| The Limited Editions Club |
 |
| Wood engraving by Frank C. Eckmair |
|
|
Dear Book Lover,
Here's how The Limited Editions Club works: After you have purchased a Limited Edition listed on this page, you receive a 10% discount on your next purchase here, and automatically become listed as a member of the Club. In addition to the 10% discount on your next purchase order, you will receive a 15% discount on each of your next two purchase orders. These discounts apply whether ordered via email, phone, PayPal, or postal mail. Considering the low starting prices of our Limited Edition, letterpress-printed books and artworks, we believe this is a sensible way to build a fine personal collection, or to provide unique, quality gifts to special people in your life.
|
BASEBALL & THE GAME OF IDEAS: Essays for the Serious Fan,
edited & intro by Peter C. Bjarkman.Incisive, insightful writing by
Stephen Jay Gould, Mark Harris, John Bowman, John Hildebidle,
Thomas Altherr, William Humber, John Holway and five other
"players" on the game's social value, intellectual roots, mythic
underpinnings, baseball astrology, rites of manhood, the demise
of the .400 hitter, and more. An extensive bibliography of
baseball literature is provided by the editor. Printed offset on
80 lb. acid-free Mohawk vellum. "The breadth of this collection
is impressive..."--LIBRARY JOURNAL. "Resounding success!..."
--DUGOUT MAGAZINE. 212 pages. Gold-stamped hardcover
edition limited to 150 numbered copies signed by 12 authors
and the editor! $95. ISBN: 0-913559-19-9.
|
|
BEOWULF, translated & illustrated by Bertha Rogers. The first
volume of Beowulf to be both translated and illustrated by a
woman. Presented in a handsome letterpress edition printed
from hand-set metal type. "Roger's ten illustrations supply
insight into her treatment of the translation . . . derived from
Anglo-Saxon art . . . yet with a contemporary edge."--
CHELSEA REVIEW. 136 pages of Cool White Mohawk Vellum.
Only a few of this wonderful, signed & numbered limited cloth
edition remain: $65. ISBN: 0-913559-58-9.
|
|
A BRIEF, ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE BOOKSHELF, written and
drawn by Marshall Brooks. A fascinating excursion into the little
known story of how book storage developed over the centuries
until arriving at the most recent form of biblio shelving. Features
25 page-sized sketches of storing knowledge, beginning with
cuneiform records on to papyrus scrolls to what we know as books
today. "Brooks' book speaks volumes about the allure of shelving
...." WORCESTER TELEGRAM/GAZETTE. 64 pages. Artworks printed
from metal engravings and text printed from handset metal type.
Delightful, signed/numbered cloth edition limited to 150 copies:
$65. More than half have already been placed in private collections.
ISBN: 0-913559-41-5.
|
|
A DOUBLE PLAY OF UNDERGROUND BASEBALL NOVELLAS, including
"A Baseball Classic" by Merritt Clifton and "Praying for Rain" by
John Sandman. Linking baseball and literary sensibility, this book
places two hard-hitting novellas on the same ballfield, as the
characters take their swings at the curve balls served up by their
lives on and off the field. "Aficionados of baseball fiction will find
these novellas worth their time..."--NINE MAGAZINE. 200 pages.
Limited, signed and numbered letterpress hardcover edition of
150 copies: $50. ISBN: 0-913559-34-2.
|
|
EDITORS IN THE STREAM, selected by Birch Brook Press. Essays
by leading outdoors editors from Audubon, Field & Stream,
Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, Fly Rod & Reel, Gray's Sporting Journal,
Fly Fishing Magazine and others on the purifying delights of the art
of flyfishing. Contributors are Nick Lyons, Jay Cassell, Vin T.
Sparano, Silvio Calabi, Lamar Underwood, Ed Gray, Gary Souci,
John Randolph, Marty Sherman, Peter Barrett, Dennis Bitton.
Finely crafted drawings by Mary Anne Case. "Hand-numbered like
a fine-art print with an elegant bookmark adorned by an iridescent
bird feather..."--TIME OUT NEW YORK. "A gem!..."--BACKPACKER
MAGAZINE. Limited edition of 600 cloth, numbered and signed by
editor/printer. (Less than one third of this edition remain in
print.) 136 pages. $50. ISBN: 0-913559-11-3.
|
|
FATEFUL CHOICES: TALES ALONG THE ROAD TAKEN, edited by
Marshall Brooks & Stephanie Greene. Classic and modern tales
and poems on the choices people make on the road of life. Abbey,
Bradbury, Chopin, Dante, Farrell, Frost, O'Henry, Sophocles,
Twain, Whitman and many more share their experiences with
you. Pithy illustrations by Marshall Brooks. 184 pages.
A lovely Letterpress Limited cloth edition, signed/numbered
by both editors: $60. Edition limited to 125 copies.
ISBN: 0-913559-65-2.
|
|
FICTION, FLYFISHING & THE SEARCH FOR INNOCENCE, selected by
Birch Brook Press. The arts of flyfishing and storytelling are bound
together in a collection featuring fiction by Thomas McGuane,
Nick Lyons, E. Annie Proulx, Robert F. Jones, Jim Enger, David
Seybold, Sydney Lea, Mallory Burton, Jerry Warrington, and other
fine writers. "A superb anthology . . . flyfishing is well-suited to
letterpress printing, as both are innocent pursuits in these rough-
and-tumble times..."--SIERRA MAGAZINE. "This is one of only two
books I would pack if I were leaving on a fishing trip tomorrow..."
--TOWN & COUNTRY. Hand-printed color artwork by Alfred P.
Ingegno, Jr. 196 pages. Letterpress hardcover limited edition
of 150 (approximately one third left), numbered & signed by
10 of 11 authors: $150. ISBN: 0-913559-20-2.
|
|
FISHING THE BACK COUNTRY, by Fred DeFauw. Though, as its title
indicates, this book contains a number of essays and fictions about
flyfishing, its essential thrust is the back country exploits of a
serious student of the natural world. In this handsome, letterpress
-printed volume, the author applies his skills and savvy to the wilds
and waters of Michigan and Montana. "Every aspect of this slender
book of essays bespeaks care and craftsmanship..."--BILLINGS
OUTPOST. 136 pages. Limited signed/numbered cloth edition: $55.
ISBN: 0-913559-64-4.
|
|
HOW TO ATTAIN MORAL PERFECTION, by Ben Franklin, with after-
thoughts on Morality & Printing. The genius of early America
presents a system for achieving a high standard of ethics through
Temperance, Silence, Order, Industry, Sincerity, Justice. This little
book includes a current-day essay on the connection between
letterpress printing (one of Franklin's many skills) and human frailty.
66 pages. Frontispiece of Printer's Devil by Alfred P. Ingegno, Jr.
Printed on an antique hand press. Delightful hardcover gift edition
in gold-stamped red cloth, limited to 150 copies, signed and
numbered by the editor/printer: $29. ISBN: 0-913559-43-1.
|
|
IN FOREIGN PARTS, by Elisabeth Stevens. In nine taut, well-
crafted stories, the author explores alienation in its many
forms, with its many terrors, and with chilling precision.
Includes one original piece of art by the author for each story,
printed from metal engravings. "The emotions evoked here--
no matter how eerie the circumstances--invariably touch a
deep sense of some basic need: the desire to preserve love;
strange ancient forms of worship; a helpless descent into
prisons of lifestyle..."--poet Josephine Jacobsen. 120 pages.
Handset Letterpress hardcover limited edition, signed &
numbered by the author/artist: $50. ISBN: 0-913559-39-3.
|
|
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A BOOK, by William MacAdams. This
charming fictional tale might as well be a true story, detailing so
accurately and pointedly the "rites of passage" of one particular
book--from publication to its placement on a booksellers' shelves,
then passed from hand to hand by its various owners, including
a used bookstore, a private collector, until it meets its final, ironic
fate. Features a large selection of finely crafted wood engravings
by Frank C. Eckmair. (See art samples from this book on the
At Home page of this website.) 64 pages in a hand-sized edition
with hand coloration of art. Elegant, beautifully printed, signed
by author and wood engraver in an edition limited to 100 copies.
$50. ISBN: 0-913559-82-2.
|
|
MAGIC & MADNESS IN THE LIBRARY, edited and with an introduction
by Eric Graeber. Classic imaginative fiction, and one long poem on
real and imagined libraries filtered through the minds of great writers
from across time and the globe such as Cervantes, Voltaire, Borges,
Woolf, Bradbury, King, Eco, Irving, Huxley, Verne, Bellamy and
more. Finely embellished wood engravings by Frank C. Eckmair.
"This handsome letterpress edition offers classic gems on the rich,
meditative motif of the library..."--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. 160 pages
of engaging reading. Letterpress-printed hardcovered edition
numbered/signed by the editor and the wood engraver: $60. More
than half of the 150 copies are in private and public collections.
ISBN: 0-913559-37-7.
|
|
THE ROMANCE OF THE BOOK, edited and with an introduction by
Marshall Brooks, encompasses a selection of essays harking back
to the earliest days of the book on up to current attitudes toward
books. Each writer relates an experience with regard to his or her
lifelong relationship with the book as a friend, source of inspiration,
educational tool, an object to collect, or as a philosophical ally in
one's darkest days. Among the writers airing their views are
Colette, Franklin, Petrarch, Poe, Lamb, Douglass, Thoreau, Fuller,
Hazlitt, Gissing, Eliot. "This celebration of the romance of the book
is the ideal bedside companion..."--COMMON READER. 192 pages.
Letterpress limited edition (150 copies--less than one-half of this
edition remains in print), numbered and signed by the editor: $65.
ISBN: 0-913559-32-6.
|
|
THE SEXY SIXTIES, by Harry Smith. Outrageous pronouncements on
lies, love and power in that most immodest of all decades. Prophetic
musings by the founder of The Anti-Civilization League and publisher
of the legendary The Smith literary magazine. "Smith makes one
nostalgic for a time when people read and thought more; were able to
form and articulate their own opinions; when media existed more as an
ear to the populace than as a low-level playing field for the ideological
and celebrity fixated..."--THE ICONOCLAST. 96 pages. Four powerful
wood engravings by Greg Lago. Signed/numbered hardbound edition
limited to 100 copies: $50. ISBN: 0-913559-75-x.
|
|
SHADWELL HILLS, by Rebecca Lilly. A crisply articulated
collection of haiku by a writer whose dedication to and
intimacy with this poetic form, backed up by solid esthetic
and philosophical underpinnings, provides the reader with
sometimes serene, sometimes dark glimpses of our
relationship with the natural world. "Her poems make you
feel that they have been the result of long thought, and that
no one has seen things in quite this way before..."--
MODERN HAIKU. Original wood engravings by Frank C.
Eckmair. 72 pages. Signed & numbered cloth edition: $40.
ISBN: 0-913559-78-4.
|
|
SPIRITS OF THE ADIRONDACKS, by Tom Tolnay. Hunting the ghosts
and other spirits which inhabit New York's 6 million acre 'forever wild'
wilderness. Adding much to this dramatic story are 36 stunning wood
engravings by Frank C. Eckmair. (See examples of art from this
book on The Gallery page in this website.) "Riveting interpretation of
the supernatural, this tome is fascinating..."--ADIRONDACK LIFE. "An
educative and amusing yarn, the book not only tells ghost stories
that have lingered for years and some unknowns you can add to the
campfire list, but also provides brief historical tidbits and quickly-told
tales." 120 pgs. Letterpress limited, handbound cloth edition signed
by author & artist: $60. ISBN: 0-913559-67-9. Artist's edition (less
than 50 copies left) with a numbered artist print from the book: $95.
|
|
A FOOTNOTE TO COLLECTORS & ADMIRERS OF HANDCRAFTED BOOKS
As part of Birch Brook Press's commitment to publishing distinctive handcrafted books, over the past quarter century we have brought out a selection of hardcover signed and numbered limited edition titles. Subject matter for these books is drawn from the several areas of our interest, including books about books, flyfishing and the outdoors, baseball for thinking fans, fearless fiction, passionate poetry, as well as theme anthologies. In each instance, the book has been produced at our own letterpress shop in the Catskill Mountains: This means they have been printed on one of our antique presses with fine vellums and other acid-free stocks, and using classic fonts that have been cast in metal type. Some feature hand-coloration, others have hand-rendered hot-foil stamping, a few are hand-sewn.
Titles are listed alphabetically rather than by category. Since many of these editions have already been purchased by collectors or people who simply admire well-crafted books, there will of course be a lesser number in stock than the limitation number presently indicates. If a particular number is still available, we attempt to provide that number to a purchaser who may have a specialty or lucky number. When only a few, rare numbers remain available, such as the first few and the last few in an edition, premiums are sometimes charged. As you will notice, however, the prices for our limited editions are very reasonable compared to other such offerings in the trade, the idea being to put good-reading, good-looking books into the hands of people who appreciate the combination of fine writing and craftsmanship.
Birch Brook Press records the number purchased by each individual, helping to keep track of a particular edition. Special care is taken to pack and ship limited editions. (For those who may not be interested in owning books with unusual letterpress production values, paperback reading copies for many of these books can be found in the regular pages of this website.)
|
|