Pilgrim’s Progress LE

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Pilgrim’s Progress LE

1jsg1976
Modificato: Gen 21, 2020, 4:15 am

New LE of Pilgrim’s Progress just announced on FS YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/gSwOMpIBOaM

Not up on the US web site yet.

750 limitation, quarter bound red leather, gilded page edges, ribbon marker, 28 William Blake illustrations, and margin notes

2ironjaw
Gen 21, 2020, 4:35 am

I promised myself not to buy anything and I’ve already bought two T. E. Lawrence books and now this comes up. What to do? What to do?

3Raenas
Gen 21, 2020, 4:51 am

Ahh... too bad my wallet is now the sole property of Paul Suntup.

4Tonbridge
Gen 21, 2020, 5:09 am

Pilgrim's Progress is a book I have wanted to read for some years but have been looking for an impressive edition and this could be it.

I have a reservation however which is whether beautiful and expensive Limited Editions are the best choice for intensive reading and study.

5folio_books
Gen 21, 2020, 5:21 am

Ordered.

6wcarter
Modificato: Gen 21, 2020, 5:33 am

>5 folio_books:
Glenn, anyone would think you were trying to get a low numbered copy!!
I too will order. You can have copy No.2, I'll get No.3 ;-)
Direct lonk is:-
https://www.foliosociety.com/au/the-pilgrim-s-progress.html

7PeterFitzGerald
Gen 21, 2020, 5:34 am

Also ordered. No. 4 please! ;-)

8folio_books
Gen 21, 2020, 5:39 am

>6 wcarter: Glenn, anyone would think you were trying to get a low numbered copy!!

As if :) I got no. 2 of Dracula so I'm no longer that desperate. Quite happy if you were to get it, Warwick. I would just like a single-digit number.

9wongie
Gen 21, 2020, 5:41 am

First fine/limited edition purchase of the year for me.

10RRCBS
Gen 21, 2020, 5:46 am

Looks beautiful and reasonably priced for an LE. Don’t think I’ll buy it because I’m not really an LE collector (like smaller sized comfy reads and also budget), but this really looks well done!

11cwl
Gen 21, 2020, 6:19 am

This is lovely, and yet, I can't help but think this is very similar in quality to the Blake Paradise Lost from a few years back at double or triple the price. It will certainly be re-issued as a standard edition, albeit likely in a smaller format, in a few years, such is the direction of FS travel these days.

12vmb443
Gen 21, 2020, 6:25 am

Decided to pick it up! It looks lovely and I’m interested in reading it.

13gmacaree
Gen 21, 2020, 6:45 am

Yes please

14folio_books
Gen 21, 2020, 7:00 am

>11 cwl: this is very similar in quality to the Blake Paradise Lost from a few years back at double or triple the price.

I would compare it instead with Night Thoughts, currently under discussion on FSD, and Poems of Thomas Gray. This is a fraction of the price of both though with fewer illustrations admittedly. It's Blake (the proper one) - hence the immediate purchase.

15UK_History_Fan
Gen 21, 2020, 7:19 am

Very tempting as a companion volume in a sense to Night Thoughts and Thomas Gray. But I already have the LEC edition from 1941 that was printed letterpress and contains 29 Blake illustrations (I do wonder which is the extra one in the LEC). It also cost less than 25% of the cost of the Folio LE.

16SF-72
Modificato: Gen 21, 2020, 7:59 am

Having Night Thoughts and Thomays Gray I'm disappointed there's no solander box but 'just' a slipcase. Still, this is beautiful and coincides with the exhibition in the Tate Britain where I was very impressed with the Pilgrim's Progress artwork.

17Forthwith
Gen 21, 2020, 8:52 am

Ordered as ordered

I think that this fits into Folio's sweet spot and may sell well. Folio has indeed made this a special publication with the efforts for the illustrations.

18folio_books
Gen 21, 2020, 9:30 am

>16 SF-72: I'm disappointed there's no solander box but 'just' a slipcase.

I tend to agree. Presumably the decision was made to keep the price down.

19ironjaw
Modificato: Gen 21, 2020, 9:48 am

Would I buy this at £395 with solander box or £295 with slipcase? I honestly don’t know but would be partial to a slipcase.

20boldface
Gen 21, 2020, 9:57 am

According to the FS, the Blake illustrations only cover Part One, i.e. the original Pilgrim's Progress relating to Christian's journey. So, the second part, covering his wife's journey is presumably without any illustrations at all.

Nonetheless, I'm pleased they have included Part Two. It contains Bunyan's famous words, "Who would true valour see", which found their way into the English Hymnal in 1906, albeit in a slightly bowdlerised version by Percy Dearmer which removed the decidedly unChristian hobgoblins and foul fiends.

21vmb443
Gen 21, 2020, 1:29 pm

Ordered this morning - due here in the United States on Thursday - that’s incredibly fast!

22Neil77
Gen 21, 2020, 2:12 pm

A Folio Society LE in a long long time that I have absolutely no interest in....:-(

23kdweber
Gen 21, 2020, 2:26 pm

>16 SF-72: This LE is quite a bit smaller than the Night Thoughts and Thomays Gray LEs. I think it was meant to go with the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost series.

Not sure about purchasing this edition as I didn't particularly enjoy reading the book. However, my current EP edition is smaller and only has 11 of the Blake illustrations. I'm on the fence but doubt that it will sell out quickly.

24MobyRichard
Gen 21, 2020, 2:55 pm

Any thoughts on or experience with the Arctic Ivory paper?

25affle
Gen 21, 2020, 3:19 pm

>24 MobyRichard:

Recent offerings on this paper include Dr Zhivago LE, The Yangtze Valley, and Rumi. All good as far as the paper is concerned.

26elladan0891
Gen 21, 2020, 3:28 pm

>11 cwl: It will certainly be re-issued as a standard edition, albeit likely in a smaller format, in a few years, such is the direction of FS travel these days.

I doubt it. Pilgrim's Progress ain't Alice. How popular is it nowadays? Especially outside of these boards? Selling 750 LEs - sure, though it will take some years and I don't think it will be flying off the shelves like Alice, Wind in the Willows, or Zhivago. But selling at least a few thousand copies of a standard edition? I'm not sure the demand for the title is high enough for FS to be milking this one.

27Lady19thC
Gen 21, 2020, 3:55 pm

I love The Pilgrim's Progress but I have never been a fan of Blake's art. Can't help it. I love my regular FS edition with what I believe is the copper engraving styled art (brown slip case). In fact, it is on my TBR list for this year.

28cwl
Modificato: Gen 21, 2020, 3:57 pm

For Bunyan, no. For Blake, yes, particularly given his raised profile following the Tate exhibition. We'll see, but I know where I would place my bet on this.

29Cubby.R.S.
Gen 21, 2020, 5:57 pm

I'm actually very excited about this release. This is the sort of versatility one drools about while perusing old prospectuses. I'm sure I will be making this my 4th LE soon enough. It's not a perfect book, but lovely enough and the sort of publication I want to support.

30kdweber
Gen 21, 2020, 6:43 pm

>24 MobyRichard: I'm not a big fan of the Arctic Ivory paper. I just finished reading the new Dr Zhivago LE and found the glare from my reading lamp (warm LED bulbs) was tiring on the eyes. However, the glare didn't seem as bad during the day with no lights on.

31Sorion
Gen 21, 2020, 7:44 pm

>30 kdweber: Clearly the issue resides in your usage of new-fangled technologies such as an "led-lamp" . Candlelight is clearly the preferred lighting source or in a worst case scenario whale-oil lamplight. If you correct this issue I've no doubt you'll come to love the Arctic Ivory paper.

32Niurn
Gen 21, 2020, 7:59 pm

>30 kdweber: "led-lamp"

Who let that devilry enter your scriptorium ?

33EclecticIndulgence
Gen 21, 2020, 8:27 pm

I'd love it if it had a solander slipcase to match the other two LE's. If you're the same, I would suggest reaching out to FS with the feedback and maybe they'll provide an option for it.

34MobyRichard
Modificato: Gen 21, 2020, 9:25 pm

>30 kdweber:

Interesting....it's not coated textbook paper is it? That's what came to mind...:/.

Still tempted though. Blake is a genius.

FS should just do a pure Blake LE someday. He never really illustrates the text anyways, whatever that text might be. He just projects his madness onto the page and mutters "yeah...that's pilgrims progress...yeah." 🤷🤪

35kdweber
Gen 21, 2020, 9:34 pm

>34 MobyRichard: Not coated, not ultra glossy. It even has a reasonable feel. Just didn't work well for me and it's not a problem I've had with other FS books.

36folio_books
Gen 22, 2020, 5:09 am

>6 wcarter: I too will order. You can have copy No.2, I'll get No.3 ;-)
>7 PeterFitzGerald: Also ordered. No. 4 please! ;-)

Mine's just arrived - no 6. Plenty of room there for you guys.

37ironjaw
Gen 22, 2020, 6:12 am

>31 Sorion:
I absolutely loved your response on the whale-oil lamplight!

38mnmcdwl
Gen 22, 2020, 6:21 am

It’s interesting and clearly popular with this board, but fortunately for my wallet, it doesn’t jump to the top of my must buy list. I guess the content and illustrations just don’t speak to me. I’ll sit on my wallet until after the next collection comes out, and based on what’s new, save my spending for Dr. Zhivago.

39wongie
Modificato: Gen 22, 2020, 8:41 am

No.8 for me

Here are a few shots comparing it to a few others. Size-wise it definitely goes with the smaller Blake/Goethe/Dante books without slipcases if you can put up with the different spine font. Stylistically it clearly is meant to follow in the massive Blake books but doesn't equal their quality.

My copy did come with a few QA niggles that seems to be recurrent Folio LE issue these days. While it came wrapped in cellphone mine had a visible scuff to the spine, just above "Pro" in progress that you can just make out in the photos below though more visible seen head on. There's also some very slight dark staining/scuffing to the back of the text block though nothing I'm going to fuss over.

QA aside and focusing on production decisions I'm not a fan of the paper, too glossy for my liking, I'd rather they'd went with something with a little more rougher texture like the old Paradise Lost's Caxton Wove. Biggest disappointment though is the leather, even looking at the video and page before it arrived I'd suspected it would be a bit of a let-down. It definitely lacks some of the nicer grained texture found in other LEs, or even the leathers used on non-LEs, both of which I've included in a comparison shot. It feels a little rubbery. Neither FS page or the colophon explicitly states what kind of leather it is.

Nitpicking aside I think, on first impressions, that overall it has enough substance to it to make it a justified purchase for me, I'm satisfied with it and there's nothing to make me regret splurging on this first LE of the year.

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40MobyRichard
Modificato: Gen 22, 2020, 9:55 am

>39 wongie:

Great photos. Looks even better than it does on the FS website! I feel like the default leather is pigskin? Whenever the publisher doesn't specify. Just seems like nobody ever brags about pigskin unless it's alum tawed or something...

41folio_books
Gen 22, 2020, 9:44 am

>39 wongie:

Oh dear, that's a nasty scuff. I wouldn't be able to look at it on the shelf and see anything other than the scuff, the scuff, and nothing but the scuff. Here I was thinking I was hard done by because the slipcase has acquired a minor ding in transit (but deciding it wasn't worth making a fuss over). That's one you owe me, Mole. I wouldn't even hesitate over that scuff. If I were you I'd be returning it pleading that, somehow, you can retain the low limitation number (assuming you find that worth squabbling over).

I do agree with you about the leather. To me it has the feel of the bonded leather they used to use on standard editions many moons ago. And like those standard editions it has scuffed pretty easily, No matter, I'm pleased with my number and the contents are spectacularly splendid. I shall now concentrate on taking particular care of the spine.

42folio_books
Gen 22, 2020, 9:46 am

>40 MobyRichard: Great photos.

Thank you but they're misattributed. You have >39 wongie: to thank for the excellent pics.

43MobyRichard
Gen 22, 2020, 9:55 am

Oh, oops wrong number :p.

44ultrarightist
Gen 22, 2020, 10:12 am

>39 wongie: I hope that FS is not using plasticized pigskin like Easton Press. And if they are using bonded leather, they should note it as such in the colophon and production notes. I would take genuine pigskin over glued cowhide strips any day.

45Steve92084
Gen 23, 2020, 12:43 pm

I wrote Folio about this. Sally Wilby replied and said the book is quarter-bound in genuine leather, not manufactured or bonded leather.

46wongie
Gen 23, 2020, 3:43 pm

>45 Steve92084: Good to know it's genuine, whatever animal it may be, as opposed to being artificial.

>41 folio_books: You'll be pleased to know that the scuff was made near invisible with some judicious application of leather moisturiser and basalm saving me the anguish of losing my only single digit limitation number as well as saving the environment from another delivery of the replacement and delivery of my old copy to a potential new owner.

47Maretzo
Gen 23, 2020, 4:03 pm

There is a Limited Edition Club edition of 1941, with the same Blake's illustrations, for a fraction of the price.

48folio_books
Gen 23, 2020, 4:30 pm

>46 wongie: You'll be pleased to know that the scuff was made near invisible with some judicious application of leather moisturiser and basalm

Delighted and relieved to hear it.

And in an attempt to clear up general misinterpretations (not yours) may I just point out that I didn't say the binding is bonded leather. I said to me (as very definitely a non-expert on the issue of types and grades of leather) it felt like bonded leather (ie thin, flat, characterless). My opinion has not changed. Luttrell Psalter or War and Peace (blue leather) it is most assuredly not; whether it should be is an entirely different argument. But if anyone is hesitating to buy because they think I said it's bonded leather, I don't believe it is.

49UK_History_Fan
Gen 23, 2020, 9:03 pm

>47 Maretzo:
The exact point I was making in >15 UK_History_Fan: which nobody seemed to notice :-)

50wdripp
Gen 23, 2020, 9:41 pm

>49 UK_History_Fan: I noticed and appreciated the recommendation :)

Just curious...is this LE similar in quality to the Dante books and Paradise Lost? Because they sure look similar in the photo posted above >39 wongie: but were a whole lot cheaper.

51cu29640
Gen 23, 2020, 11:44 pm

Please post more pics of the book interior.

52folio_books
Gen 24, 2020, 4:49 am

>50 wdripp: they sure look similar in the photo posted above >39 wongie: but were a whole lot cheaper.

They may look similar but one thing the titles you mentioned don't have is a limitation of 750. And Pilgrim's Progress is quite cheap for an LE, in my opinion.

53ultrarightist
Gen 24, 2020, 9:59 am

This one is a pass for me. I'll stick with my LEC and Essex House Press editions.

54wongie
Gen 24, 2020, 10:00 am

>50 wdripp: PP LE is a much heftier book due to the paper. Despite the issue over the leather (where I agree with folio_books that despite being real leather it does give off an impression of bonded leather in appearance and touch, though adding some leather basalm has softened it up a smidgen) the binding in general far superior to the silk moire boards of the Paradise Lost and Dante books. The slipcase is also more sturdy, being made out of a thicker board and just looks more refined than the PL/Dante cases.

That said, having taken additional photos below under my reading light I've been reminded just how much I hate the feel and look of glossy paper, more than the leather.

>51 cu29640: Additional photos if the interior.

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55wdripp
Gen 24, 2020, 10:08 am

>54 wongie: Interesting! Thanks for the info.

>52 folio_books: I'll admit that limited releases aren't a motivator for me at all, but it sounds like the production quality is superior and that is good to hear.

56vmb443
Gen 24, 2020, 12:59 pm

My copy arrived yesterday - very beautiful book - and agree on the statement above about the slip case being very well made. The best part is that somehow I managed to get Copy No. 2!!!

57folio_books
Gen 24, 2020, 1:23 pm

>56 vmb443: somehow I managed to get Copy No. 2!!!

Enjoy :)

58ChampagneSVP
Gen 24, 2020, 5:30 pm

Congrats! Mine arrived today in the US and is number 26.

59Forthwith
Gen 25, 2020, 2:37 pm

My #19 safely arrived yesterday. It is a treasure to hold.

60SF-72
Feb 3, 2020, 5:29 am

Could anyone tell me how much shipping to the UK is for this title? I could have it forwarded from the UK to Germany for about a third of what FS charges, but whether that pays off depends on how much shipping from them to the UK warehouse would be.

61folio_books
Feb 3, 2020, 5:38 am

>60 SF-72:

It's £12.

62ironjaw
Feb 3, 2020, 10:00 am

I’m currently reading the Penguin’s version of this title and would generally appreciate opinions on this title as a work of literature but also as a type of liturgy

63SF-72
Feb 3, 2020, 10:48 am

64Tonbridge
Feb 3, 2020, 11:31 am

From the Guardian's The 100 best novels: No 1 – The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1678)

John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress begins our 100-part list of the best novels written in English. Robert McCrum explains its enduring appeal

The English novel begins behind bars, in extremis. Its first author, John Bunyan, was a Puritan dissenter whose writing starts with sermons and ends with fiction. His famous allegory, the story of Christian, opens with a sentence of luminous simplicity that has the haunting compulsion of the hook in a great melody. "As I walk'd through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a Denn; And I laid me down in that place to sleep: And as I slept I dreamed a Dream."

A "Denn" is a prison, and Bunyan wrote most of the book in Bedford county gaol, having been arrested for his beliefs during the "Great Persecution" of 1660-1690. He shares the experience of prison with Cervantes, who had the idea for Don Quixote while incarcerated in La Mancha. Like so many novels that follow in this list, The Pilgrim's Progress blends fact and fiction. As well as being the record of Bunyan's dream, a well-known fictional device, it is also an archetypal tale – a quest, fraught with danger. Christian's pilgrimage takes him through the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair and the Delectable Mountains in a succession of adventures that keep the reader turning the page. With his good companions, Faithful and Hopeful, he vanquishes many enemies before arriving at the Celestial City with the line that still reverberates through the English literary tradition: "So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."

In Hollywood terms, the novel has a perfect "arc". It also contains a cast of unforgettable characters, from Mr Worldly Wiseman to Lord Hategood, Mr Stand-fast and Mr Valiant-for-Truth.
More profoundly, as an allegory of state repression, it has been described by the historian EP Thompson as one of the "foundation texts of the English working-class movement". Part of its uniquely English quality is a robust and engaging sense of humour that has cemented its appeal to generations of readers.

The Pilgrim's Progress is the ultimate English classic, a book that has been continuously in print, from its first publication to the present day, in an extraordinary number of editions. There's no book in English, apart from the Bible, to equal Bunyan's masterpiece for the range of its readership, or its influence on writers as diverse as William Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, Mark Twain, CS Lewis, John Steinbeck and even Enid Blyton.

Huckleberry Finn speaks for many readers when, recalling his Mississippi education, he says: "There was some books too... One was 'Pilgrim's Progress', about a man that left his family it didn't say why. I read considerable in it now and then. The statements was interesting, but tough."

The story of a man in search of the truth is the plot of many kinds of fiction, from Portnoy's Complaint to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Like many of the writers in the list that follows, Bunyan had a wonderful ear for the rhythms of colloquial speech and his allegorical characters come to life in dialogue that never fails to advance the narrative. Story is one thing. The simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan's prose is something else. Braided together, style and content unite to make a timeless English classic.

Note on the text:

The Pilgrim's Progress, from this world, to that which is to come was first published in Holborn, London by Nathaniel Ponder, a non-conformist, at the beginning of 1678 in an edition of 191 pages. It was an immediate success. A second edition appeared before the end of 1678, with many new passages, a third in 1679, and several subsequent editions before Bunyan's death in August 1688. The Second Part of The Pilgrim's Progress was published in 1684, with a second edition in 1686. Eventually, the English text comprised some 108,260 words. It has never been out of print, and has been translated into more than 200 languages.

65wcarter
Modificato: Feb 10, 2020, 5:34 am

The brochure for Pilgrim's Progress LE has finally reached Australia, has been photographed and uploaded. It can be directly viewed here, or in the FSD wiki here.

66folio_books
Modificato: Apr 13, 2020, 3:10 pm

This has mysteriously disappeared from the website. I checked it less than ten minutes ago. Fully expecting it to return as soon as they realise (hello Mole!).

Edited to add:

It's back, kinda. It appears on the floating banner for the LE page but not on the page itself, and a search produces no result.

67SF-72
Modificato: Apr 22, 2020, 3:54 am

In the meantime I bought it and must say that I'm very unhappy with the chosen paper. This makes the Blake illustrations look like they would in your average art book with glossy paper. As a matter of fact, depending on how the light falls on the pages, both the text and illustrations reflect it to such a degree that you can't see parts of them properly, instead there's a glare. In contrast to that, other FS editions of works in watercolour really look as close to the original as you can get. I wish they'd gone for that kind of effect and quality with Pilgrim's Progress. I might be a bit more touchy than your average buyer since I was lucky enough to see the Blake exhibition in London in January and was particularly impressed with both the Pilgrim's Progress paintings, as well as with how close to the originals the FS editions of Night Thoughts and Poems of Thomas Gray were.

Out of curiosity, what is the LEC edition like in that regard (paper, closeness to original watercolours)? I only saw some photos on ebay where it was impossible to judge the paper, and the illustrations there looked like they might not quite represent the intensity of the colours of the originals. I also wasn't sure how good the scans were compared to FS. I've seen some edition of works like that where the illustrations were just very slightly less sharp / a little bit blurred compared to originals, which is not a problem with FS, a positive aspect of this edition.

68GusLogan
Ott 3, 2020, 1:15 am

>67 SF-72:

I don’t suppose you’re waiting for an answer after some six months, but I just took receipt of the LEC and will respond for future FSDs...

The paper is ”Worthy special paper”, the most frequently used by the LEC in its first 25 years or so at least. It’s very pleasant and certainly not glossy, and neither is the smoother and whiter paper used for the tipped-in illustrations. The reverse pages are unprinted to avoid showthrough, which seems to me a less elegant but probably much less expensive solution than a French fold. There are very faint watermarks here and there.

The illustrations are ”printed in process collotype”. They seem to me well done, but I’m not sure I’d describe the colours as brilliant, and when I read your description above of slightly less sharp reproductions it does strike me that these may be just every so slightly blurred, and my impression looking at the photos on the FS website is the LE is indeed perhaps a notch better in that regard. That being said, for me the choice was an easy one with the letterpress LEC in NF condition (slightly sunned spine) being 50 USD plus shipping - which is a shame as I’d like to support the FS when it does this sort of thing.

69SF-72
Ott 3, 2020, 9:07 am

>68 GusLogan:

Thank you very much for your description. I do appreciate it. I was (and am) frustrated with how the quality of FS Blake has decreased, but it does sound like they might currently be the best version I could get my hands on. LE would have been cheaper, but not by that much - being in Germany shipping itself (plus customs for a lot of titles) makes these things expensive.

70LoveAlice
Mag 10, 2021, 5:17 am

Low stock 13 left!

71Cat_of_Ulthar
Mag 12, 2021, 3:48 pm

9

72Hamwick
Mag 13, 2021, 8:14 am

Then there was 1.

73Cat_of_Ulthar
Mag 13, 2021, 9:13 am

And then it was gone.

74LoveAlice
Ago 29, 2021, 12:57 pm

2 back in stock on FS website!!

75folio_books
Ago 29, 2021, 1:49 pm

>74 LoveAlice:

Oh, well spotted! See how long they last.

76goldenbowl
Ago 29, 2021, 2:43 pm

>74 LoveAlice:
>75 folio_books:

And then there was one...thank you for the enablement. Delighted to have the opportunity to purchase directly from FS after having missed out.

77antinous_in_london
Ago 29, 2021, 3:52 pm

>75 folio_books: I wonder what happened? Returns or they found a couple that had fallen behind a shelf in the warehouse ? Lol

78folio_books
Modificato: Ago 29, 2021, 4:01 pm

>77 antinous_in_london: It does seem to happen from time to time with Folio and of course we tend to notice it more when it's a Limited Edition. Brilliant spot by >74 LoveAlice:, though. And it's good that some genuine Folio buyers get an extra bite at a normal price.

79antinous_in_london
Ago 29, 2021, 4:36 pm

>78 folio_books: I already have PP but there are a few other LE’s I wish they’d rediscover a few more copies of !