2001: A Space Odyssey has turned out to be quite an adventure. It is undoubtedly our most encompassing project, spanning four editions, including the space launch of the miniature monoliths with the help of Blue Origin. A lot has happened along the way, and we have used that time quite wisely. Now that we have all four types of paper in stock, we can finally kick production into high gear.
Gangolf’s paper will be used in the Roman numeral edition, also known as the Monolith Edition. Hahnemühle has supplied us with William Turner paper for the lettered edition (HAL Edition) and Printmaking paper for the numbered edition (Tycho Edition). Finally, Fedrigoni Savile Row will be used for the essential edition, also known as the Cave Edition. There is only one significant change for the latter, and that is the limitation.
The reason for this change is entirely practical. A while ago, we announced that we planned to discontinue the Essential Edition line due to low demand. Despite our best efforts, the interest simply wasn’t there, so it was the only logical conclusion. We thought we might bring it back at some later point, as we still see it as a great addition to our offering. However, the news was met with disappointment, especially from those wanting to collect future Sherlock books. This prompted us to sit down and crunch the numbers to see how we could continue Essential Editions, at least for the Sherlock series. The result is a decision to reduce the limitation of the Cave Edition to 150 copies. Since we haven’t started printing yet, now is the perfect time to make this decision. This is still more than enough to fulfill the sold copies and leave some extras, while also allowing us to print 300 copies of the Essential Edition for the new Sherlock. This way, everybody wins: the Cave Edition won’t sit in stock, and Sherlock will continue, albeit in a slightly smaller run.
That being said, the new Sherlock is just around the corner, and this time we’re doing The Hound of the Baskervilles! We were supposed to announce it already, but since we’re reintroducing the EE line, we need a bit more time to finalize the mockups. Nevertheless, the announcement and private preorders should happen in the next few days.
In the meantime, the monoliths have finally been to space and back! Yesterday, Blue Origin marked another milestone with the successful maiden flight of their N27 rocket, which also carried our precious cargo. Now, the monoliths just need to complete the last leg of the journey—returning to Croatia—before we can set them into the covers of our first Roman numeral edition.
But the news about 2001: A Space Odyssey doesn’t end there. Since it took quite a while for all four papers to arrive, we had plenty of time for other developments. Over the past year, we’ve been working on securing the rights to one of my favourite books: Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the estate said no (N.B. if you know someone in the estate, feel free to lobby on our behalf), so we’re shelving that project for now. However, while researching illustrators for Jurassic Park, we had a meeting with Tomislav Tikulin, who is no stranger to the fine press world. When Tomislav heard we had already completed illustrations for 2001: A Space Odyssey, he was, to say the least, disappointed. But sometimes, our endless pursuit of the extraordinary takes on a life of its own. At the time, Jurassic Park was still a possibility, but as we talked and he sketched, I realised we had a unique opportunity with the delay in paper for 2001. And so, I made a difficult decision, but one I will stand behind anytime. I decided to redo all the illustrations for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Now, before you say anything, just take a look at what Tomislav has done with my input.
If you’re still on the fence, allow me to reinforce the argument.
While I have the utmost respect for our previous illustrations, Tomislav has managed to perfectly capture not only the style but also the essence of our creative concept, connecting the illustrations in the way I had originally envisioned. Just look at this.
Oh, and as a bonus, the endpapers for the Cave Edition will now feature handmade paste papers made completely in-house! With Catch-22 almost out the door, we’re on track to ramp up production, meaning shorter lead times, meaning books arriving at your doorstep more quickly. Win-win-win!