I have been eyeing this title for quite some time, but hesitating as €200 is quite a bit for a book. However, once you get the actual book, you fully understand the price. It is just truly stunning. The price is more than fair, in particular when you compare to other fine print vendors.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. Every page you turn you are reminded of the attention to detail and incredible quality of the materials used to create this work of art, and particularly at this price point.
This is my first Amaranthine book and I am so impressed. The overall design is wonderful, the paper is thick, and the letterpress printing is really nice. The illustrations are incredible - such a unique style and interesting concept. The sturdy slipcase, extremely fast international shipping, and perfectly protective yet not wasteful packaging are certainly worth mentioning too.
Doyle laboured over this selection, hoping to create a satisfying impression of his hero’s most entertaining and infamous cases. It’s wonderful to see that the producers of this beautifully crafted volume were similarly committed. Marvellous.
I received my Clue Edition from Amaranthine Books and first of all, it was extremely well packaged. They don’t mess about in protecting their publications, ensuring the recipient receives them in first class condition.
On opening the package, delivered safely by DHL, I was presented with an immense structure, totally representing the front door of 221b Baker Street.
The structure itself is truly well made and is very heavy, even more so when you find inside, the goatskin leather bound book containing 12 Sherlock Holmes stories, all wonderfully printed on handmade paper, especially made for Amaranthine Books.
The text is of course created in letterpress on their own printing press and running your fingers over the pages within, you can actually feel the raised text and although the book is quite thick, due to the nature of the handmade paper, the content runs to just under 400 pages but you wouldn’t think it to look at it.
Each chapter beginning consists of unique drop capitals, unique chapter headings and unique artwork to illustrate the story described.
You cannot fail to hold this majestic publication and not admire the layout, paper, letterpress, design, colours, artwork, goatskin leatherbound structure, gold foil title, which makes it totally special. After all, every lettered edition is unique for the owner, never having been duplicated, as the glorious endpapers make them unique, each letterpress page will be slightly unique, even the smyth sewn binding has to be unique - I am holding my own work of art, never to be repeated.
Everybody at AB puts their heart and soul into creating amazing editions and they make it very personal for you. Even contacting them via email or social media is treated like you were part of their family and to be honest, you do feel like that anyway, as their warmth, empathy and communication skills ensure you are dealing with AB on a very personal level.
If you can, follow AB on Facebook or via the ‘fans’ page and you will come across a wonderful family of friends who love AB as much as I do. And from here, you can glean how important AB are to the publishing world. Then try and obtain copies of any of the AB books to witness for yourself how beautiful these works of art are.
Ever since their first majestic, artistic, unique and creative publication, Amaranthine Books has gone from strength to strength.
The thing with Marko and his ‘family’ is that they make every publication personal to you, even though there are numerous owners of these works of art. From being informed via social media or emails ( even they feel personal to you) to the video previews we are gagging to see, AB make it all just for you - this is what they have been doing since day one , creating a wonderful work of art in which you live and breathe their concept, design, creativity and eventual publication.
This ‘Detective Edition’ is yet another outstanding book, work of art, creation, call it what you will but to have it in your hands what with the beautiful tactile suede lamb skin leather, to the solander box, inlay of the Holmes profile to then open the book and view the stunning marbled end papers before gently easing the pages (as guided by a very thoughtful insert on how to open books correctly) to running your fingers over the custom made cotton paper , sensorally experiencing each letterpress text.
Note, this book is hand bound and therefore, each book will be unique - not machine bound, making them all uniform but each on you purchase will be truly just for you.
Even the drop capitals, the chapter headings and the full page colour illustrations in a layered approach, viduslly describing the content of the story make is wonderful to behold.
Just holding this book in your hands and browsing the pages makes it a mystical experience as you wff as my it to embody you, make it firm a part of your soul, stepping into the world of Sherlock, like no other publishers has ever done for me.
Elementary it is not.
...why it's such a lovely rendition of Holmes...am so excited that Amaranthine has moved to letter press, with such nice heavy paper. I continue to be enamored of their drop caps--it's one of my favorite design features. Also, the font chosen makes the page numbers echo address numbers, which is a nice touch. Thanks for all the hard work!
I've been watching this fledgling company from the sidelines since 'Pontus' reviewed Dr Jekyll for Youtube. However, it wasn't until the release of 'Holmes', to this standard, that I committed to purchasing from them. I'm delighted with my purchase. Most would admit when we spend large amounts on books it's more than simply the story we're after. e-books and paperbacks cater perfectly well if that's all that's required. Personally, I want a sensory experience. I want to smell the book, feel the book and 'hear' the book - yes, cotton paper sounds different to regular paper. I want to delight in the cognitive also. This particular edition (Detective) ticks all the boxes. It feels fantastic - 100% cotton paper, heavy endpapers, suede binding AND letterpress. The drop caps, the change in font for the headings - mirroring the nature of the related story, the illustrations are a delight! Nothing's perfect however and I would have liked the 'labels' on the solander box to have been recessed so's not to stand proud, beautiful as they are. Furthermore, although the weight of the endpapers is great (I loathe flimsy endpapers) the metallic finish is a little at odds with the overall aesthetic, I think. I'm charmed by this effort. I think ALL at Amaranthine should be justly proud of what's been produced here.
The Essential Edition was beautiful, but the Detective Edition blew me away. The feel and texture of the front and holder are terrific. Although I have the "clues" edition to solve, haven't opened it yet. But the thickness of it assures me the inside will be fantastic.
Seems like the Amaranthine crew have outdone themselves again. Neither words nor pictures will do it justice. Just to hold this book in your hands is a pleasure, the materials used are so thoughtfully done and beautiful to behold. The bar has been raised! Excellent work.
The paper, along with the fine embossed printing (Letterpress), is absolutely world-class.
The illustrations are extremely beautiful and full of intricate details.
Even the fine suede leather and the fabric are of ultra-high quality.
It's just pure joy to hold the book in hand and lightly run fingertips over the pages or the cover.
With this title, Amaranthine has elevated to a new level and set new standards for future titles. Everything released until now pales in comparison to Sherlock.
I hope that this masterpiece serves as inspiration, and we'll continue to receive more wonderful books of this quality in the future.
Thank you for allowing me to be part of your vision.
The clam shell case is amazing. The feel of the book itself makes me never want to put it down. The material is fabulous! The feel of the letterpress is great. I love the 3D type art. Very cool! As a collector of fine press books, this is definitely a standout!
The generous margins, both at the sides and at the bottom, make the book easy to hold. With the thick strong paper this makes for a great reading experience. The book is large and beautiful, but not fragile. Very well made.
Punctuation and some capital letters such as W and T are allowed to protrude ever so slightly into the margins. This typographic subtlety makes the text look more straight and balanced. Amaranthine’s book designer knows what they are doing.
The Detective Edition of the Sherlock Amaranthine is everything I had hoped it would be - and more. Quality-wise it’s sublime, but also visually it’s an absolute treasure. Can’t wait for the second volume.
Beautifully done, designed and printed. Feels twice as expensive than it is. Overall look and feel luxurious. The best Sherlock Holmes book I have ever seen, and I have so many.
So this is what a well-crafted book feels like.
I stumbled upon Amaranthine Books just as they begun advertising Sherlock and purchased this for my girlfriend... who lives in Apartment 221, no less, loves everything "book", but owns no Sherlock!
From the production status updates to the packaging, I was thrilled when it arrived on-time. And when she finally opened it, loving it, and I got to see and feel the quality for myself, it was like opening a book for the first time... And that's fitting because it comes with instructions for a book's inaugural opening! Love it.
Sadly, some older editions of books I want are no longer available but I will absolutely be looking forward to all future releases from Amaranthine, and may even have to buy a Sherlock of my own (before they sell out too).
Everything about this book is fantastic. The quality of the paper, the typeset, binding and overall presentation is really amazing.
Amazing book, like all previous! so exciting! and already they have new one in pipeline! i have them all in collection and sherlock is my favorite so far!!!
This Sherlock Holmes Detective Edition is, for me, Amaranthine Books’ most impressive offering to date. Everything about it oozes style and quality - the design and materials of both the book and solander box, the artist’s brilliantly clever illustrations, the thick paper and letterpress printing, the overall creative concept - all combine to produce what is quite simply a work of art in its own right.
Bravo Amaranthine Books!
Amaranthine books never fail to impress. So glad they are committed to releasing these more accessible copies, because I love their work, but my pockets aren't deep enough to get the higher end stuff!
Just beautiful. It feels so heavy because of the fine paper of the book. Print and the pictures are fantastic. Can't wait for the Dectective Edition.
Oh, and the magnifying glass is a nice touch.
Wonderful production quality. Absolutely knocked it out of the park!
Amaranthine Books have created a wonderful and unique work of art.
Not only is it a book but the artwork, page layout, headings for each chapter are beautifully unique.
It is also printed in letterpress and the artistic concept pays immense credit to everybody involved in the design, creation, marketing, manufacture of this wonderful novel.
I love the case which perfectly holds the novel, matching the colour scheme and texture. Additionally, the inside covers emulate the Victorian walls of the housing interiors, giving it that ‘old fashioned’ look and feel. Everything about this work of art shows that Amaranthine Books are wonderfully unique in the high end book world and I just love it residing on my bookshelf , witnessing the gorgeous textual structure.