The FS Andrew Lang Fairy Books - a question for the FSD.
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1dlphcoracl
For the FSD-ers that own a substantial number of the Folio Society Andrew Lang Fairy Books, my question is:
Which 1 or 2 (at most) do you find the most attractive in this series, with regard to both illustrations AND the quality of the actual folk tales?
In your collective minds, are there any standouts?
Which 1 or 2 (at most) do you find the most attractive in this series, with regard to both illustrations AND the quality of the actual folk tales?
In your collective minds, are there any standouts?
2Bob_the_Reader
>1 dlphcoracl: The Andrew Lang fairy books are all look stunning. Good luck finding them though. Folio Society refuses to rerelease them. It doesnt make sense, they would be a massive hit with buyers.
3SF-72
>1 dlphcoracl:
My favourite illustrators of these books are Niroot Puttapipat, Charles van Sandwyk and Kate Baylay. I can't say anything about the quality of the content in that regard, though, but my impression was that there aren't any huge differences between the volumes there.
My favourite illustrators of these books are Niroot Puttapipat, Charles van Sandwyk and Kate Baylay. I can't say anything about the quality of the content in that regard, though, but my impression was that there aren't any huge differences between the volumes there.
4podaniel
>3 SF-72:
I agree--but I also greatly admire the illlustrations of Tomislav Tomic (Orange Fairy Book) and Omar Rayyan (Brown Fairy Book). Indeed, Mr. Rayyan's might be my favorite.
I agree--but I also greatly admire the illlustrations of Tomislav Tomic (Orange Fairy Book) and Omar Rayyan (Brown Fairy Book). Indeed, Mr. Rayyan's might be my favorite.
5Willoyd
>2 Bob_the_Reader:
They've stated several times that, unlike the few that have been rereleased (eg Blue), most were set up using software they no longer have access to, which means they wouldn't just be a rerelease but a whole new production. I'm no expert on how accurate that claim might be, but I see no reason to doubt them. I suspect that if there were just one or two volumes to produce, then they might have done so, but to do a complete set would be a pretty substantial investment. They will have access to figures which tell them whether it would make sense or not - rather more reliable I suspect than a gut feel. I'm sure that if it had made sense, then they'd have done it, rather than deny it can be done.
They've stated several times that, unlike the few that have been rereleased (eg Blue), most were set up using software they no longer have access to, which means they wouldn't just be a rerelease but a whole new production. I'm no expert on how accurate that claim might be, but I see no reason to doubt them. I suspect that if there were just one or two volumes to produce, then they might have done so, but to do a complete set would be a pretty substantial investment. They will have access to figures which tell them whether it would make sense or not - rather more reliable I suspect than a gut feel. I'm sure that if it had made sense, then they'd have done it, rather than deny it can be done.
6SF-72
>1 dlphcoracl:
If this is about picking one or two: I would recommend googling the artwork and make a decision based on your personal taste. And the blue one / van Sandwyk is still available from FS, so that one would be easy to get at a reasonable price.
If this is about picking one or two: I would recommend googling the artwork and make a decision based on your personal taste. And the blue one / van Sandwyk is still available from FS, so that one would be easy to get at a reasonable price.
7kb-42
My favourite illustrators are Tomislav Tomic (he catches the essence of fairy tale very well in my opinion, orange fairy book 2013) , Lauren Nassef (grey fairy book, 2013), Kate Baylay (olive book 20212, reminiscence to Kay Nielsen) and Omar Rayyan (paintings reminding of a bygone era, detailed and colorful, brown fairy book 2010). You can have a quite briefly but good look here: https://beautifulbooks.info/illustrated-bibliographies/folio-society-rainbow-fai...
8dlphcoracl
All comments above acknowledged and appreciated!
>7 kb-42: Thank you for the specific recommendations and link to an excellent article and video.
>7 kb-42: Thank you for the specific recommendations and link to an excellent article and video.
9Priyesh2022
This is an informative thread. Any ideas of which, if any, if the other books will be re-released aside from the blue?
10CLWggg
>9 Priyesh2022: It is very unlikely that any other titles in this series will be reprinted – the artwork and layouting for the other volumes were produced using software that is now defunct and would therefore need to be recreated from scratch.
11Priyesh2022
>10 CLWggg: that’s a little disappointing but thank you very much for the update!
12woodstock8786
I had recently written to the FS customer service asking about Agatha Christie, but also about the Fairy Books.
I got a very informative answer. They will not re-release all of the Fairy books, because they weren’t all selling that well. They could consider re-releasing some favourites like the red one, but that isn’t a priority…
(Definitely no re-releases of Agatha Christie as well)
I got a very informative answer. They will not re-release all of the Fairy books, because they weren’t all selling that well. They could consider re-releasing some favourites like the red one, but that isn’t a priority…
(Definitely no re-releases of Agatha Christie as well)
13ChampagneSVP
>10 CLWggg: This is often cited as a reason that Folio won't reprint some of the colors of the Rainbow Fairy set, but I'm not convinced. Presumably it wouldn't be much harder than creating any other new publication (which obviously they do many times a year) and I think they'd be guaranteed quick sellers. Seems silly for them not to give it a go.
14MobyRichard
>5 Willoyd:
Interesting...I had assumed it was due to some limitation imposed by prior agreement with the artists. I would agree with others, that FS would be financially justified in reprinting the whole series. Even beat up copies of the original fairy books (19th century printings) command crazy prices and are guaranteed sellers today. While they do have fantastic bindings, the interior illustrations aren't really all that impressive from what I've seen...the FS illustrations are superior.
Interesting...I had assumed it was due to some limitation imposed by prior agreement with the artists. I would agree with others, that FS would be financially justified in reprinting the whole series. Even beat up copies of the original fairy books (19th century printings) command crazy prices and are guaranteed sellers today. While they do have fantastic bindings, the interior illustrations aren't really all that impressive from what I've seen...the FS illustrations are superior.
15AnnieMod
>13 ChampagneSVP: I doubt that it will be a guaranteed sale - most of these had been in numerous sales and intro offers and so on. And probably they won't be quick sales at the price these books will most likely come out at. Plus it is unclear if Folio has permission to reprint the illustrations (or how much more they will need to pay in royalties for using them).
So they will need to invest in preparing the designs again, the illustrations (most likely both royalties and additional preparation for printing) and all kinds of other things -- for books which they could not give away for years. Why spend money on that when they can work on new titles? Reprints are easier -- a lot of the prep work is eliminated - these won't be reprints though due to the change in technology.
So they will need to invest in preparing the designs again, the illustrations (most likely both royalties and additional preparation for printing) and all kinds of other things -- for books which they could not give away for years. Why spend money on that when they can work on new titles? Reprints are easier -- a lot of the prep work is eliminated - these won't be reprints though due to the change in technology.
16dlphcoracl
>14 MobyRichard:
Your analysis is deeply flawed.
The "beat up copies of the original fairy books (19th century printings)" appeal to a very different subset of book collectors than collectors interested in beautiful non-letterpress books (Folio Society) or fine press editions in very small limitations which epitomize The Arts of the Book (Kelmscott Press, Ashendene, etc.). These early Andrew Lang Fairy Books are highly sought after by collectors who specialize in acquiring first edition/first printing copies of famous books. This is an entirely different ball game, and a very expensive one at that.
As examples: the 1st edition/1st printing of works such as Moby Dick, Leaves of Grass, Darwin's The Origin of the Species, etc., come in ordinary cloth bindings with paucity of illustrations and they are almost always flawed in some manner with regard to book condition. No one would consider them to be attractive or beautiful. Nevertheless, they will routinely fetch between $70,000 to $100,000 AT AUCTION (!), depending on condition, and much more from fine and rare booksellers.
My point: you are comparing apples to oranges, i.e., different groups of book collectors.
Your analysis is deeply flawed.
The "beat up copies of the original fairy books (19th century printings)" appeal to a very different subset of book collectors than collectors interested in beautiful non-letterpress books (Folio Society) or fine press editions in very small limitations which epitomize The Arts of the Book (Kelmscott Press, Ashendene, etc.). These early Andrew Lang Fairy Books are highly sought after by collectors who specialize in acquiring first edition/first printing copies of famous books. This is an entirely different ball game, and a very expensive one at that.
As examples: the 1st edition/1st printing of works such as Moby Dick, Leaves of Grass, Darwin's The Origin of the Species, etc., come in ordinary cloth bindings with paucity of illustrations and they are almost always flawed in some manner with regard to book condition. No one would consider them to be attractive or beautiful. Nevertheless, they will routinely fetch between $70,000 to $100,000 AT AUCTION (!), depending on condition, and much more from fine and rare booksellers.
My point: you are comparing apples to oranges, i.e., different groups of book collectors.
17What_What
>15 AnnieMod: I agree with >13 ChampagneSVP:: it doesn’t make sense to me that the FS somehow lost “the software” used to create the Fairy Books. And even if they somehow lost it, reprinting them would be magnitudes easier than starting a book from scratch. The designs are already all there; the illustrations are complete and would require simply a renegotiation with the illustrators, rather than a new engagement and many months for the creative process to see its finish; and the marketing, well, it markets itself practically.
Also, it’s not really useful to suggest that because some of the fairy books had to be put on sale to exhaust the inventory, they wouldn’t be successful now. Look at Beowulf, for example. Also, the FS probably has more customers and wider reach than it has ever had in its history.
Also, it’s not really useful to suggest that because some of the fairy books had to be put on sale to exhaust the inventory, they wouldn’t be successful now. Look at Beowulf, for example. Also, the FS probably has more customers and wider reach than it has ever had in its history.
18Evelyn2108
Yes, wish they would reprint them.
The books were poor sellers, but now they’ve enjoyed a renaissance thanks to social media. They should sell much better now that there is an established market. I’d love to see them do one of the books that only had a single printing. Everyone who owns partial sets would rush to buy it.
Also, now that they’ve printed the blue, many folks who bought the blue want to add to the collection. It will be disappointing if they release red next, as that one is fairly easy to acquire.
The books were poor sellers, but now they’ve enjoyed a renaissance thanks to social media. They should sell much better now that there is an established market. I’d love to see them do one of the books that only had a single printing. Everyone who owns partial sets would rush to buy it.
Also, now that they’ve printed the blue, many folks who bought the blue want to add to the collection. It will be disappointing if they release red next, as that one is fairly easy to acquire.
19AnnieMod
>17 What_What: You never had a program unavailable on any running OS and data stuck inside of proprietary format that cannot be extracted? And no - it won’t be easier if they cannot read the usually proprietary formats anymore - they will be starting from scratch. I think you are underestimating a lot of what gets into getting a book ready for print, especially a book you may not have a ready to use text (which is most likely the case here). Not to mention the illustrations and their formats.
Of course, if you prefer not to believe them, nothing will convince you. :) If they believed they have the market for it, they probably would have done the work. Someone probably ran the numbers - they are a business after all.
Of course, if you prefer not to believe them, nothing will convince you. :) If they believed they have the market for it, they probably would have done the work. Someone probably ran the numbers - they are a business after all.
20Evelyn2108
Looking at sold listings on eBay it appears the orange and grey fairy books are the only folio society SE’s that sell for over $1000, and they routinely sell for that price.
I obviously don’t know all the ins and out of the expenses involved, but of all the SE’s they’ve published, these clearly have the most demand.
I obviously don’t know all the ins and out of the expenses involved, but of all the SE’s they’ve published, these clearly have the most demand.
