Deluxe Limited Edition - Epics

All the books you mentioned are part of the signed-by-the-illustrator subset of DLEs, most of which utilize the same format. The thread below provides a list, but you’ll have to go on EP’s web site to see which ones are still available. https://www.librarything.com/topic/281244#n7457249

>1 Bob_Reader: Gilgamesh and Jason and the Argonauts are both unavailable at the moment, but if I were a betting man, I would say that they should both return at some point, as I doubt EP has already sold through the whole run. And we pretty much know at this point that they tend to release the DLEs in small tranches of 200-300 copies these days. But who can say when they might show back up. Could be a while.

>4 Bob_Reader:
I’ve quit trying to outguess EP. Maybe Nostradamus would know.

>6 supercell: well with that said ... if EP does offer Gilgamesh again ... that will answer some of our question as to whether or not they are playing games with the limited numbering. Only time will tell.

>4 Bob_Reader: I wish I knew but EP's ways are mysterious! ;) Seriously, both the 1984 and The Eddas DLEs went out of stock this year and came back quickly. OTOH, no sign of Jason returning yet. Sometimes they choose to give books a "rest" before reintroducing them. The Alice in Wonderland DLE is recently back in stock after being last seen in 2018! Similar thing also happened with The Count of Monte Cristo set. So, my current philosophy is that I will give any DLEs that have probably not sold out their full limitation (and I would say both Jason and Gilgamesh fall into that category) a good long time to reappear before even thinking of paying secondary market prices for them.

Edit: Just saw supercell's comment about Gilgamesh. Seems that, sadly, I was off base on that one, but I'm much more certain about Jason)

>6 supercell: Just saw your comment! Thanks for setting me straight about Gilgamesh. I'm very sad to hear that. :( But I'm grateful to know for sure.

>10 whytewolf1: There is no setting the record straight and no knowing for sure. Similar conversation took place a while ago in regards to The Phantom of the Opera where members reported receiving numbers out of order. Supercell's conclusion relies heavily on the assumption that EP numbers the books or inserts limitation pages in an ascending order or any order for that matter. Perhaps EP simply shuffles the limitation pages and inserts them randomly 200-300 at a time. All is fine as long the total number of copies published does not exceed the limitation.

Also, based on recent developments and a quick look at Wootle's invaluable resources, it looks like EP has gotten busy reprinting 2012-2016 DLEs including A History of the Civil War, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, so it is very likely that anything saleable with limitation of 400+ is on the table (with the exception perhaps of the slow-selling titles like Quo Vadis or How the Other Half Lives etc.). With EP's choice of The Grapes of Wrath for inclusion in their illustrated DLE series, it might be that in difficult times they chose to lean on well-known classics and might reprint the likes of Dickens (Oliver Twist), Verne (Hector Servadac or The Career of a Comet/Michael Strogoff, The Courier of the Czar), Wyss (The Swiss Family Robinson) or William Shakespeare (First Folio)...

>12 Bob_Reader: When was the last time you saw a copy on the secondary market? There is no way entire limitation of 1623 copies of a $450 book sold out in less than two years :D...

The Adventures of Oliver Twist had a limitation of 600, which based on recent conclusions on this forum than EP's print runs are much smaller than originally assumed, it is safe to say that limitation of 600 would be split into 2-3 runs... If EP sees enough favorable market conditions, they will risk printing another batch if they can.

Unfortunately, since EP does not run their own operations, it would be difficult or perhaps even impossible to for them to start putting copy numbers on stickers attached to shrinkwrap or box...

>4 Bob_Reader: Regarding Nostradamus, click on the below link from one of the past Nostradamus threads (https://www.librarything.com/topic/314270):

https://www.eastonpress.com/prod/366/3593/NOSTRADAMUS--THE-PROPHECIES

Surprisingly, book shows up as available in stock for $141; however, when you search the website for Nostradamus you come up empty handed. I have tried adding it to cart and it has worked... It is possible for it to be a glitch where checkout cannot be completed, or it is simply EP's sloppy website management where during one of the updates the way this title is displayed got botched.

>15 Bob_Reader: I doubt EP will republish David Copperfield. They could take another shot at it with a fancier slipcased edition and higher limitation...

As to the Jekyll & Hyde, I believe it is ripe for a reprint. It is hard to believe 1,200 copies of this novella sold out in 2 years. Perhaps EP is wary because of how long it took them to sell a batch of another novella, Dr. Moreau...

>15 Bob_Reader: I hope you get your wish of Copperfield return. I got my copy a few years ago from ebay ... and it is one of my favorite dickens LE's

>11 EPsonNY: Thanks for weighing in on this. I certainly have enough other nice books to work on buying for now (EP and otherwise), so perhaps I will hold off on picking up a copy of Gilgamesh anytime soon on the secondary market, especially they're routinely selling for twice retail or more. I was certainly thrilled to pick up a copy of Rackham's Alice at retail direct from EP recently, so I'll be patient on Gilgamesh and hope that you're right. :)