$10,700.00
The Monolith Edition is a letterpress printed edition of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke and it is limited to only seven copies marked by Roman numerals and signed by the entire creative team.
The book is Bradel bound, featuring the finest black goatskin leather on the spine and marbled glass covers. Most importantly, the front cover features a miniature monolith that will be launched into space on an upcoming New Shepard mission by Blue Origin, and then returned to us afterwards.
The book comes in a custom designed case inspired by the Saturn’s moon Iapetus and features foil blocking and marbled leather on the front.
We expect the production of the books to finish by the end of Q2 2024, but they will not be shipped until the monoliths that will have been sent to space are returned to us. Only then will the books be shipped via DHL Express in an insured package upon completion.
FREE insured shipping worldwide via DHL Express once the production of the book is completed and the miniature monoliths have been returned from space.
For more information on this edition, please read below or check out our production methods.
Please note that these product photos are photos of hard proof prototypes and the final product is liable to changes and could feature some changes and improvements.
With each lettered and numbered edition we try to include some extra content that was never announced, and this goes even more so for the Roman numeral edition. It can range from a notebook to various other materials that were tied-in with the book. This is meant as our thank you for purchasing directly from us and trusting us to deliver you the most exciting editions of the books you love.
It is important to note that the purchase of this edition not only grants you matching rights for the next Roman numeral edition title during private preorders, but also opens up special pricing reserved only for customers allowed in during that time.
Since we’re based in Croatia, EU, our native currency is euro. If you’re from USA or UK, the price will be automatically converted from euro to your domestic currency by the current going rate either right away or at the checkout when you enter your shipping address. Customers from other countries will be charged in euros since we are unable to currently support that many currencies.
In stock
The Monolith Edition represents our ultimate edition of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is limited to only seven signed copies marked with Roman numerals. It boasts numerous unique and special features, making it a true work of art.
All four editions share the same creative concept, but each is dedicated to one of the four acts of the story. The concept is based on humanity’s voyage over the millennia; all the way from living in caves to travelling into the unknown, occasionally interacting with intelligences other than our own. Each of these interactions has a huge impact on humanity. That is why all six illustrations are focused on such interactions, whether with otherworldly intelligences or own creations (but all of them artificial), which influence the humanity for better or for worse. The task of creating these challenging illustrations was entrusted to the extremely talented Anna Šagadin.
The introduction was written by Daniela Jović from Spacemanic, who played a vital role in turning our idea of monoliths from space into a reality. Her experience working in the space sector and with this project provide a unique perspective on 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This Roman numeral edition is inspired by the 4th and final act of the 2001: A Space Odyssey—Bowman’s venture into the giant monolith found on Saturn’s moon Iapetus. Therefore, the case, bound in the finest black goatskin leather, displays the scene on Iapetus. The lower half, representing Iapetus is marbled leather, while the upper half features the title and Saturn blocked with gold and off-white foil. The one thing that really stands out on the case is the miniature monolith settled firmly in the middle of the case, just like TMA-1’s big brother in the story. Opening the case reveals cosmic marbled papers, inspired by the “My God, it’s full of stars!” quote. Consequently, the case opens into 2.2:1 ratio; the same one that Kubrick used while filming 2001: A Space Odyssey. The book is nestled firmly in the middle of the opened case, revealing that the miniature monolith is actually set into its front cover.
The miniature monolith is one of the many things—if not the thing—that make this Roman numeral edition truly special: all monoliths planned for this edition are stored in a special package that will be sent to space! We partnered up with the company Spacemanic that secured a cargo spot for the monoliths on an upcoming New Shepard mission by Blue Origin. Afterwards, the package will be returned to us, along with the accompanying certificate for each and every monolith. Then the monolith will be carefully placed into its position on the front cover, where it is held by the magnet hidden inside. This allows it to be taken out and put back in depending on personal preference. The monolith is made out of custom designed ABS plastic shell to keep it as lightweight as possible for the space launch. All monoliths are already at the [REDACTED LOCATION] in the US, waiting to be launched.
The book is Bradel bound, featuring the finest, black goatskin leather on the spine with titan foil stamping, and special marbled glass covers. Aside from marbling, there are two more layers of paint (black varnish on the bottom layer; white dots on the middle layer) in order to create a sort of a parallax effect whenever the book is moved. Once you open the book, you are again met with gorgeous marbling on the endpapers, inspired by the red sun orbited by a white dwarf star from the end of the story, where Bowman transforms into a Star Child.
The bookmark is two-sided, inspired by the voyage through the monolith. It, therefore, represents the monolith reduced to two dimensions with the help of holographic foil blocking. The design of all elements featured on the case and the bookmark was done by the exceptional designer and our long-time collaborator Damir Mazinjanin.
The paper used throughout the book will be 100% cotton custom made Hahnemühle paper and the text will be printed letterpress on our very own Heidelberg Cylinder. The six full page colour illustrations will be printed giclée, also on Hahnemühle paper made for such detailed form of printing. Almost every part of this edition, except for the monoliths, was crafted by hand or using the best possible printing and binding tools at our disposal.
As previously mentioned, the whole run has only seven signed copies marked with Roman numerals, with only a few additional publisher’s copies for our own archive that will never go for sale, making this a true rarity.
All of these details make this truly an ultimate edition of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Photography: Danijel Berković & Dino Šertović.
This edition, like all our edition, will be insured and shipped for free via DHL.
| Weight | 5 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 30 × 33 × 10 cm |
| country_of_manufacture | Croatia |
| hs_code | 4901.99.00.91 |
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