: Oh. No, I think they're just 'normal' hardcovers signed and slipcased. Their selection matches my taste well enough for me to keep up my subscription, but unfortunately for me they've just cancelled all their UK deliveries

>37 RRCBS: I can’t agree more. Some Folio a society books are just too large to hold. I usually read sitting on the sofa or in bed before sleep so portability is important.

>34 RRCBS: young kids

What a great and perfect time to bring out the children classics. You can read all of them as you go through your reading pile of you’ve not read them before such as treasure island and Fables Aesop

>39 ironjaw: I love big books and I cannot lie etc etc. I don't read in bed though!

>40 ironjaw: I usually read in bed with one of my four cats on my lap so size matters a lot! I keep dithering on selling my FS Ulysses since I already have the Everyman’s Library for that reason!

I can’t wait to introduce my kids to the beauty of books. They’re still too young for nice books now (4 and 2), but definitely a big driver in amassing a nice, diverse home library.

>37 RRCBS: 🙏😊

>42 RRCBS: I would highly recommend Stephen Fry and his Greek myths book.

This thread is getting dangerous to my book budget. If only my budget was infinite like the Pentagon's, ...although I would prefer theirs was more like mine. The Deborah Levy looks interesting as well. I haven't read anything of hers.

For what it is worth, I'm a total slipcase fan. And I cover all books with dustjackets with (Brodart) archival covers. So I like slipcases that can accommodate that additional thickness. I'm a Indiespensible subscriber (since about #9 of 91, and the completist in me is not happy about missing those first 8) and the slipcases are definitely a draw for me. I would be totally fine with a plain slipcase but would love an extra spine label so I could shelf spine in. Making them an add-on at purchase is also fine. I have a hundred year old set of Balzac that has an extra spine label tipped into the last page of each volume, which I assume are for making slipcases. Some day I'll get around to learning how to make them.

I'm sure everyone received the same message, but Powell's announced they are suspending Indiespensable after #93.

I'm going to struggle to find a similar outlet of contemporary fiction.

>46 kcshankd: Fortunately it sounds like it will be back in some form in 2022. I recommend you consider the Harvard Book Store Signed First Edition Club, if you haven't already: https://www.harvard.com/clubs_services/first_edition_club/

Enabled, thank you, especially lured by upcoming novels by Powers and Doerr!

It will be interesting to see what Powell's comes up with next year.

Hi from Berlin, finally we managed to get our next book in stock. The global paper shortage interfered badly with our schedule. Now Toc. 03 The Sea by John Banville is available. This edition has an extra second color orange printed letterpress. We recommend to have look at the typeface - Signifier by Kris Sowersby from New Zealand. For more details you may subscribe to our newsletter or go to www.toc.berlin. A special thanks to all of the book lovers out here who have supported us in the last months.

In these days of supply chain issues, shipping delays, and general chaos in the fragile global commercial system, my Half of a Yellow Sun made it from Berlin to California in two days. Wow! And I am utterly delighted with it at first glance and while entering it into my LT catalog. Can't wait for a reread of this novel.

New volume out from TOC Berlin - The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. This is a non-fiction title and a Pulitzer Prize winner. The URL is a bit wonky, looks like a copy-and-paste page from a previous volume, but it does show the book:

https://www.toc.berlin/products/kopie-von-john-banville-the-sea

I've ordered my copy and happily it has free shipping to the US. I would assume the same for at least EU customers, since it's a German product.

>52 Shadekeep: This is the title I’ve been waiting on from their original list of 12, so I’ll likely jump back in as well.

I’m curious, have you purchased the whole series? Has production remained pretty consistent with the first 2?

>53 NathanOv: I actually only have Half of a Yellow Sun from them so far, but have been looking forward to this one. Perhaps someone else here has a more comprehensive run and can answer if the quality has been maintained. I would expect it has, given the amount of time they allocate to each title, but they may have encountered supply chain issue or other compromising factors beyond their control.

>54 Shadekeep: I've actually been hoping they've switched things up a little (more binding variety, more prominent printing and intentional typography), but I'll be getting it for the title either way. Half of a Yellow Sun was a solid production, though.

>55 NathanOv: Aye, I'm not adverse to variety and experimentation as the press grows. But you are correct, that was a thoroughly well-done book.

I have the first 4 and just ordered TOC05. I really appreciate the modern editorial decisions and have enjoyed discovering titles I wasn't familiar with. They are all similarly excellent reading-sized copies with letterpress printing, lovely cloth bindings, good paper and endpapers, ribbon markers, signed for those who care, plus interesting commentary from the publisher and designer. The dustjackets are well done, but would like to have slipcases as an option. But all this for $190CAD with free shipping across the Atlantic seems like a bargain these days.

>57 jsavoy: Thanks, glad to hear they've maintained quality across the line!

The Sixth Extinction arrived today, very quick turn around! Once again it's nicely packaged in the TOC box (which is a great protector but a little odd on the shelf, so I display the book without it). The book is tissue wrapped and came with a very nice piece of ephemera. I don't recall if similar came with Yellow Sun or not, it's been a while, but it's a welcome addition. The interior is handsomely set letterpress. All initial impressions are positive.

>54 Shadekeep: hi, this is Birgit from TOC. Maybe we have to get better communicating what we are doing. 😊For each book we try to balance between the TOC standards and some extras. TOC 4 Boyd is printed in dark blue with a blue sewn binding. TOC 5 Kolbert is a three-color-letterpress print: Green and yellow for the illustration inside and black for the text. Also, choosing a modern typeface enhancing the text is taking it’s time and the very typesetting. But this is not so obvious but we think it adds a lot to the quality we want to provide. I just have uploaded more photos on the website www.toc.berlin.

>59 Shadekeep: I have some good news for collectors: we are finalizing our modular slipcase which will protect each book but also look nice on the shelf. We make sure everything will be ready before X-Mas.

>61 birgitmschmitz: Fantastic news, looking forward to more on the slipcases! Thanks, Birgit!

>60 birgitmschmitz: Recently received my second book from TOC and I was both surprised and pleased that the books have different style elements within their unified format. Well done.

>63 kdweber: 🙏

The sixth volume, and last of the first series (if that makes sense), is out now. It's The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud.



More information at: https://www.toc.berlin/products/claire-messud-the-woman-upstairs

EDIT: Fixed image link.

Tempting! I like her book The Burning Girl.

I received my copy of The Woman Upstairs yesterday and very happy with it. Elegant design and interesting choice. Looking forward to reading it!

The new seventh volume, and first of the new series, is available for order now. It is The Craftsman by Richard Sennett.

https://www.toc.berlin/products/richard-sennett-the-craftsman



EDIT: A nice aspect of the new book is a series of photos in the center showing the letterpress process.

TOC Berlin's most exciting release yet.

The Craftsman just arrived, #109. Fast and efficient shipping as always, TOC Berlin really seems to have their act together. This is another fine volume and one to get into soon.

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer is now available.

>71 A.Nobody: I like the book and am excited to see this author in fine press, but am curious to hear if they maintained the unique typography and other design elements that are present in the trade edition.