OT: Beehive Books - 2020 pre-orders

I've been watching Beehive books for a while now but never ordered. C&P cover looks beautiful to my eyes; I love the slipcase blood effect on Raskolnikov's axe.

Crime and Punishment

A slipcase hardcover edition of Fyodor Dostoevsky's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, lavishly illustrated by Dave McKean and designed by Maëlle Doliveux. Each slipcase will be die-cut, foil blocked, and embossed and debossed to create a three dimensional impression of Dave’s beautiful artwork. Translation by Constance Garnett.

9x12”. Will ship in June of 2020.



Peter Pan

A slipcase hardcover edition of J. M. Barrie’s PETER PAN, lavishly illustrated by Brecht Evans and designed by Maëlle Doliveux. Each slipcase will be die-cut, foil blocked, and embossed and debossed to create a three dimensional impression of Brecht’s beautiful artwork.

9x12”. Will ship in June of 2020.



The Blazing World

A slipcase hardcover edition of Margaret Cavendish’s THE BLAZING WORLD, lavishly illustrated by Rebekka Dunlap and designed by Maëlle Doliveux. Each slipcase will be die-cut, foil blocked, and embossed and debossed to create a three dimensional impression of Rebekka’s beautiful artwork.

9x12”. Will ship in June of 2020.

>1 bacchus.:

Beautiful, but are they limited?

^ I don't think any of their books are limited.

They are not limited. They are very nice, however. Personally, I wouldn’t buy the C&P with the intention of reading it, because their books are rather large, but the illustrations look nice. Bonus, I bought mine from Amazon Canada for $96 and free Prime shipping!

Tempted by The Blazing World

Very nice indeed, and I notice that most of Beehive's output is available, or available to pre-order, on Amazon UK at pretty reasonable prices (£60-£70) or less from resellers. I even found one on same day delivery! Thank you for this, clymbouris, I shall keep a close eye on them in the future.

I keep going back and forth on their Island of Dr. Moreau, but I really dislike how busy the spines are on these books. Peter Pan is the only one with a spine that doesn't clash with the cover art. Do they look any better in person?

>7 SolerSystem: I purchased Island of Dr. Moreau and The Willows. I had been iffy on the design based on the pictures online, and so was very pleasantly surprised by how cohesive and elegant the designs are in person. There's something almost anime-like about the design that I like very much, although that may not be to everyone's taste.

The texture of the books themselves is matte, while the slipcases have more gloss and some raised texture to them. The computer generated images don't do them justice.

I will say that the titles on the spines get a bit lost, especially for the two slim volumes I ordered. But that doesn't bother me.

>"Beautiful, but are they limited?"

I have the Oscar Wilde Tales, and it is a 2500 copies edition as per the colophon. It's not however numbered nor stated that there will not be a second edition.

It says ships June 2020 for C&P but it is still in pre order? Is there a delay?

>10 RickFlair: Yes it is, see here the statement: "Things have been bumped back a touch more -- but not too far. We're now looking at receiving our shipments in early September, and shipping out to backers throughout September and early October. "

Just watched the unboxing of these three..Peter Pan and The Blazing World stayed true to what is pictured but Crime and Punishment's slip case is nothing like on the picture. Sort of disappointed because it's the one I'm looking for out of the three of them.

>12 HamburgerHelper:

Do you have a link?

>12 HamburgerHelper: "Crime and Punishment's slip case is nothing like on the picture"

Dostoevsky said Raskolnikov was a strikingly handsome 23-year-old. Was the pictured slip case supposed to depict him? If so, I'm not seeing it.

>13 SF-72: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDztHN6n9cp/

instagram beehivebooks

>15 kb-42:

Thanks.

I watched the video and found Blazing world too playful for my liking.

I'd be interested to see more of Peter Pan - I believe Beehive's style will suit it nicely.

They look really nice. But also pretty huge. Does anyone know the sizes?

>18 Xaris84: "Each edition is an oversized 9x12" hardcover edition, cloth-bound in sewn signatures from 148-320 pages, enclosed in elaborately debossed and embossed die-cut slipcases, which create a topographical map of the interior artwork in foil blocking. "

Did everyone get their Beehive books? How is everyone liking them? I'm thinking of getting Crime & Punishment

>4 RRCBS: I hope Amazon Canada i better than here in the US, most books come damaged here due to the VERY POOR packaging. They used to shrink wrap books to a larger piece of cardboard, but now theyjust throw them in a larger box with either too little padding or none!

>21 Frank_Zwolinski: Barnes and Noble tends to do this a lot as well. Boxes that are too big and no protection inside the box.

What a shame they use Constance Garnett as translator for Crime and Punishment. Hers is probably the least accurate of all translations available.

>23 cronshaw:

I would assume it's nice and cheap (or rather free) due to its age, but yes, I do wish that publishers these days didn't make that the deciding factor.

>21 Frank_Zwolinski: You should be pretty safe with the Beehive editions, as they ship inside of a publisher's stiff cardboard clamshell box (for shipping only, I think, not long-term storage), which seems to keep the books reliably safe from even Amazon's shoddy packaging.

Did anybody buy Crime and Punishment? Are they even shipping Crime and Punishment now? I've been looking for this book and sadly there is not a limited editions club version available in good condition right now. So I thought I might get the Beehive edition. Looking for more pictures and feedback about it.

>26 RickFlair: Dave McKean did the art. He's a great illustrator, but you should check out his style before you decide to buy this. It's very distinctive and not to everyone's liking. Also, as others have pointed out, it's the Constance Garnett translation which isn't exactly stellar. Not trying to put you off purchasing this, just making sure you know what you'd be getting. ;) You can find several plates pictured here: https://www.budsartbooks.com/product/crime-and-punishment/

>26 RickFlair:

I don't know if that's of interest to you, but Folio Society also published an illustrated edition, though also with the Garnett translation, which seems to be problematic. There's a video about it at this link, I'm not connected to the maker of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKUh9lSy68c

>28 SF-72: The Folio edition was translated by David McDuff.

>29 assemblyman:

Thank you for the correction. It seems to have been an older edition from the 50s that used the Garnett-translation, at least according to some information on google. I don't have that edition.

>28 SF-72: I've read a number of discussions comparing Dostoevsky translations, as he's one of my favorite authors. The major complain against Garnett seems to be more about datedness (and perhaps some Victorian sensibility) than mistranslation or lack of style. People with positive things to say include Joseph Conrad, D. H. Lawrence, and Ernest Hemingway, while Nabokov critiqued her translation for being too demure (but given Nabokov's penchant for transgression, perhaps this represents his own desire as well as Dostoevsky's text).

Unlike some older translations, I wouldn't necessarily assume Garnett should be avoided as especially "problematic" or flawed.

I should probably clarify that I referred to post 27 when I wrote that the Garnett translation seems to be problematic. I really can't judge it myself since I don't speak Russian and can't make a comparison. Different translations are often a matter of taste, as long as the translators don't butcher the content, for example by bowdlerising passages, leaving out others etc.

>33 SF-72: It's a fair point. I can't judge the translation either in terms of accuracy or of reflecting the author's intent. I just know that it's out of favor compared to more modern translations such as the Volokhonsky/Pevear translation and that when I tried reading the Garnett translation, I didn't exactly find it gripping.

>27 whytewolf1: Which translation and publisher do you prefer? I noticed that Limited Editions Club and Heritage Press also use the Garnett translation so I figured it was a very popular translation. But I know nothing of the different translations and which is considered the best.

>35 RickFlair: Garnett's translations of Russian literature were well-thought-of in their day (and I guess, in some quarters, still are), but they are Victorian-era translations that also happen to be in the public domain and are now free of licensing fees which at least partially explains their continued popularity.

The most popular and well-considered translations today for pretty much all Dostoevsky and Tolstoy's major works are the ones by Volokhonsky & Pevear. For Crime and Punishment, specifically, I have also heard very good things about Oliver Ready's translation. Richard Pasternak Slater also did a translation in recent years that received some good reviews.

You may actually want to try accessing the first pages of each translation on Amazon (or in a physical bookstore) to see which one(s) you find most readable.

Just thought I’d update this thread with the three new books coming out in November 2021, plus The Willows, which I quite like.

For the new books, there are three editions: a normal one in a slipcase ($100), a signed and numbered one in a slipcase ($250), and a signed and lettered one in a cloth clamshell box ($800). The descriptions below are based on the $100 ones.

Kwaidan & Shadowings, by Lafcadio Hearn

Illustrated by Kent Williams, and introduced by Kyoko Yoshida.
9x12”, slipcased.



A Voyage to Arcturus, by David Lindsay

Illustrated by Jim Woodring, and introduced by Alan Moore.
9x12”, slipcased.



The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Illustrated by the Balbusso Sisters, and doesn’t seem to have an introduction.
9x12”, slipcased.



The Willows & Other Nightmares, by Algernon Blackwood (nominative determinism strikes again)

Illustrated by Paul Pope, coloured by Omar Abdullah, and introduced by Ramsey Campbell.
9x12”, slipcased.

(There aren’t really many nice editions of Algernon Blackwood’s work, so this was an instabuy for me)


Currently got The Willows and The Blazing World, looking forward to getting A Voyage to Arcturus and Kwaidan as well!

Beehive Books Shop (Upcoming Books) | Beehive Books Shop (Current Books)

>37 Xandian97: What did you think of The Blazing World? For me it was a very disappointing read.

I'm disappointed by the Kwaidan -- I would have gotten a copy except I hate the art. Art is subjective obviously, but this is a swing and a miss for me. Looks like they're trying to do a realistic style inspired by "The Ring," when something more stylized and reminiscent of ukiyoe woodblock prints would have fit the work much better in my opinion.

And what a missed opportunity not to commission Yuko Shimizu!! She did the lovely contemporary take on ukiyoe for FS's Japanese Tales, and she also did the very graphic, modern art for Beehive's own Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde. It boggles my mind that they didn't ask her.

>36 whytewolf1:
The most popular and well-considered translations today for pretty much all Dostoevsky and Tolstoy's major works are the ones by Volokhonsky & Pevear. For Crime and Punishment, specifically, I have also heard very good things about Oliver Ready's translation. Richard Pasternak Slater also did a translation in recent years that received some good reviews.
I have found V&P horribly clunky, now avoid them like the proverbial plague, and would put their C&P bottom of the four mentioned: I gave up on it (as I did on their War and Peace - Edmonds infinitely more readable), and have gone over to the Ready, which I am really enjoying. As you say, the Garnett is 'Victorian era', but I tend to like those. Once you get used to the rhythms of the older style of language, they are often eminently readable - for instance I positively enjoyed the Wilbour translation of Les Mis (and hated the Rose).

>37 Xandian97: Nice to see Algernon Blackwood getting some respect at last. For me, Blackwood is up there with Machen as one of the best British horror writers. It would be nice to see him being published by FS.

I have not read A Voyage to Arcturus- would love to hear thought from anyone who has. This edition seems intriguing.

>39 distantriver: Your thoughts exactly matched my own when this was first announced. A good copy of Kwaidan has been on my list for a while, but that artwork! I too would use the word hate. Yuko Shimizu would have been great, or Masumi Ishikawa for a modern ukiyo-e take. I’ll just keep waiting for another publisher to take it up, or for a fine LEC copy to appear within my budget.

>41 Quicksilver66: I agree. The Willows is one of the masterpieces of short fiction in any genre. It’s too bad (for me) the magazine style graphic design of Beehive doesn’t work for me. The story deserves a fine treatment.

Yes, art is very subjective. For me Kwaidan has great art. I have been a fan of Kent Williams work for years. I am not keen on the cover, but really like the interior art.

>39 distantriver: Interestingly, as they have described it, the approach that Beehive takes is to seek out artists they would really like to work with and to ask them what would they like to do as their dream project (presumably out of the universe of freely available public domain works), and they sign a contract for them to do it. I'm sure there's a bit more to it than that, but this is the crux of it as they describe it. So, if they are to be believed, they contracted with Kent Williams, and he chose to do Kwaidan, not vice-versa.

>43 mnmcdwl:

Interesting...I would have expected a better reaction. The cover illustration seems pretty good to me. Reminds me of the Kwaidan movie (Hoichi the Earless). I haven't read the book though, so maybe it's not a good match for the text.

>25 whytewolf1: I did purchase Petr Pan and it is beautiful. But I wonder if all their books come in slipcasses. I have emailed them but no answer yet?

>48 Frank_Zwolinski: As far as I know, they do all come in slipcases.

Hi I just revived this thread to ask a question. I just received the Beehive edition of The Willows. Does anyone else have it? The description on Amazon and Kickstarter say bound in cloth but feels like paper to me!

>50 Atheistic: I have it and definitely feels like paper to me.

Thank you. I appreciate your reply!!

>50 Atheistic: My copy sure looks and feels like paper.

Thank you both. The book is beautiful but I was somewhat disappointed since I thought it would be bound in cloth.

>36 whytewolf1: >35 RickFlair:

I've read snatches of Garnett's Anna Karenina (and her whole Crime & Punishment, which doesn't come into this discussion). I am not a Russian speaker, but my understanding has been that she made fairly substantial changes to everything she translated. For that reason, since I began to dive heavily into Russian lit, I've generally tried to avoid her above all others. I want my 19th C. Russian novels to sound like Russian novels. Not Victorian English ones.

>54 Atheistic: Beehive makes nice books, but all of their editions have illustrated paper-covered boards.

>55 Jason461: I agree.

I've been wanting to see one of Beehive's books in the flesh and this week their edition of Peter Pan popped up on Amazon UK for £40. I thought it would be a relatively inexpensive way to test the water. It was delivered yesterday and I spent this morning looking through it. I think The Brecht Evens illustrations are interesting and lovely. Looking at their range of books, Beehive are obviously working with some splendid artists and illustrators.

Beyond that, I have some concerns about the quality of the materials and the binding. As far as I can tell (I'm no expert so someone please correct me!) the page block is only attached to the boards by means of the endpapers, there being no thin fabric - or 'mull' - to form a proper hinge. I'm not sure how common this is, but I don't think i've ever seen it in my 150 or so FS books, nor even in the little Slightly Foxed books. Wouldn't this be a weak point?

The layout and typography is a subjective matter but I don't think it's quite for me. I'm happy to have seen one of these books in person, and will enjoy admiring from afar the illustrations they commission.

Their choice of releases thus far haven't interested me from a text perspective, but the artwork has been neat to look at online. Next year, they plan to release Pinocchio with art by the illustrator for Hellboy, which could be interesting.

https://www.cbr.com/hellboy-mike-mignola-pinocchio/

Not sure what the etiquette on here is about posting promo codes but Beehive just sent me one for 20% off. If anyone would like it please DM me.

I was considering purchasing a book from them until I discovered just how expensive their shipping to the UK is (I now have some sympathy for non-UK based FS addicts!). Subsequently discovered on here that some of their books are available on Amazon UK so no need to spend $50 USD on shipping across the pond.

Beehive has a new Crowdfunding campaign to secure enough money for a second print run of Oscar Wilde‘s fairytales:
https://crowdfundr.com/oscarwilde?ref=ab_4QnL1bOkecm4QnL1bOkecm

It sounds really good, you get a signed art print and you can choose to order a signed edition. The price is even $10 less than the current print run.

The only downside is again the shipping. The book costs $90 and the shipping $45 to Europe (Germany in my case)…I also will have to pay tax and customs on the whole amount…Too much, sadly. I would have loved to order the book, but $45 just for shipping for one book is really a bit steep

I’m not sure I understand their business model. I had a look at purchasing the Oscar Wilde and the Great Gatsby and the cost would be $190 + $90 delivery to the U.K. I then had a search to learn more about the company and could see adverts for the books cheaper elsewhere.

The Oscar Wilde I could see at £44.66:
https://www.awesomebooks.com/book/9781948886017/the-fairy-tales-of-oscar-wilde-a...

Whilst the Great Gatsby seems to be available for £62.47:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/GREAT-GATSBY-Illuminated-Scott-Fitzgerald/dp/1948886286...

I don’t think it is a great business model if ordering directly costs over twice as much

>61 DMulvee: on their FAQ page they say they offer 50% discount on wholesale orders. Maybe even more if they buy enough stock from them.
I would have liked to support the Crowdfunding, but I also just saw that I can get the Oscar Wilde on Amazon.de for around 65€…and that includes everything, no shipping, no custom fees.

>61 DMulvee:

Seems normal to me. I assume direct order is just a backup option for customers who want to order that way. It's not a limited edition so Wholesale is always going to be more economical for them, especially when it comes to international orders. Shipping individual books internationally is insanely expensive. The U.S.A. as far as I know doesn't have any cheap international surface mail option for small packages equivalent to say Royal Mail surface 999+ days for delivery, etc.

>63 MobyRichard: That is fair. I suppose because they were on Kickstarter I assumed that they were offering advantages to backing them on that platform. It seems surprising that if you use this you end up paying a lot more than Amazon sells the books for, and I think will disappoint some backers once they realise this. I did think they were starting to go down the limited edition route for some offerings?