Beautiful editions of books for bibliophiles: where to find and buy them (French, English)?
Reading mostly e-books, I’ve recently become interested in beautiful editions, because there are things you can’t appreciate on a screen, especially if it’s an e-ink one 😀 Here’s the information I’ve gathered here and there, and since I haven’t been a bibliophile for long, please excuse in advance that this article isn’t exhaustive.
What interests me are recently printed books, from publishing houses that still exist, because I absolutely don’t have the budget to be interested in old books (though). I have a weakness for traditional binding, full leather, and gilded edges. But given my budget, I can’t have all three at once.
Books in French
If you have a very small budget, you can already opt for a hardcover book (hardcover), instead of a paperback (softcover).
Then, two names are often mentioned: La Bibliothèque de la Pléiade from Gallimard and Jean de Bonnot.
La Bibliothèque de la Pléiade (link) is very well known, it “brings together reference editions of the greatest works of French and foreign literary and philosophical heritage, printed on bible paper and bound with full leather covers gilded with fine gold. You can read my detailed review here. Expect to pay around €70 for a new book. €20 to €45 for a used one.
The pros:
- Several works gathered in a single volume
- All the books are the same height, which beautifies the library when you have several
- Featherweight, thanks to bible paper. A true pocket book you can take anywhere, it’s sturdier than you’d think.
- New authors added regularly
- A very high quality critical apparatus, made by specialists of each author
- Gorgeous Garamond font! Contrary to popular belief, these books are designed to be read. In any case, I can read them without any problem, provided I’m in a well-lit room of course.
- Some books even include illustrations
- Two bookmarks
The -:
- Machine binding
- The cover is too thin, the headband is often damaged, especially if you remove the cellophane
- Average quality leather
- Sometimes the comments and notes are far too long compared to the work
- Some series are abandoned halfway through, due to lack of sales
- Bible paper, so a bit transparent. The ink is uneven
- Only the spine is gilded
Jean de Bonnot (link) is also well known, but there are many haters. Books sold by Bonnot are marketed as the quintessence of traditional binding, when unfortunately it’s still industrial binding. Expect to pay €80 for a new book. €7 for a used one.
The pros:
- Old-style binding, gilding everywhere, it’s quite beautiful
- Gilded edges
- Two sizes: octavo and quarto, it’s really nice
The -:
- Only works that have entered the public domain
- Critical apparatus reduced to nothing
- Quite heavy books
- Machine binding
- Poor-quality leather
- Poor-quality paper, too thin
Imprimerie Nationale (link)
Old-fashioned printing (letterpress), two binding options (full red morocco leather binding, gorgeous). Beautiful paper. Color prints. Gilded top edge, numbered books, preface, careful commentary. New books are sold by mail order, but it’s very easy to find books in excellent condition on second-hand sites for 20 to 40 euros. New, expect 140€ for a standard binding and 290€ for the full leather binding. Only the government could give us books of such high quality at such accessible prices.
See my detailed review on my other blog
At At Henri Piazza editions, (link), I’m discovering hand-bound, full-leather books, new, just like I like them….. I’ve never seen such beautiful books, with gilded edges with patterns, handmade binding, handmade slipcase. I love them, but the prices are very high. And it’s totally justified!
Edition des Saint-Pères (link)
Original concept: you get facsimiles of manuscripts of famous works. So you can read Le Horla handwritten by Maupassant, or see Baudelaire’s corrections on the first printing of Les Fleurs du Mal. The books cost around 190€. Here we’re talking about a simple cloth binding, nothing special.
Books illustrated by Benjamin Lacombe (link)
I have a soft spot for this illustrator who took the time to illustrate the most popular tales (Alice in Wonderland, Bambi, Snow White). Sometimes he writes his own tales, or teams up with another writer to create tales with Tim Burton-esque illustrations. Some books are out of stock and won’t be reprinted, so you’ll have to look for them on second-hand sites. He directs the Illustrated Tales Collection at Albin Michel Jeunesse, which features other illustrators, and recently the Papillon Noir collection of illustrated books from Gallimard.
Personally, I have “Notre-Dame de Paris” in an illustrated complete edition. While I find the illustrations gorgeous, there’s always a reading issue: the font used, the spacing… they’re beautiful books, but maybe not for reading. The cardboard is too thin for such a large book. The cover seems fragile because there’s no dust jacket. The gold lettering has worn off over time. The latest books are a bit better made, like the female samurai one: better layout and better binding.
However, I really liked The Picture of Dorian Gray in the Papillon Noir collection. The cover still seems fragile because it’s cloth. No slipcase. The paper reflects too much light, not very pleasant for reading.
Where to buy French books?
- New books:
- Second-hand books:
- On peer-to-peer selling sites like Leboncoin or Vinted (from 7€ for Bonnot, and from 20€ for Pléiade)
- On second-hand book sites like Momox, AbeBooks
- On auction sites like Interencheres
- At Emmaüs
- At second-hand bookshops. In Paris, there’s an entire Pléiade section at 60% of the new price at Gilbert Joseph. You can find even cheaper books at your local bookseller, but they’ll likely have less stock than Gilbert Joseph.
Books in English
English speakers have more choices. Here are the editions I’ve spotted, but there are plenty more I don’t know about yet.
Arion Press https://www.arionpress.com/
I absolutely don’t have the budget for it, but Arion Press is my dream. They still print the old-fashioned way, i.e., with metal blocks. That limits the fonts used, sure, but there’s something satisfying about having books printed that way. Expect 850$. I’m a bit less impressed by the binding. Even though it’s handmade, you’d think they could offer full leather binding at that price.
Amaranthine Books https://amaranthinebooks.com/shop/ Several options for the same book, starting at €300. Letterpress printing. It’s a Croatian company that publishes limited (and numbered) editions in English. The binding is handmade and of excellent quality. I really like it!
Suntup Press https://suntup.press/ Several options for the same book: you can choose a machine binding (cloth) or a manual binding (leather). The small booklets are sewn together. Quantities are quite limited, even for the cheapest version. However, pre-ordering is possible. International shipping is available. Numerous illustrations for premium versions. Most are printed by press (metal type (very rare) or polymer plates). Their most sophisticated binding is the bradel binding. Traditional binding appears occasionally but for the most expensive editions (think $5,000 to $6,000). I think if you opt for the cheapest version, it’s not for the industrial binding, but rather for the printing. However, you need to read the description carefully to know which technique is used.
Lyra’s Books : https://www.lyrasbooks.com/shop/ The books are designed by a professional bookbinder whose books are printed the old-fashioned way (letterpress), and all bindings are done traditionally with a partner binding workshop. I’ll receive my first book from Lyra’s Books sometime in 2025. They only release 2 books per year, and they go very quickly; so if you manage to get your hands on a book, you’ll have to wait at least 6 months to receive it. Like Suntup, there are several price tiers for the same book, and even the cheapest binding is handmade.
Arete Editions: https://www.arete-editions.com/ Very few options, in limited quantities.
Centipede Press https://www.centipedepress.com/
Numbered books, very reasonable prices, books never in stock. A lot of speculation on these books.
Thorn Willow https://thornwillow.com/
The half-binding is the more luxurious version, small formats.
Library of America: As the name suggests, only American authors are included in this collection. The books are printed on acid-free paper, the booklets are sewn, and there’s a ribbon bookmark. Like Pléiade, they also offer books that collect multiple works by an author, but instead of using poor-quality leather, they use poor-quality cloth for the cover. Expect to pay $32/book.
The pros: The books are all the same height, which is very pretty. Very easy to get in Europe. Just go to Amazon.
The -: Design is a bit austere. Books are heavy despite lightweight paper. The black dust jacket is really ugly. Personally, I don’t like cloth covers; they’re less durable than leather.
Easton Press https://www.eastonpress.com/ : Full faux leather binding, false raised bands. 22k gold gilding. Acid-free paper. Satin bookmark. Gilded edges. Sewn booklets. Expect to pay $100/book. But they sell used for $20-30 (in the USA).
The pros: Full faux leather binding, almost old-fashioned (I say “almost” because it’s still not traditional binding, but aesthetically, it does look a bit like it). Gilded edges (I love that). The edition (content) is carefully chosen. Easton Press mainly handles layout and binding; the content is based on a well-done edition, or the first edition of the text.
The -: The books come in a wide variety of sizes. Hard to get in Europe (the official site doesn’t ship outside the UK, US). These books don’t have an ISBN, so they’re hard to search for online, especially second-hand. Some editions (Dune, or Jane Austen) are just scans of first editions, nicely bound (but they won’t say so clearly on the site; if you see “1st edition,” run away). Paper quality varies depending on the year of manufacture. The font used changes from book to book.
Folio Society: Lots of book choices, not just the classics. Folio Society is a slightly more illustrated version than Penguin.
The pros: The books are illustrated and come with a protective slipcase. Some limited editions are extremely beautiful and hand-bound. They have their own illustrators, so you absolutely must buy the new illustrated version of Alice in Wonderland by Charles van Sandwyk (and all books by Charles van Sandwyk). Some books are limited editions and are real treasures. From time to time, they offer free shipping to Europe for orders over £100, i.e., two books. You get a discount code for your birthday.
The -: Too much glue on the spine. Quality is uneven. Some books aren’t worth the price. The cloth used for the cover reacts strongly to UV rays, which is a shame. The uneven style doesn’t look good on a bookshelf. Too much gold gilding. Very high shipping costs for Europe. Only part of the collection can be easily purchased on European sites like Amazon Belgium or Kenny’s Bookstore. Payment is in pounds sterling, so there are bank fees if you buy on the site, unless you have an international card like me.
See my detailed review and photos on my other blog
Where to buy English books?
- New books:
- on Amazon France, or on Amazon Belgium (which has more choice for books from the UK)
- for books that are too hard to find, you can contact American sellers on Etsy. They take a margin plus shipping costs
- otherwise, you can use shipping services. That’s what I did for my American books (see my article). I buy from the publisher’s website and have it sent to a US address they provided. I just pay the shipping costs (and possibly customs if the package is flagged as such).
- Second-hand books:
If you’re interested in books, I’ve written an article on “how to choose your books” here
