Thursday 21 July 2016

The Folio Society: Devoted to Beautiful Books

The Icelandic Sagas edited by Magnus Magnusson
The Icelandic Sagas
edited by Magnus Magnusson
Standing like an island amid the sea of cheap mass produced paperbacks and formulaic new releases from the latest bright young things is the Folio Society. This organisation is half publisher, half book club (as it has members) and was founded in 1947 on the principle that books should be beautiful to the eye as well as captivating to the mind.
The Folio Society’s formula for success is publishing books with exceptional typography, illustrations, paper and bindings.  The Society sources new introductions from literary experts to accompany classic texts and uses skilled designers and master printers to produce memorable fine books. Fiction and non-fiction is published and you will be familiar with many of the titles and authors.
These books are often housed in beautiful slipcases. Sets and multi-volume editions are commonplace. The Folio Society takes a classic book and finds an expert to write a fresh introduction.  It publishes books that are already winners – some of them like The Wind in the Willows and The Canterbury Tales have become iconic – but adds much more to the look and feel.
This list showcases just a small selection of the books published by the Folio Society since 1947.

Folio Society Books

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy
Ulysses by James Joyce
Ulysses
by James Joyce
Salome by Oscar Wilde
Salome
by Oscar Wilde
The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
The Loved One
by Evelyn Waugh
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Silent Spring
by Rachel Carson
The Complete Novels (7 vols) by Raymond Chandler
The Complete Novels (7 vols)
by Raymond Chandler
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins
The Blind Watchmaker 
by Richard Dawkins
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Paradise Lost 
by John Milton
Celtic Myths and Legends by C & J Matthews
Celtic Myths and Legends
by C & J Matthews
Epics of the Middle Ages by Richard Barber
Epics of the Middle Ages
by Richard Barber
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Blue Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang
The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Yellow Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang
The Folio Treasury of Shorter Crime Fiction (4 vols) compiled by Tim Heald & Sue Bradbury
The Folio Treasury of Shorter Crime Fiction (4 vols)
compiled by Tim Heald & Sue Bradbury
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
The Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff

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