High quality editions

[Anonymous No.21448376]

I got some money for Christmas and I want to spend it on well-made books that won't crumble to dust in a couple of decades.
There are several publishers I know of that make (or made) good-looking, well-built books: Folio Society, Heron Books, Easton Press, and Franklin Library. The last two are difficult for me to find because I live in Europe so they're mostly off the table. I own a couple of Folios and I know their quality has dropped markedly over the last two decades so I am now thinking about buying something from Heron Books.
>picrel
is the "Greatest Masterpieces of Russian Literature" series by Heron Books but I'm having trouble finding information about translations, specifically Dostoevsky (C&P), Gogol (Dead Souls), Turgenev (Fathers and Sons), and Pushkin. Anyone of you anons have these editions? Are they as well-made as they look? Are they worth the price?
tl;dr:
>What are publishers or sites where I can find high quality editions of classics (with good translations where applicable)?
>Are Russian lit Heron Books worth it?

[Anonymous No.21448405]

>>21448376

[Anonymous No.21448437]

>>21448376
There are 80 people on /lit/, and of those that read, do you really think even one of the three has any information on good books?

[Anonymous No.21448475]

>>21448437
I hope so?

[Anonymous No.21448483]

>>21448376
There's Suntup Press, but I don't care much for its selection of books.

[Anonymous No.21448876]

bump

[Anonymous No.21448965]

Buy some used books printed before the 1950s. Most books printed in the 1920-1930s are of high quality.

[Anonymous No.21448972]

>>21448965
I begin to encounter problems with certain translations if I go that far back, that's why Heron Books seems like a good middle ground where it's not P&V or Constance Garnett but in reality I have no idea what translation they actually use

[Anonymous No.21449016]

these are horrible editions unironically, i own a few. Absurd printing errors and the binding is very low quality. They look nice on a shelf but are basically made of plastic, a couple of them have had the spines come clean off. The illustrations are probably the only redeeming quality.

[Anonymous No.21449076]

>>21449016
wow, you just saved me from buying 4 of these, thanks

[Anonymous No.21449205]

Is that elephant hide?

[Anonymous No.21449249]

>>21449205
what?

[Anonymous No.21449254]

>>21448376
Everyman's Library. Widely available, just as high quality as Folio Society, acid-free paper and binding that will outlast you and your grandchildren. Cheaper than the others and streamlined in aesthetic outlook - without the dust jacket, they look absolutely sexy on your shelf.
They use P&V for Dostoevsky and Maude for Tolstoy, which are excellent. Don't recall what they use for Gogol, but their track record is good, and it's usually fine as long as it isn't Garnett.

[Anonymous No.21449410]

>>21449254
>P&V for Dostoevsky is excellent
I don't get it, how is it excellent? I've compared paragraphs translated by them and someone like McDuff and they make some damn odd choices
do they have some magical quality that makes them read better when it's the entire text and not just paragraphs or what?

[Anonymous No.21449512]

bump

[Anonymous No.21449546]

related to this, any good editions of classic texts in latin or ancient greek where you get the original on one side and the english translation on the other side? i know you can find the Loeb editions scanned online[1], but as far as i know it's not printed anymore and to find it second-hand it's very difficult, like the complete Plutarch Parallel Lives for example

[1] https://ryanfb.xyz/loebolus/

[Anonymous No.21449562]

>>21449546
>[1] https://ryanfb.xyz/loebolus/
great link, thanks. didnt know such a library existed

[Anonymous No.21450287]

>>21449016
Awful. Thanks, anon.

[Anonymous No.21450294]

>>21449546
Wait, what?! They aren't printing physical Loeb volumes anymore??

[Anonymous No.21450295]

>>21449254
>>21449410
Maybe it's because I read Russian novels as one who enjoys victorian sensibilities, but I absolutely prefer Constance Garnett as a translator. People complain about prudishness, but that's hardly a significant detail--she best captures the Victorian language, meaning, and mores.

The everyman's are great, but you can get great English books from Macmillan, Longmans, heritage, limited editions, and small presses like nonesuch,black dial, Hogarth, etc. I have lots of moxons which are basically rebranded books from an elite publisher (s&s). I also like Konemann classics. Very well bound, cheap, good selection, etc.

[Anonymous No.21450860]

>>21450295
I'll be checking them out first thing in the morning, thanks
At a glance I like the Konemanns but I can't find info on the translations for something like Fathers and Sons. Have any idea?

[Anonymous No.21451184]

OP go to a real second hand bookstore - the kind with tottering piles of books blocking your way and dust everywhere. You'll likely find lovely editions of books you want at a fraction of the price of some chinese sweatshop "fancy" books.

[Anonymous No.21451537]

>>21450860
Constance Garnett does the konemann translation of father's and sons, which I also own be as a limited editions club book. I think it's a fine edition.

[Anonymous No.21452732]

badoomp

[Anonymous No.21453335]

>>21448376
There are 80 people on /lit/, and of those that read, do you really think even one of the three has any information on good books?

[Anonymous No.21453351]

>>21450294
i don't know, if i try to find Loeb's Plutarch Parallel Lives, i find some of the volumes, but others are disappeared from the internet, maybe there are in some physical stores or universities?

[Anonymous No.21453353]

>>21451184
>OP go to a real second hand bookstore
>find volumes 2 and 3, but not volume 1
every. single. time.

[Anonymous No.21453359]

>>21453351
Last time I bought Loebs they were off of ebay, so check there. One of the Cicero volumes even still has the uni library tags on it

[Anonymous No.21453389]

>>21453351
>>21453359
No Loeb's...scary stuff.

[Anonymous No.21453554]

>>21453359
>>21453351
>>21453389
the west has fallen

[Anonymous No.21453749]

>>21451184
not in the UK/US so it's out of the question for the books I'm after

[Anonymous No.21453768]

>>21450295
sexy library you got there

[Anonymous No.21453969]

>>21448376
Éditions Famot are gorgeous. I have the complète works of Moliere and Montaigne, it looks amazing

[Anonymous No.21454098]

>>21453353
That's what abebooks is for - you still save money on volumes 2 and 3.

[Anonymous No.21454133]

>>21453969
>Moliere and Montaigne
are they any good? i know they were really big here in Spain before the anglos took over everything, but for some reason they pretty much disappeared lately from the spotlight, unlike Ballsack, Flaubert, Stendhal, and the french enlightenment boyos who are still big, i guess maybe because they are pre-enlightenment? not sure

[Anonymous No.21454998]

bump

[Anonymous No.21455049]

>>21453969
The only problem I have with editions like these is in my experience they can lose the gold embellishing very easily. Is it different for Famot?

[Anonymous No.21455164]

>>21454133
Well, Molière is a playwrighter. So for anyone that doesn't read french, it may be still really funny to watch, but you won't get his genius by reading it. He is somewhat the guy that made comedians being appreciated by the elites and not just plebeian stuff.
About Montaigne, haven't read a line yet, I couldn't tell you

>>21455049
I have had those books for maybe 3 years now, there's no problem with it.

[Anonymous No.21455181]

>>21455164
Have you handled them much? My Easton Press, Brave New World and Harcourt,The Hobbit lost the gilding so easily with gentle use. I would love to get some Famot editions if they're more enduring.

[Anonymous No.21455210]

>>21455181
>Handled
They're fucking enormous, I can't bring them outside or even hold them. I read them wide open on a table, and they don't get anything

[Anonymous No.21455345]

If you don't want to pay an arm and a leg, library bookstores often have quality old books for a few bucks. It is a crapshoot but it can pay off. I recently picked up a near-mint illustrated book from the 30s for $3 which turned out to be worth like $750.

[Anonymous No.21455492]

>>21455345
based, you don't get many of those in the Ebay world anymore

[Anonymous No.21455823]

>>21449410
My experience: read all of Dosto in both Garnett and PV.

It doesn't matter.

[Anonymous No.21455861]

>>21455210
Bigger than the average shelf height?

[Anonymous No.21456379]

>>21448965
>Buy some used books printed before the 1950s. Most books printed in the 1920-1930s are of high quality.
The paper used for first editions of Hemingway is a bit wanting in quality.

[Anonymous No.21456422]

>>21449254
>Everyman's Library. Widely available, just as high quality as Folio Society, acid-free paper and binding that will outlast you and your grandchildren. Cheaper than the others and streamlined in aesthetic outlook - without the dust jacket, they look absolutely sexy on your shelf.
They use P&V for Dostoevsky and Maude for Tolstoy, which are excellent. Don't recall what they use for Gogol, but their track record is good, and it's usually fine as long as it isn't Garnett.
I like Everyman’s, but the paper is usually thinner than Folio editions, and the binding boards are thinner as well.
The cloth on Everyman’s editions is also thinner.
Admittedly, I prefer reading Everyman’t editions due to the weight reduction over the Folio editions, which I find a bit heavy, for holding over my face while I read in bed.
Library of America is similar to Everyman’s, but the paper is thinner, and whiter, and smoother.
The spines are also flat, unlike the Everyman’s spines which are curved.
LOA also sometimes over glues the sewn spine in the binding which is a bit annoying, but I presume unless you get a different printing of any LOA volume, that this overly thick glue would be consistent from book to book.
LOA ribbon page markers are made with better ribbon.
The Everyman’s ribbons tend to unravel.

[Anonymous No.21456456]

>>21453351
>i don't know, if i try to find Loeb's Plutarch Parallel Lives, i find some of the volumes, but others are disappeared from the internet, maybe there are in some physical stores or universities?
Loeb sometimes publishes new translations when an older translation is no longer considered “accurate” enough.
Maybe Harvard Press also has a printing backlog.
If you have a decent local bookstore for new books, preferably a bookstores that has been around several decades, check with them.
There have been books I was able to get thru an actual bookstore that were not available on Amazon for various reasons.
Book distribution is sometimes weird.

[Anonymous No.21456499]

>>21456422
I noticed that as well about the Eveyrman's ribbons. I'm thinking of sewing something at the ends to 'cap' them off.
>They use P&V for Dostoevsky and Maude for Tolstoy, which are excellent.
I know Maude is, but ever since I saw them translate the opening sentence of Notes from the Underground as "I'm a wicked man" instead of "I'm a sick man" I've been wary of getting anything with their translations. Are Idiot and C&P good enough to get?

[Anonymous No.21456621]

>>21455492
Wish I knew that era. The quality of these illustrations and that they have only yellowed barely at all since 1937 when it was printed floored me. I had no intention of making a buck on it and won't sell it, but this is just the kind of kino you find in the library bookstore of some rich suburban retirement town. Someone put this on their shelf in the 30s and seemingly didn't touch it again until 2022.

[Anonymous No.21457930]

>>21449546
It's fucking easy to find physical volumes at any used bookstore for $5-$10 each

[Anonymous No.21458783]

>>21448376
I found these saved on my other pc and they kind of defeat the purpose of my thread but here you go

[Anonymous No.21458784]

>>21458783

[Anonymous No.21458785]

>>21458784

[Anonymous No.21459732]

bump

[Anonymous No.21460501]

>>21458783
>>21458784
>>21458785
Nice. Thanks.