The 'Rainbow' Shakespeare (Folio Society, 1950–1976).

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (Folio Society, 2017).

The Letterpress Shakespeare (Folio Society 2007–2014).

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (Folio Society, 2021).

I have tagged this book as British literature because it was written in English by a man who, at the time of its writing, had settled in England and, apparently, embraced the identity of an English novelist. Joseph Conrad was born and spent his early life in Poland.

You can search for this book on eBay US* or eBay UK*.įor comparison, here’s what the earlier, 1997 edition looked like:.

Whether deliberate or not, many of the illustrations place the subjects above or below eye level, giving the impression of being a detached observer of the scene rather than encouraging a connection with the people portrayed. They do a good job of capturing the spirit of the novella.

These appear to be a combination of linework, wash, and digital collage. Inside the book, there are seven full-page colour illustrations including the frontispiece. The text is set in Miller, although each of the three chapters is headed in a different face that looks hand designed. The book is printed on Folio’s standard, but delightful, Abbey Wove paper. The end papers are printed in green and white with stylised designs that incorporate themes from the book: ivory, slavery, and steamboats among them. The binding is sewn with matching head and tail bands.

The volume is quite compact and feels study in the hand. The cover bears a design of the artist’s that creatively incorporates a skull motif into a vignette of a steamboat making its way up the Congo River. The book is three-quarter bound in black buckram with silver titling to the spine and a paper front board. The volume is presented in a black slipcase embellished with a silver foil design by the artist depicting a rain forest scene. This edition is introduced by Sebastian Barry, whose writing betrays an obvious passion for Conrad’s work, and is illustrated by Sean McSorley. Here I’ll be looking at the later stand-alone Folio Society edition of 2014. The Folio Society published an edition of the novella in 1997 as part of a 17-volume series of Conrad’s works (see below for some pictures).

Heart of darkness first edition