An actual conversation yesterday:
Big Bear: What’s going on?
VD: Guess how many square feet of goatskin I had shipped from Italy to Tennessee this morning.
Big Bear: Um, a thousand?
VD: Three thousand, three hundred.
Big Bear: ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED!
That took place in the aftermath of the news that the goatskins for the Libraria Castalia editions of THE MISSIONARIES, THE DIVINE COMEDY, and AWAKE IN THE NIGHT LAND have all been tested and passed the finish quality test as well as the gold foil and 22k gold stamping tests. We anticipate – we don’t promise, we anticipate – all three editions shipping to subscribers and purchasers by the end of October.
Below is an image of the test results sent to me by the bindery. The bright detailed design is the gold foil stamp, which is used to test the ability of the leather to hold detail even though we don’t use any foil on the Libraria editions. The square blocks are the 22k gold stamp, which is not quite as bright as the foil, and explains why the Libraria covers look more subtle than the Library or Easton Press covers.
