Concept and Art

The Doctor Edition aims to represent the ambitious doctor and elements of his profession. It is limited to 300 numbered and signed copies, and it has several features that make it quite unique. Since we wanted to create two distinct editions, they share a deep connection, just like the doctor and its creation.

The covers are inspired by an operating table and that is why we used aluminium as the main feature, which is then quarter-bound in the finest black leather, and then the spine was blocked with silver foil. Most importantly a real surgeon’s needle was blocked on the front cover, while other details were engraved with laser. The goal was to have covers that can proudly claim the title of The Doctor Edition.

Once you open the book, you’ll be met by handmade marbled endpapers done by the legendary Freya Scott. They were done in a cellular pattern so to make one additional connection with Victor’s profession. When you reach the title, you will find a hidden surprise in the book’s title.

But the creative concept for this title is where the book truly shines. It is based upon our insight that this is a story about connection, or rather the lack thereof. The Monster is constantly trying to connect with people. It is smart, caring, hungry for companionship. Yet, despite this desire, it is constantly denied all of it. Each of the illustration in its original state represents the moments in story where the Monster interacted with humans and how it was chased and cast away. But each of these illustrations are screen printed by hand and is only the first phase of the illustration. Once you touch the monster, the ink becomes transparent and reveals the real offset printed illustration below, that gives you a glimpse into how the story could have ended then and there if people in question accepted the Monster. The two phases of the illustrations were quite challenging to do, because the overlap had to make sense in both phases, and the extremely talented illustrator Yana Adamović did a stupendous job in achieving that.

As you go through the chapters, you’ll see there are beautiful drop caps designed for each chapter and once you need a break from reading, you can use the bookmark shaped like a scalpel to “cut” into the monster and mark your spot.

The book comes in a solander box that is made to look like a doctor’s tool bag from that era, so once you open it you’re met with rich velvet interior where the book is safely tucked away.

As previously mentioned, the whole run has 300 numbered copies, with a few additional publisher’s copies for the key participants of the projects that will never go to sale, making this a true rarity.

You can see more pictures of the book and the illustrations in our gallery.
Photography: Dino Šertović.

Production and Materials

For this edition of Frankenstein we had to consider some unusual materials to make something as unique as this.

The solander box is bound in a material made of 85% genuine leather fibres and it features a metal plate with the title on the spine. Inside it is lined with that same recycled leather material and purple velvet so it can be truly protected from outside influence.

The book is quarter-bound in finest black goatskin leather with an aniline finish, sourced from Didier Lieutard in France, and features aluminium covers with a surgeon’s needle safely blocked on the front. The spine is blocked in silver foil.

Marbled endpapers were handmade using numerous colours, some of them metallic, to achieve a cellular pattern, as if one was looking through the microscope. The book was printed offset on Fedrigoni Savile Row 100g paper, giving it a rich feel full of texture. After printing each illustration had thermochromic ink screen printed over the illustrations to give it two phases that react to warmth. The ink is set to react at 25 degrees celsius, so bear in mind that in extremely cold conditions it will hardly react to human warmth (or if you have cold hands). Likewise, should the temperature in the room run high, the ink will react by itself. However, as soon as conditions change, it will return to its original state so it is completely reversible. In any normal circumstances (living temperature conditions) the book should look as intended and react to human touch or gentle rubbing since friction will generate heat. When the heat dissipates, it will revert back to black. Also worth noting is that since each of these were screen printed by hand, the overlap is not always perfect, nor is it intended like that. Instead, we wanted to achieve this blend of situations, giving you glimpse into an alternative story that portrays the power of human touch.

Finally, the book was smyth sewn with black thread, then glued afterwards to provide for maximum durability. As always, to ensure the best reading experience, we used the beautiful and versatile Brioni typeface.

The scalpel bookmark was produced from a special metallic paper with embossing on both sides.

All of these details make this a truly unique edition of Frankenstein.

Shipping

Since we put a lot of effort into creation of our books, we like to see them delivered safe and sound (and fast!) straight into your hands. That is why we ship with DHL Express, which means the books will be trackable at all times and they’ll arrive straight into your hands (unless you state otherwise). This also means they should arrive within 7-10 business days at the latest, but they’ll usually arrive within five business days, depending at what time of the day you made your order.

Please be aware that although books are not subject to customs fees in many countries, they might be in yours. This may mean they’ll be held at customs for inspection, delaying the delivery time, and you may be charged a customs fee or import tax or similar. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about customs clearance – customs rules of each country make the importer (the buyer—you!) responsible for these fees. Some of our customers have managed to reduce these fees by opting to do the import documentation themselves at the customs office instead of letting the courier (DHL) do it for them.