Phil, master printer and partner/creator of Arete Editions and private press publisher of Hand & Eye editions has a brilliant interview and offers insights in to letterpress printing at collectable book vault, not to be missed! And they are giving away some free stuff donated by us! See now at:
Phil’s Interview at Collectable Book Vault Read More »
In preparation is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. First published in 1926, it is now recognised as one of the most significant works of fantasy. It was largely unknown for many years, although it was revered by authors and devotees of the genre.
Neil Gaiman has described it as;
‘Hope Mirrlees only wrote one fantasy novel, but it is one of the finest in the English language.
The book begins as a travelogue or a history, becomes a pastorale, a low comedy, a high comedy, a ghost story and a detective story. The writing is elegant, supple, effective and haunting: the author demands a great deal from her readers, which she repays many times over.
It is a little golden miracle of a book, adult, in the best sense, and, as the best fantasy should be, far from reassuring.’
It is one of his top ten favourite books.
Our edition will have over forty stunning relief prints by Scott McKowen. Neil Gaiman suggested that we commission him, and it was a masterful idea!
In preparation is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. Read More »
Next on the press is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald with illustrations by Dave McKean. He is using a modern version of the two- and three-colour techniques that made mid-twentieth century illustrated books so exciting. It too, along with Frozen Hell, is due to be completed this spring.
Modern version of the two- and three-colour techniques. Read More »
This was a dreadful night, I know as I was helping to move art in the same studio block. They are self funded, so any help for this amazing resource I’m sure would be gratefully received!
Please support the London Center for Book Arts! Read More »
We all hope that you have had a wonderful break, much needed here! First, a big thank you!
We started Areté two-and-a-half years ago and we are most grateful for your support since then – we couldn’t have got this far without you. Thank you.
We have been working on some wonderful artist-driven books during 2023 which will be coming out this year. Here is Frozen Hell, written by John W. Campbell and illustrated by Gregory Manchess, is due for completion in the first quarter. The letterpress text has been printed and the colour prints are now on the press. binding is going to be a long, complex job as we want the plates to lie completely flat when the book is open. Some of them are a metre wide!
We have been working on some wonderful artist-driven books… Read More »
We started Areté two-and-a-half years ago and we are most grateful for your support since then – we couldn’t have got this far without you. Thank you.
And now we want to tell you about our plans for the coming year.
Marcelo and Phil
We have a spectacular year coming. We have been working on some wonderful artist-driven books during 2023 which will be coming out this year. Frozen Hell, written by John W. Campbell and illustrated by Gregory Manchess, is due for completion in the first quarter. The letterpress text has been printed and the colour prints are now on the press. binding is going to be a long, complex job as we want the plates to lie completely flat when the book is open. Some of them are a metre wide!
Next on the press is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald with illustrations by Dave McKean. He is using a modern version of the two- and three-colour techniques that made mid-twentieth century illustrated books so exciting. It too is due to be completed this spring.
Both these books are available for pre-order from our online store. Happily we’ve been able to implement staged payments for all our books – just look for the Partially option in the checkout.
We are working with Allen Jones R.A. on an important new edition of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The book has long been recognised as one of the most important pieces of English twentieth-century literature and is a worthy subject for an artist of Allen’s stature. He has been excited by the idea of an artist’s book from the start and over the last two years has created dozens of new images in colour and monochrome. The centre-piece will be a twelve-page section made up entirely of his colour prints.
We’ll be announcing more in the coming months. Meanwhile, here are a few of the images Allen has been working on.
Also in preparation is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. First published in 1926, it is now recognised as one of the most significant works of fantasy. It was largely unknown for many years, although it was revered by authors and devotees of the genre. Neil Gaiman has described it as “one of the finest fantasy novels in the English language… It is a little golden miracle of a book.” The writing, he says, is “elegant, supple, effective and haunting: the author demands a great deal from her readers, which she repays many times over.” It is one of his top ten favourite books.
Our edition will have over forty stunning relief prints by Scott McKowen. Neil Gaiman suggested that we commission him, and it was a masterful idea.
We’re very happy that we have an on-going relationship with Neil Gaiman and we are working on new projects with him. We can’t say more at the moment except that we know these are going to be really exciting books.
Stand by for further news
and Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from Areté Editions! Read More »
We have two Frozen Hell Roman Editions up for sale in our store! One return and one we kept as a possible need but we’ve decided to put up for sale;
https://www.arete-editions.com/store/Frozen-Hell-The-Roman-Edition-p577857278
We have two Frozen Hell Roman Editions up for sale in our store! Read More »
Partial.ly payments are now live, so if you want to pay in instalments I think you have to register with https://partial.ly/how-it-works/customers first and then order at https://www.arete-editions.com/store/
Partial.ly payments now available! Read More »
These unique books will be available for pre-sale from our website https://www.arete-editions.com/ From Nov. 4th at 5pm GMT
This book is lavishly illustrated by the extraordinary Dave McKean. Dave has produced seventeen letterpress relief prints in three colours including three double-page plates that are tabbed into the book blocks to allow opening without a gutter. These are printed and bound in to a seventy-two-page book. It is a true artist’s vision.
The classic story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a wonderful tale of magic realism by an American literary giant that tells the fable of a man who is born an old, aged man and regresses to a baby, born on the eve of the American civil war, its subtle satire covers the changes of society in a world in transformation.
The Numbered edition:
An edition of 200 copies, of which 180 are for sale.
72 pages, 286 x 206 mm
The book will be quarter bound, with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. The face papers are hand marbled by Freya Scott of Paperwilds and foil blocked in two colours to the front board. The top page edge will be gilded.
The book will come in a cloth-covered slipcase, lined in light brown suedel. The front of the slipcase will be foil blocked in three colours.
Signed by Dave McKean and numbered.
£395.00 plus shipping
The Lettered Edition:
72 pages, 286 x 206 mm
An edition of 36 copies, of which 26 will be lettered A-Z for sale. Six copies hors de commerce will be marked in red roman numerals.
The book will be fully bound with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. There will be two passes of foil blocking to the front board in black and cream and one pass to the spine in cream. All three of the page edges will be gilded.
It will come in a cloth covered solander box with a large leather label affixed to the front. The label to be foil blocked in three passes, with a further pass to the spine in black.
Signed by Dave McKean and numbered remarqued with an original Dave McKean picture.
£1450.00 plus shipping
Expected to be shipped 1st quarter 2024.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Numbered and Lettered! Read More »
