The Letterpress Othello

William Shakespeare

The Letterpress Othello

Your price US$495.00

Members Only

Production Details:

Oxford University Press text, edited by Professor G. R. Hibbard under the General Editor Stanley Wells.

Hand-bound in goatskin leather, blocked in gold; with hand-marbled paper sides.

Set in 16pt 'Monotype' Baskerville, with Caslon display.

Buckram-bound solander box: 15" x 11" x 2¾".

Commentary volume: bound in buckram. 14" x 10¾"

Shakespeare's explosive tale of love, jealousy and betrayal follows the triumphs and eventual downfall of the noble General Othello - his love for Desdemona, his trust in the villainous Iago and his obsessive jealousy that leads to murder. The sheer visceral strength of this great tragedy has resonated through the centuries, ensuring it remains one of Shakespeare's most popular plays.

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on'
Act 3, Sc.III

As part of The Folio Society's Letterpress Shakespeare limited edition series, Othello's powerful verse has been hand-set on luxurious mould-made paper, beautifully bound in leather and hand-marbled paper.

Place your order now for one of the remaining limitation numbers.

The unrivalled beauty of Shakespeare’s language

The Letterpress Shakespeare celebrates the essence of his plays – the words. Uncluttered by notes and beautifully presented, these are the finest reading editions of Shakespeare.


Design and Casting

The layout of words on a printed page is as much an art as Chinese calligraphy. Every page is designed by eye. The typography shows an attention to detail that is unsurpassed, while ‘Monotype’ Baskerville is one of the most elegant and readable of fonts. The hot metal type has been cast by Stan Lane of Gloucester Typesetters, who has worked for over 50 years perfecting his craft.

Printing

Letterpress printing today is used only for the very finest private press publishing. The Offizin Haag-Drugulin of Dresden is one of the very few craft printers still printing with letterpress, using a Heidelberg press. The tactile finish of the work is beautiful, the letters deeply impressed in the thick paper and every page checked by eye to ensure perfect quality.

Paper

The specialist paper is made from cotton and pure wood fibres dried slowly on a cylindrical mould.

When the sheets are removed, an attractive, feathered edge is left at the sides, known as a ‘deckle’. The high cotton content makes the paper stronger and ensures it will retain its distinctive quality for generations.

Binding

The pages are folded in small sections of eight, for a perfectly flat opening to the spine. Only the top edge is trimmed and then gilded to help protect against dust, moisture or atmospheric pollution. In the small craft bindery of Lachenmaier in Germany, an experienced team of craftsmen sew, case in and bind the book. Both the spine and separate leather label for the solander box are hand-blocked in 22-carat gold. A special limitation page in each volume is numbered by hand. The materials used in the binding are of exceptional quality: Nigerian goatskin is dyed to an exact scarlet match, but the gold and scarlet pattern on the hand-marbled paper sides is unique to each volume, since the exact pattern of droplets can never be repeated.

Expert Commentary

To ensure the reading volume remains uncluttered by notes, a separate commentary volume reproduces the Oxford University Press text with full glossing notes and illuminating introductions. Under the General Editor, Stanley Wells, these texts have become a byword for accuracy and erudition, making them one of the most respected of all academic editions of Shakespeare.