In these days of silly masks...

…meet The King in the Golden Mask by Marcel Schwob:





































PS. An English translation by Kit Schluter was published in 2017 by Wakefield Press.

Nice-looking production, although the illustrations don't hit my switch.

>1 cupidum: that is absolutely gorgeous and I love the illustrations!
Alas, if only there was a translation in English of comparable quality.

>4 cpdm: just in case you (or anyone else that comes across this thread) is unaware, there was a 2012 Tartarus Press edition of The King in the Golden Mask. Nicely bound, offset printing, 300 copies, unnumbered, translated by Iain White.

Over the next 2 years, Zagava will be publishing 9 stories from The King in the Golden Mask as standalone books, with each one devoted to the work of a different illustrator. The first one they're doing is the titular story, illustrated by Michael Hutter in numbered, lettered, and artist's editions:
https://zagava.de/shop/the-king-in-the-golden-mask?edition=8

I was introduced to Schwob through Borges after reading A Universal History of Infamy. He's a fantastic writer, so I'm pretty excited for this series!

>6 SolerSystem: I was unaware of Zagava previously. Do you (or does anyone else here) have first-hand experience with the quality of the printing? It is clear that they print offset, which is fine, but the number of digital mockups on the site gives me pause, and I am having trouble finding reviews online which mention anything substantive about production quality. The site specifies acid-free paper and use of "eco-certified printing machines" (whatever that means).

I do like the cosmetics of a number of the releases, however.

>7 abysswalker: Unfortunately I don't. The King in the Golden Mask will be my first purchase from them. Hopefully someone else can chime in.

>8 SolerSystem: they seem to have a good slate of contemporary supernatural fiction authors at least, which is a good sign, but no guarantee.

I’m tempted to take a risk on one of the books with moire covers to test the waters.

They are what I would deem a specialty trade press, much like Donald M. Grant and others in the fantasy/horror/SF field were/are. I would expect above-average quality, but not fine press.

There is a nice French fine press edition illustrated by Daniel Airam if French is an option.

Pictures are provided by this seller:
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22834136766&searchurl=an...

>10 Glacierman: how, in your opinion, do the level of taste and the quality of finishing details compare to Tartarus?

>12 abysswalker: Can't say. Don't own any Tartarus books, so no standard for comparison.

There's also a paperback edition of the Zagava book now available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3945795842

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/3945795842