Areté Editions

20/09/2024

Something Rich and I did earlier in the year!

05/09/2024

News from Rich!!!

24/07/2024

We have a number of books in the pipeline and one we hope to announce imminently, and we have Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World coming very soon, the first time for fifty years that a Fine letterpress version has been created.

‘Ensconced in his recently purchased villa in the South of France, in late 1931 Huxley began work on what is now widely considered to be one of the Western canon's most important novels. Published in 1932, Brave New World marks the apogee of Huxley’s abilities as a satirist. The world it presents, however, is viewed through a much darker lens, informed by the writer’s growing anxieties about the direction of political, social and scientific progress. Brave New World is also an astonishingly prescient novel, foretelling advances in each of these areas that were as much as a half-century away.
Set in London in 2540, the 7th century After Ford, Brave New World presents a future in which genetically engineered babies are produced on assembly lines, the social and economic divide between the haves and the have nots is legally enforced and discontent is quelled by advertising, medication, s*x and entertainment.’
From Aldous Huxley Biography.com.

We have, for the last two years, been working with one of the pioneers of the ‘Pop Art’ movement of the ‘60’s; Allen Jones. Known for his brightly coloured paintings, prints and, sometimes infamous, sculptures, he is one of the last living artists from that time. He has produced over 20 colour prints and many black and white images for the story. Concentrating on the human relationships and the characters in his own unique voice, Allen Jones has managed to find a vision of the book not explored before. We feel he has created an extraordinary book.

17/06/2024

FROZEN HELL! Final call out for change of address. Please notify us if you have changed your address since you ordered Frozen Hell numbered editions, many thanks for your patience and support! It is on it's way!!

11/06/2024

We’ve all been working hard behind the scenes and we’ll have some terrific news coming very soon! However, for now...

Frozen Hell IMPORTANT.

Finally! The numbered edition of Frozen Hell is about to be shipped! If any of you that have ordered a book, I know it was a while ago now, and have moved or changed address PLEASE NOTIFY US!!

Ludlow’s are hoping to start sending the books out early next week. Phil is away on holiday next week too, so if you have a change of address, please let us know sooner than later.

The Lettered/Roman edition will be a little while longer as it is much more complicated and we wanted to get the Numbered out of the way first. The book blocks (the really complicated bit) are finished. The leather is all prepped for the boxes and books will be ready to go. Soon!

25/04/2024

Frozen Hell update! We've been busy over the last few weeks, production on Frozen Hell and Lyra's Oz, printing Benjamin Button and working out our future books. Frozen Hell has a very complex interior production which has taken an awful lot longer for the craftspeople at Ludlow Bookbinders, these clips, unedited, will give you a sense of putting in twenty two foldouts, double page and single page plates that need to be sewn into the book! It is proving VERY time consuming.

18/04/2024

Greg has been elected to be included into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame!! An extraordinary achievement! Well done Greg!

01/04/2024

And here’s another teaser! For Lud-in-the Mist by Hope Mirrlees, one of the most influential fantasy novels in the last few decades, originally only known by authors such as Neil Gaiman, now acknowledged as a towering masterpiece. This is the first Fine Press edition of the book, extraordinarily illustrated by Scott McKowen using scratchboard technique, which is perfect for letterpress print making:

01/04/2024

A teaser, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has not had a Fine Press edition for over fifty years that I know of.

We have, for the last two years, been working with one of the pioneers of the ‘Pop Art’ movement of the ‘60’s; Allen Jones. Known for his brightly coloured paintings, prints and, sometimes infamous, sculptures, he is one of the last living artists from that time. He has produced over 20 prints for the story. Concentrating on the human relationships and the characters in his own unique voice, Allen Jones has managed to find vision of the book not explored before. We feel he has created an extraordinary book.

Here is a letterpress print of the scene that shocks the audience watching, then: ‘Laughter broke out, enormous, almost hysterical, peal after peal, as though it would never stop. My father–and it was the Director! My father! Oh Ford, oh Ford! That was really too good. The whooping and the roaring renewed themselves, faces seemed on the point of disintegration, tears were streaming. Six more test-tubes of spermatozoa were upset. My father!’

06/03/2024

While I work on getting Oz together for Rich’s Lyra, we are working on other books!

One of them is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, Neil Gaiman says; Lud as "one of the finest [fantasy novels] in the English language.... It is a little golden miracle of a book." He described Mirrlees's writing as "elegant, supple, effective and haunting: the author demands a great deal from her readers, which she repays many times over." He says that it is one of his top ten favourite books.

Scott McKowen is the illustrator for the novel, he is creating over thirty, letterpress relief print illustrations for the book! Here he shows us his tools and work in progress of the finished piece: ‘My tools are all here — no.11 x-acto blade, an engraving burin when I need an even finer line, an old Castel-Faber technical pen with black ink (for correcting errors), magnifying lupe attached to the swing-arm of an old desk lamp (held on with jury-rigged plastic plumbing hardware), and a brush for sweeping away the insidious ink dust….’

12/02/2024

Phil, master printer and partner/creator of Arete Editions and private press publisher of Hand & Eye editions has a brilliant interview and offers insights in to letterpress printing at collectable book vault, not to be missed! And they are giving away some free stuff donated by us! See now at:

Phil Abel of Hand and Eye, Lyra's Books and Areté Editions - Letterpress Printer Phil Abel is an accomplished and sought-after letterpress printer, based in London, who has been mastering his craft for decades. He currently releases his own projects under the Hand and Eye imprint and is also the pr...

21/01/2024

In preparation is Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. First published in 1926, it is now recognised as one of the most significant works of fantasy. It was largely unknown for many years, although it was revered by authors and devotees of the genre.

Neil Gaiman has described it as;

‘Hope Mirrlees only wrote one fantasy novel, but it is one of the finest in the English language.

The book begins as a travelogue or a history, becomes a pastorale, a low comedy, a high comedy, a ghost story and a detective story. The writing is elegant, supple, effective and haunting: the author demands a great deal from her readers, which she repays many times over.

It is a little golden miracle of a book, adult, in the best sense, and, as the best fantasy should be, far from reassuring.’

It is one of his top ten favourite books.

Our edition will have over forty stunning relief prints by Scott McKowen. Neil Gaiman suggested that we commission him, and it was a masterful idea!

09/01/2024

Next on the press is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald with illustrations by Dave McKean. He is using a modern version of the two- and three-colour techniques that made mid-twentieth century illustrated books so exciting. It too, along with Frozen Hell, is due to be completed this spring.

08/01/2024

This was a dreadful night, I know as I was helping to move art in the same studio block. They are self funded, so any help for this amazing resource I'm sure would be gratefully received!

NEWS: Late last night (4 Jan), much of Fish Island – home of LCBA – was submerged following torrential rain and flooding of the nearby canal. The water was so high that we couldn’t get to the entrance until this morning, when we began the slow task of clearing the flooded studio and assessing ...

01/01/2024

We all hope that you have had a wonderful break, much needed here! First, a big thank you!

We started Areté two-and-a-half years ago and we are most grateful for your support since then – we couldn't have got this far without you. Thank you.

We have been working on some wonderful artist-driven books during 2023 which will be coming out this year. Here is Frozen Hell, written by John W. Campbell and illustrated by Gregory Manchess, is due for completion in the first quarter. The letterpress text has been printed and the colour prints are now on the press. binding is going to be a long, complex job as we want the plates to lie completely flat when the book is open. Some of them are a metre wide!

09/11/2023

We have two Frozen Hell Roman Editions up for sale in our store! One return and one we kept as a possible need but we’ve decided to put up for sale;

The Roman Edition of Frozen Hell is limited to thirty copies for sale and is half-bradel bound in white Harmatan Katsina goatskin leather with multiple cut-outs to the front board. The ice cave structure on the front board of this huge edition is created with multiple layers of thin binder’s board...

05/11/2023

tripwire magazine has a little article about our Benjamin Button!

Living Life Backwards Aréte Editions has just announced a limited edition hardcover of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and here’s a few details on it… F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was first published in 1922. The eponymous her...

04/11/2023

Partial.ly payments are now live, so if you want to pay in instalments I think you have to register with https://partial.ly/how-it-works/customers first and then order at https://www.arete-editions.com/store/

Partial.ly payment plan software lets businesses offer customizable payment plans to their customers. Free signup and no monthly fees.

03/11/2023

These unique books will be available for pre-sale from our website https://www.arete-editions.com/ From Nov. 4th at 5pm GMT

This book is lavishly illustrated by the extraordinary Dave McKean. Dave has produced seventeen letterpress relief prints in three colours including three double-page plates that are tabbed into the book blocks to allow opening without a gutter. These are printed and bound in to a seventy-two-page book. It is a true artist’s vision.

The classic story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a wonderful tale of magic realism by an American literary giant that tells the fable of a man who is born an old, aged man and regresses to a baby, born on the eve of the American civil war, its subtle satire covers the changes of society in a world in transformation.

The Numbered edition:

An edition of 200 copies, of which 180 are for sale.

72 pages, 286 x 206 mm

The book will be quarter bound, with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. The face papers are hand marbled by Freya Scott of Paperwilds and foil blocked in two colours to the front board. The top page edge will be gilded.

The book will come in a cloth-covered slipcase, lined in light brown suedel. The front of the slipcase will be foil blocked in three colours.

Binding by Ry Rich Tong at Ludlow Bookbinders.

Signed by Dave McKean and numbered.

£395.00 plus shipping

The Lettered Edition:

72 pages, 286 x 206 mm

An edition of 36 copies, of which 26 will be lettered A-Z for sale. Six copies hors de commerce will be marked in red roman numerals.

The book will be fully bound with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. There will be two passes of foil blocking to the front board in black and cream and one pass to the spine in cream. All three of the page edges will be gilded.

It will come in a cloth covered solander box with a large leather label affixed to the front. The label to be foil blocked in three passes, with a further pass to the spine in black.

Binding by Ry Rich Tong at Ludlow Bookbinders.

Signed by Dave McKean and numbered remarqued with an original Dave McKean picture.

£1450.00 plus shipping

Expected to be shipped 1st quarter 2024. .london

03/11/2023

These unique books will be available for pre-sale from our website https://www.arete-editions.com/ From Nov. 4th at 5pm GMT

This book is lavishly illustrated by the extraordinary Dave McKean. Dave has produced seventeen letterpress relief prints in three colours including three double-page plates that are tabbed into the book blocks to allow opening without a gutter. These are printed and bound in to a seventy-two-page book. It is a true artist’s vision.

The classic story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a wonderful tale of magic realism by an American literary giant that tells the fable of a man who is born an old, aged man and regresses to a baby, born on the eve of the American civil war, its subtle satire covers the changes of society in a world in transformation.

The Numbered edition:

An edition of 200 copies, of which 180 are for sale.

72 pages, 286 x 206 mm

The book will be quarter bound, with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. The face papers are hand marbled by Freya Scott of Paperwilds and foil blocked in two colours to the front board. The top page edge will be gilded.

The book will come in a cloth-covered slipcase, lined in light brown suedel. The front of the slipcase will be foil blocked in three colours.

Signed by Dave McKean and numbered.

£395.00 plus shipping

The Lettered Edition:

72 pages, 286 x 206 mm

An edition of 36 copies, of which 26 will be lettered A-Z for sale. Six copies hors de commerce will be marked in red roman numerals.

The book will be fully bound with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. There will be two passes of foil blocking to the front board in black and cream and one pass to the spine in cream. All three of the page edges will be gilded.

It will come in a cloth covered solander box with a large leather label affixed to the front. The label to be foil blocked in three passes, with a further pass to the spine in black.

Signed by Dave McKean and numbered remarqued with an original Dave McKean picture.

£1450.00 plus shipping

Expected to be shipped 1st quarter 2024.

02/11/2023

Store opens Nov. 4th at 5pm GMT. https://www.arete-editions.com/

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The classic story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a wonderful tale of magic realism by an American literary giant that tells the fable of a man who is born an old, aged man and regresses to a baby, born on the eve of the American civil war, its subtle satire covers the changes of society in a world in transformation.

This book is lavishly illustrated by the extraordinary Dave McKean. Dave has produced seventeen letterpress relief prints in three colours. These are printed and bound in to a seventy-two-page book. It is a true artist’s vision.

Store opens Saturday!

31/10/2023

Store opens Nov. 4th at 5pm GMT. https://www.arete-editions.com/

The classic story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a wonderful tale of magic realism by an American literary giant that tells the fable of a man who is born an old, aged man and regresses to a baby, born on the eve of the American civil war, its subtle satire covers the changes of society in a world in transformation.

This book is lavishly illustrated by the extraordinary Dave McKean. Dave has produced seventeen letterpress relief prints in three colours. These are printed and bound in to a seventy-two-page book. It is a true artist’s vision.

The Lettered Edition

72 pages, 286 x 206 mm

An edition of 36 copies, of which 26 will be lettered A-Z for sale. Six copies hors de commerce will be marked in red roman numerals

Seventeen three-colour relief prints by Dave McKean including three double-page plates that are tabbed into the book blocks to allow opening without a gutter

Signed by Dave McKean and numbered

Typeset in Baskerville and printed letterpress by Phil Abel at Hand & Eye Editions on Liber Charta 170 gsm paper

The book will be fully bound with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. There will be two passes of foil blocking to the front board in black and cream and one pass to the spine in cream. All three of the page edges will be gilded.

It will come in a cloth covered solander box with a large leather label affixed to the front. The label to be foil blocked in three passes, with a further pass to the spine in black.

Remarqued with an original Dave McKean illustration.

£1450.00 plus shipping

30/10/2023

Just in! New photos of the bindings of our next pre-sale. Dave McKean has illustrated F Scott Fitzgerald's fantasy short story and has been collaborating with Richard Tong on the bindings, who created the designs from Dave’s concepts and images. We think they've done a fantastic, elegant, job.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

These fabulous books will be available for pre-sale from our website from https://www.arete-editions.com/

Saturday 4 November at 5pm GMT

The Numbered Edition

72 pages, 286 x 206 mm

An edition of 200 copies, of which 180 are for sale.

Seventeen three-colour relief prints by Dave McKean including three double-page plates that will be tabbed into the book blocks to allow opening without a gutter.

Signed by Dave McKean and numbered.

Typeset in Baskerville and printed letterpress by Phil Abel at Hand & Eye Editions on Munken 150 gsm paper.

The book will be quarter bound, with a square spine in chocolate brown Canada Grain cow hide. The face papers are hand marbled by Freya Scott of Paperwilds and foil blocked in two colours to the front board. The top page edge will be gilded.

The book will come in a cloth-covered slipcase, lined in light brown suedel. The front of the slipcase will be foil blocked in three colours.

£395.00 plus shipping

29/10/2023

We’ll be announcing prices and details and showing photos of Rich Tong’s beautiful bindings tomorrow Monday 30th.

We will be opening the store on Saturday 4th November at 5pm GMT

We are proud to tell you about our new book, a true Fine Press, elegant edition, of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic satirical fantasy short story.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The classic story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a wonderful tale of magic realism by an American literary giant that tells the fable of a man who is born an old, aged man and regresses to a baby, born on the eve of the American civil war, its subtle satire covers the changes of society in a world in transformation.

This book is lavishly illustrated by the extraordinary Dave McKean. Dave has produced seventeen letterpress relief prints in three colours. These are printed and bound in to a seventy-two-page book. It is a true artist’s vision.

All letterpress printed by Phil Abel at Hand & Eye.
All books signed by Dave McKean.
All books handmade by Richard Tong and Sam Cartwright at Ludlow Bookbinders.
Each of the lettered edition will be remarqued with an original Dave McKean illustration.

24/10/2023

Got a package from Rich which had this slipcase, made by Rich with design ideas by Dave McKean! I really love the way Dave has used the title and the concept of the timer going backwards. Should get photos by Monday and details will be going out for a sale on the following Saturday (I hope!). Here is a quick photo of the cloth bound suedel lined slipcase and Dave's first concept idea for the design.