Last time I wrote about 2001: A Space Odyssey, I discussed the eponymous showdown that inspired the design for the HAL Edition. Now, it’s time to go a bit deeper and further. This time, we’re venturing (quite literally) into the Monolith found on Saturn’s moon Iapetus. Like the previous video, this one delves into the production details, further building on the idea that each edition is inspired by one of the story’s four arcs, resulting in four distinct editions.
While there have been some critical upgrades since this book was announced, we focused mainly on making this edition even better than originally planned. The video goes into considerable detail, but it’s worth highlighting the most important points here.
The marbled leather is now more intricate and better represents the look that Iapetus is known for, particularly its “eye.” Furthermore, the marbled endpapers are now even more elaborate (because, hey, it’s a red sun!), and their orientation has been changed to create a connection between the front and back endpapers.
But probably the biggest news is that the text for this edition will be printed letterpress on 100% cotton handmade paper by the one and only Gangolf Ulbricht. This has been a dream for a while now, and our first Roman numeral edition seemed like the perfect book for such an endeavor.
Needless to say, the art portfolio that comes with this book will not only feature giclée printed illustrations, just like in the book, but also all the marbling that appeared in any of the editions of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The best thing you can do is hit the link and enjoy the show—I promise it’s going to be worth it.
