Fingon's hair wrote:

I sent an e-mail, after having seen some of the slipcases' examples I am feeling even more excited about it.

It is the first time I ask to reserve a book with this method, should I expect to receive a confirmation e-mail in a week or so? And how does the overall process work? Apologies for the silly questions and thank you all.

I assume Merlin Unwin Books will be in touch in due course.

Much like everyone else. I too have sent you an email Merlin Unwin Books.

Email sent too ?

I think my question is would the original edition fit in the slipcase

Stu wrote:

Karl wrote:

The description makes no mention of the book itself being any different from the standard edition with the exception of the tipped in limitation. I'd be interested in knowing if it has superior paper and/or an upgraded binding. I hope it's more than a (signed and numbered) standard edition in a slipcase.

I'm assuming standard edition in a slipcase.

£95 is a lot for a buckram slipcase.

Karl wrote:

Stu wrote:

Karl wrote:

The description makes no mention of the book itself being any different from the standard edition with the exception of the tipped in limitation. I'd be interested in knowing if it has superior paper and/or an upgraded binding. I hope it's more than a (signed and numbered) standard edition in a slipcase.

I'm assuming standard edition in a slipcase.

£95 is a lot for a buckram slipcase.

It is, though having recently looked at buckram (and bookcloth) slipcases and traycases custom made, they are actually surprisingly expensive. Probably not £95 expensive, but certainly £50.

Stu wrote:

Karl wrote:

Stu wrote:

Karl wrote:

The description makes no mention of the book itself being any different from the standard edition with the exception of the tipped in limitation. I'd be interested in knowing if it has superior paper and/or an upgraded binding. I hope it's more than a (signed and numbered) standard edition in a slipcase.

I'm assuming standard edition in a slipcase.

£95 is a lot for a buckram slipcase.

It is, though having recently looked at buckram (and bookcloth) slipcases and traycases custom made, they are actually surprisingly expensive. Probably not £95 expensive, but certainly £50.

I'd be surprised if Merlin Unwin were paying Ludlow £2500 for the 50 slipcases, but I have no expert knowledge and very well may be wrong. I guess I'm just trying to understand if there's real value or if it's just another example of the tried and true method of getting collectors to open their wallets by slapping an artificial limitation on something that's barely distinguishable from the mass produced version.

I am sure that they will sell the 50 copies at this price (I've reserved one myself, as well). Having Merlin's signature on a family publication like this is fun for me, and I think it worth the price. The slipcase sounds like they are picking top quality materials, and the bindery that is doing it does great work. It will be a high quality item for my collection, and in ten years, I won't question at all that I paid this amount for it.

Karl wrote:

I'd be surprised if Merlin Unwin were paying Ludlow £2500 for the 50 slipcases, but I have no expert knowledge and very well may be wrong. I guess I'm just trying to understand if there's real value or if it's just another example of the tried and true method of getting collectors to open their wallets by slapping an artificial limitation on something that's barely distinguishable from the mass produced version.

I have no expert knowledge either, beyond decent slipcases being non-cheap, though I imagine the cost drops significantly the more you make. I know with HarperCollins, they have told me in the past that the slipcase is usually the most expensive thing to produce out of a slipcased edition.

That said, I don't think anyone is going to be buying this because it represents good value relative to the standard edition! Equally, assuming the quality does end up being good, it won't end up representing terrible value, I don't think.

In terms of the limitation, I would be surprised if the market exists for any more than 50 copies, and I would guess they have chosen that number accordingly.

Karl wrote:

Stu wrote:

Karl wrote:

The description makes no mention of the book itself being any different from the standard edition with the exception of the tipped in limitation. I'd be interested in knowing if it has superior paper and/or an upgraded binding. I hope it's more than a (signed and numbered) standard edition in a slipcase.

I'm assuming standard edition in a slipcase.

£95 is a lot for a buckram slipcase.

I disagree, the tooling costs would be very high for this as it is a very complex image, and only for a small number of slipcases.