New Fine Press Sappho

Wow! I have been looking for a fine press edition of Sappho for a long time! I was only aware of the Arion Press edition ($1750) which is not the complete poetry. Almost out of nowhere, I find a letterpress edition from the Folio Society that includes the complete Sappho! Price $150. INSANE! I have a thread about it and posted pics in the FS group (link below). I highly encourage fine press lovers to purchase this and tell the FS you want more letterpress!
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327796

edit: the FS uploaded a video of the letterpress printing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaXIbWcMn8g

What a great video! Those Heidelbergs are amazing machine.

I love the scale of the FS Sappho, but the binding just turns me off... Often the case with FS books for me, sadly. I think the Arion edition, on the other hand, looks gorgeous, but $1,750 is a hard sell.

Thanks for sharing!

I have this book and it is gorgeous. One of my favorite Folio Society books and definitely my favorite purchase from them this year. I think the binding is lovely, the art is perfect, I'm always an Anne Carson fan, and the letterpress is very nice - just enough of an impression so I can feel it if I run my finger across it, but not so much that I can see it protruding on the back of the other page (a problem with the Thornwillow Press books I've bought - no real complaints due to the pricing on them, but still). They hit it out of the park with this book and I am disappointed that it hasn't sold out already since I want them to make more like this!

>2 grifgon: What don't you like about the binding? I think it is tasteful and understated.

>4 ultrarightist: Hard to put a finger on it exactly. If I had to say, I think the slipcase and book itself are a bit incongruous, and the spine titling looks a bit like a jumble (or a "word cloud") to me. The label on the front looks good, though, and I dig the placement. Definitely a matter of personal taste, and I can certainly see why you'd like it!

I also think the binding is wonderful.

>3 katielouise: In terms of bite (the strength of the letterpress) I honestly prefer it a bit stronger. Traditionally just a "kiss" (very light impression) was considered the ideal. However, today having a harder impression is considered high quality as well. So, I do appreciate Thornwillow as well. Did you email them and tell the FS that you want more such works? I would encourage everyone to do so, and lets hope it sells out soon! I think one problem is that this wasn't well advertised, I just tumbled across it one day...

>6 astropi: 100% agreed on a bit stronger bite.

>5 grifgon: Indeed, it is a matter of taste. I agree that there is some incongruity between the binding and the slipcase. I would have preferred either a plain slipcase or one with a decorative emblem, like a woman in classical robes playing a lyre or similar.

>8 ultrarightist: Yes, absolutely. If the slipcase had been as you suggest, I would buy it without hesitation. (I still may – it's undoubtedly a great deal.) I've got to give credit to the designers for doing the unexpected – pairing photography with Sappho – but sometimes an experiment just doesn't quite hit the mark.

Personally, I think the binding, slipcase, and frontispiece are all beautiful. Everyone has his/her taste of course, and in my opinion the FS edition is far more attractive and more appropriate than the AP illustrations. Here is one of the illustrations for the AP Sappho - explain to me exactly what is...?

>6 astropi: I got the Arion Press Sense & Sensibility for Christmas and I'm honestly disappointed with the depth of the letterpress impression - there's not a single page on which I can even feel it (overall I quite like the book though). The FS Sappho is just right imo - I can feel it but it's not overwhelming. My Thornwillow books are overwhelming to the point where it is distracting when I'm reading, especially on Dante's Inferno where the text and illustrations are heavy - it's less distracting on ones that are regularly-sized-text-only.

I hadn't thought of emailing them but will do so.

I agree that it wasn't well-advertised. I hadn't been buying books much for a couple of years (until covid... because reading is all I'm doing) and had kept up with the LE releases and "major" standard releases by FS, but this had totally slipped my notice until early this summer.

Also I quite like the photography on the FS Sappho slipcase and frontispiece. I only wish there was more of it. And agreed that I don't "get" the AP Sappho art. It just looks like scribbles to me.

>10 astropi: It's clearly a ghost hiding from a spaceship in a field of wheat!

Hahahaha the art certainly isn't for everyone, that's for sure. Props to Arion, though, for going with the controversial rather than playing it safe. I think it's a success, but I'm probably in the minority here.

>11 katielouise: sounds like a lovely present! I did like the illustrations for the AP S&S, even if they are a bit weird. Unfortunate to hear that the bite is lacking. I really just could not get into the illustrations in the AP Sappho. I absolutely adore the Limited Editions Club and was shocked when I first learned (years ago) that they had never published Sappho... why? Well, fortunately, here is the FS to the rescue! If I were to improve upon it, I would add a few flourishes here and there, but otherwise, I'm just astounded at how affordable this beautiful book is.

>12 grifgon: Well, I can see that point of view, taking a chance and trying something different. To be honest, I think the AP and FS cater to different patrons. AP seems to cater to the very rich, and FS to people of more modest income. And I don't think it has to be this way. If you take a look at the AP Sundial, the illustrations are magnificent! So is the book. It's $500 which is quite expensive, but nothing like their Sappho. Anyway, I guess I hope that AP becomes a bit more like the LEC in some way, but still being the AP.

>13 astropi: I believe FS used plates rather than set type for the text. If so, it may herald more affordable, longer works printed letterpress.

>13 astropi: I agree completely! I wish Arion published one $2,000 book for every couple $500 books, rather than the other way around. I've held about half of their books visiting various libraries and museums, but I've never owned one.

The AP is pretty amazing aside from the illustrations, which are definitely polarizing like a lot of Hoyem's illustration choices. Having that edition in my library means I can resist the FS edition even though my love of Anne Carson makes it tantalizing. The binding of the AP is such a beautiful and deserving way of adorning Sappho.

Like >2 grifgon:, I'm not enamored with the slipcase. But other than that, Folio's edition is fantastic, from the choice of illustrators to the clean binding and printing.

Although I'd like to see this do well so that they'll do more, I also somewhat selfish hope this is part of the upcoming sale!

>18 whytewolf1: that would be amazing, but regardless it's easily worth $300+ in my opinion. I'm with >3 katielouise: it's almost a crime that it hasn't sold out yet.

Well, I know I am just not going to read it ever, if I buy it; therefore, the price, letterpress, etc. do not matter to me. It looks like it is a beautiful and scholarly publication, and it seems like the price might be a good deal for it, but, objectively, $150 is not cheap for a book, and there are probably more strange people like me who do not enjoy Sappho (or poetry in translation in general) - this is why the book have not yet sold out.
I am confident that this publication will sell out soon. No worries. :)

>20 booksforreading: well of course to each their own. I can confirm that it is a beautiful book, and I would say less scholarly than artistic, although it does contain scholarly material as well to help the reader. It's one heck of a deal! Again, I really don't know how they could publish this book at such a low price, but I'm happy they did :)

>19 astropi: You're right, of course. I'm sure I'll purchase it anyway. And thanks for bringing it to our attention that it's actually printed letterpress! Still hoping for the sale price, though, lol

All I see about letterpress in the Folio Society description (other than in many of the possibly misleading comments) is "Bound in blocked cloth with inset letterpress printed label." What am I missing? Is the light impression maybe because it is NOT letterpress? Very confusing....

Dang. Nevermind. Blonde and 60'ish. The struggle is real. I see it now.

>24 jveezer: It's definitely letterpress, printed by Phil Abel from polymer plates at Hand & Eye

>24 jveezer: It is a very nice edition. If you're at all interested in the subject matter, I recommend it. Very affordable letterpress relative to the number of pages.

jveezer haha, yeah took me a moment to figure out it was letterpress the first time I saw it :)
Best edition of Sappho, and very affordable, AND close to selling out. According to the FS website there are 53 copies left.

>26 ultrarightist: Agreed. This was my first purchase from Folio, purely for the contents as I knew nothing about FS at the time. It made a very favorable impression and is one I continue to enjoy.

Be aware of what you're getting when you purchase this book. Fragments of Sappho is not a a joke. There are very few complete poems, of course, but the fragments themselves are, well, fragments that are difficult to comprehend. Many pages are a single , often incomplete sentence at the top of the page and blank space.

This is what the work of Sappho is as we know it today. I'm not sorry about buying the book but even given what I knew going in I was shocked at how many nearly blank pages were there and I still don't understand why so many fragment got a full page and others didn't.

It'd be interesting to try and run some of the fragments at Ithaca

>29 SDB2012: I do agree that the book could have been nicely condensed... but that said, this was done deliberately. Here is what the FS says about the work
Herself one of the greatest poets of her generation – and a highly respected classical scholar and translator – Carson is uniquely qualified to act as Sappho’s guardian. Fiercely protective of the work, her minimalist translation ensures the Greek lyricist remains the mistress of her verse, even where few words of individual poems have survived. Surrounded as it is by an expanse of white space in this stunning large-format edition, the verse is given ample room to breathe and allows for natural pauses for reflection. In fact, it is often in the sparsest poems, with their smattering of surviving words, that the reader will better appreciate the beauty and depth of Sappho’s work. Carson doesn’t interrupt Sappho; instead her scholarly introduction and meticulous notes add context and explanation, but the poetry remains unobscured and unadorned.

Yes. I think it's an odd choice because the fragments are more of an academic interest rather than an artistic one. I'm open to the possibility I'm wrong about that and poetry is such a personal thing. It just seems a stretch to me that having four or five words without context on a complete page adds much to the experience. Again, I'm not hating on the book but putting out a different perspective. Who knows? Maybe five years from now it will click for me.

>32 SDB2012: I agree. I'd rather have fewer pages and more words... but hey, I'll take what I can get :)

"...her minimalist translation ensures the Greek lyricist remains the mistress of her verse, even where few words of individual poems have survived. Surrounded as it is by an expanse of white space in this stunning large-format edition, the verse is given ample room to breathe and allows for natural pauses for reflection."

Academic rubbish.

>34 Glacierman: I'm not disagreeing...

I view it more as an intriguing artifact than a book I'll sit down in the cozy chair to read. It's similar to what I've seen done with old papyri and scrolls. Granted, those other works were usually academic publications, not something you quite expect here. But I don't take issue with the book itself. Rather, I think it's a curious choice for FS, since it's a pretty radical departure from their other offerings. Though it did bring me into their fold, so it's likely they know their business better than I.

>34 Glacierman: I'm sorry, that's not academic writing, as it doesn't contain any of the following terms: postmodern, hermeneutics, paradigm, semiotics, intersectional, or epistemological. Also, it fails to reference the ideas of either Foucault or Barthes. I'm afraid you're going to need another four years of post-graduate immersion. Prefect, bring me the syringe...

>37 Shadekeep: ROTFLMAO!!!!!

I have the Arion Sappho, which I love. The main thing that attracts me to the FS edition is Anne Carson, who I love more. How's her intro? Elucidating (haha, that word just sprang to readerly mind then I had to go look it up to see if it fit...)? A good read? Add much to your understanding of Sappho's awesomeness or how much we've lost from antiquity?

>39 jveezer: There are about 10 pages for the introduction. However, at the end are nearly 40 pages of notes by Carson on the meaning of the text which is wonderful. This is a beautiful publication, and again, in my mind the finest work of Sappho available. I also think it's worth mentioning that it does include the original Greek text as well as the English translation.

Edit: 49 copies left. We're at a countdown it will be interesting to see how fast it now sells since these are the last few copies before prices go way up on the secondary market.

>40 astropi: Ah, that makes it much harder to resist. Notes AND and the intro by Carson...Hmmm

Here's an amazing piece of music adapted from a Sappho segment:



If the above link doesn't work, I found it in Maria Popova's great writing in the Marginalian here.

Seems like I'm talking myself into it. Will it happen in time?

>42 jveezer: What link??? I just see white space.

>43 Glacierman: Just like the book!

Just kidding around. If you're into it at all, buy it. It's a very odd book in a lot of ways but if you end up not appreciating it, someone will take it off your hands and you won't lose much.

>43 Glacierman: Yeah, the first link did not work and just left the space but the second one is there under the "here"...

FOMO. Got in with 13 left two days before they sold out...First new Folio Society book in years but love me some Anne Carson.

>46 jveezer: Congrats! it's a magnificent publication - and now that it's sold out, expect second-hand prices to be high. That said, this is THE best Sappho ever published, well worth the money.