“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” This is a famous quote by Douglas Adams, and as much as I love the man and pretty much everything he wrote (yes, even Mostly Harmless), I could not disagree more with that statement. I know it’s a (pretty great) joke and I do love internal deadlines, but what I do not like is to promise anything that can turn out to be untrue, especially the delivery time.
This is pretty much why Amaranthine Books almost never announces anything until it’s ready and why we work on our books in total secrecy. Not only is there no danger in missing a specific predetermined date, but it also gives us complete freedom to do our work properly, without rushing. That means even switching what title we’re working on midway if we conclude that’s the best course of action.
Alice was a different book, though, one that is vastly more complicated than everything we ever done (and here I thought the blood and soil in Scholomance Edition would be the craziest thing we ever did). As such, I was a bit too optimistic with 1-3 months delivery time. We shipped about half of Jabberwock Editions so far, but Bandersnatch Edition is a different beast altogether (pun absolutely intended) which requires a lot of careful and precise manual work. So allow me to go into it for a moment as a sort of backhanded apology for the delay to everyone who preordered this unusual edition (+an actual apology at the end).
State of Affairs
As you probably already know, Bandersnatch Edition contains many parts, some that go far beyond the contents of the book. There’s the actual book, a bookmark, a deck of oversized cards, the chess set carved from the famed Slavonian oak and chess pieces made from stainless steel and copper.
All of these elements are already produced and in our office. Even the custom made boxes and styrofoam filling for them has been produced. However, the slipcases (for the deck of cards and for the book), as well as the fabrics for the chess set, are still in production.
On the right: Gigantic custom made boxes for Bandersnatch.
While there were some outside elements that have slowed us down, like the series of earthquakes that hit area around Zagreb at the end of the year and a medical condition of our master of all things handmade, Slobodan, the biggest factor was quality; and quality is often closely intertwined with time.
Time and Time Again
There’s no rushing when it comes to quality, which was proven to me time and time again while working on all Amaranthine Books editions. The time needed to carefully place and apply each of the chess squares, of which there is a total of about 4000, is more than I originally anticipated. Not only that, but each chess border needs to be laser cut with surgical precision, then manually folded segment by segment, and then finally, after the glue has dried, can it be applied to the chess set. Then, and only then, can the final ingredient be applied – you need to let it rest. There is a certain time needed after the work is done where you just need to wait for all of it to settle so you can verify that is indeed properly done.
On the image below you can see one of the chess sets (letter “Y” to be more specific, it is engraved in one of the sides) that is halfway done. It is currently resting closed up so all elements can properly settle. Then the chess boards will be settled in, followed by placement of everything else.
But the lettering of each set is not the only unique thing. The chess sets, being carved out of wood, hold unique tree lines, sometimes even gaps, that are uncovered in the process of cutting and carving. Each of these carry a story of the trees that were used to create these sets and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t waste some time just looking at these marks.
Finally, after all is said and done, every piece of oak that was left uncovered is wiped with a solution for wood care, not only to remove any fingerprints, but to also polish it back to high shine.
The Joys of Manual Work
One of the best things about Bandersnatch Edition, and Alice in general, is that I can say I really did personally work on it. Like, with my own hands. This allowed me not only to personally monitor the process, but also because it meant I could learn from a master to the likes of Slobodan and be his apprentice in a way.
As I said previously, every piece of fabric on Alice was carefully placed by hand. Each was a result of a painstaking (but oh so satisfying) process that takes hours to complete. There is probably a machine out there somewhere that could do this instead of us, or at least there will be, but this way makes it that much more gratifying.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that at times it feels like we’re something like watchmakers, albeit their job is infinitely more difficult and delicate. But that moment when you’re in the zone, making something so precise and demanding is one of natural highs that can only be experienced if you actually do it, not only order it to be produced with such and such specification. More importantly, you gain deeper knowledge and understanding on how these things work, which should help with the future projects, or so I (dare to) hope.
ETA?
But if you preordered Bandersnatch Edition, there is one burning question I still haven’t answered – when will it be shipped?
Well, that mostly depends on when you ordered. Obviously, those who were the first to order will be the first in line and then we’ll move down the list sequentially. I believe three sets could be ready this month, possibly even more. Three sets are in the drying process currently, while the others are coming to that stage. The preparation time takes the biggest toll, so once we get going, they should get shipped at a steadier rate (just like what happened with Jabberwock Edition). So I guess I’m hesitant to say the exact date (again), like I mentioned earlier. Besides, the exact date is also impossible since not all of them will be complete at the same point in time, but I’d like you to know that not a day goes by when we don’t work on this book and everything that comes with it.
What I would like, though, is if you have any questions or feedback to let me know. Especially if you would like to know more about the production process. And I am truly sorry that I overestimated the shipping date. I do, however, promise that once you see it, it will all be worthwhile.
