Nawakum Press: A DESCENT INTO THE MAELSTRÖM

Received this from David Pascoe of the Nawakum Press yesterday evening:

https://www.nawakumpress.com/poemaelstrom

Nawakum publications do not disappoint. I encourage you to strongly consider adding this title to your collection.

Is this a public link at this point? It looks like you have to email to order, not sure if that's how it's usually done.

I'm a fan of Nawakum and Cascadia is one of the favorite books in my library. However, this seems expensive for a 32 page book (Cascadia was expensive as well IMO for what you got).

>3 punkzip: The price-versus-length is definitely putting me off this one, in spite of how much I like collecting Poe. I think if this was in the $350 range I wouldn't hesitate, but this one is likely to be a pass for me. Which is a shame, as I've been looking forward to it since it was first teased.

>1 Sport1963: I've been looking forward to this since it was announced late last year, and the pictures look truly stunning!

>3 punkzip: >4 Shadekeep: To be honest, I had been bracing for a higher price, particularly for the Deluxe.

It's true a 32 page book could have been done for much, much less, but in my opinion Nawakum's works fall at the perfect intersection of Artist's Book and Private Press publication, with impeccable design, the finest material and great experimental uses of illustration.

David's expertise, in my opinion, is in bringing together top-notch artists and artisans such as Joel Benson, Lisa Van Pelt and Gary Alphonso, and seeing just how magnificent of a book they can all make together.

The price-to-length ratio is even higher for this book than for the Pegana Press publications. If the numbered state were around $500, I would seriously consider it. There is a $200 difference between the two states, which is not much by fine press standards, but then the lettered state is $1K out the door for a 32-page book. I am regretfully passing on this one.

>6 ultrarightist: That’s a bit apples-to-oranges since their pricing is based on very different factors, but if you added a fine binding, commissioned illustrations and several collaborators to, say, Dark Dreamlands, I think you’d end up with very comparable prices.

Oh, wow -- that's gorgeous! I don't think I can spring for it, though, no matter how piteously my other Poe books beg....

Love it and have ordered slipcased edition. Nawakum books are superb.

>7 NathanOv: Pegana Press does use commissioned illustrations in their works, they use illustrations by German artist Michael Hutter which they reprint in beautiful full-color --



I do agree with >6 ultrarightist: that the price point in this case just becomes too much for most of us. Mind you, I'm not saying that the quality is not superb, I'm sure it is, but even amongst bibliophiles that collect niche titles, this is a great deal of money. As much as I love Poe, I can not justify around $1000 for just one of his short stories. If it's the binding that is truly raising the cost of such works by hundreds of dollars, my advice to all such publishers would be "okay then, forget such a fancy binding and give us something simpler and more affordable!"

>10 astropi: True, I shouldn't have used Dark Dreamlands as the example there, but the most recent installment signed by the artist is retailing at $595, so again not too far off all considered.

I mentioned binding for the sake of comparison because Pegana's, while elegant and well-done, are very simple and largely uniform. But again, they're both in very different niches - and Nawakum's price isn't particularly outlandish for the niche it's in.

>2 What_What: looks like the private link that was being emailed out yesterday.

>11 NathanOv: To be fair, the original pre-order price for the signed Dark Dreamlands was $450 and the unsigned Dreamlands I & II were $350. Definitely pricey, but still a far cry from the Nawakum Press edition. Don't get me wrong, I think the NP Poe tale is gorgeous, I just wish it was affordable :)

Perhaps a more appropriate comparison: The upcoming Barbarian Press book of 50 love poems, bound in half leather, with a portfolio of wood engravings included, will likely be thrice the length of Maelstrom, at about the same price.

Fine press, like fine art, can be highly subjective. So while it can be useful to make comparisons with other books, ultimately it boils down to whether it is worth the asking price to add to your collection. If I collected paintings I would probably pay more for, say, Vorticist works than some other collectors might, and so too some book collectors will be willing to pay more this work that others might. I don't deny that it's a beautiful work, it's just that for what it is, it is priced out of range for me. That won't stop me from having a green-eyed twinge when passing it up.

>15 Shadekeep: I thought that was well-said. I think all of us can agree that the Nawakum Press Poe is gorgeous. 56 copies are available, so clearly not many and I hope they sell out! That said, I have to concur with others that it's beyond (quite beyond) my price-point. Even though many of us regularly spend "way too much" on books, this is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, but those of you with, shall we say more well-to-do camels, absolutely enjoy!

Is this the first publication since the press got burned out of California? You definitely can't go wrong with Nawakum. The two editions I have are treasures!

>17 jveezer: As in, their whole press literally got burned/destroyed in a fire? How horrible... but happy they have clearly recovered!

That's my understanding. Glad to see that David is producing books again. But now from Gig Harbor WA.

>19 jveezer: Was Cascadia before the fire?

>17 jveezer: I believe Republic of Dreams and Cascadia are both post-fire, which was 2017, though this would be the first sole publication since those were collaborations with Foolscap and Mixolydian, respectively.

>14 kermaier: No comparison based on length is going to be quite accurate, because it's clearly not priced based on the length of the work. While length can inflate price, it's rarely a major component of the cost.

I think Nawakum makes great title selections, and often yields truly inspired collaborations of writers and artists such as in Cascadia or Outside. However, at the end of the day their approach seems to be more "how do we adapt this text into the most beautiful and interesting example of bookcraft possible?" than simply "here's a story we'd like to see in a fine press edition."

Phone books provide good value per page, if that’s what we’re into.

>21 NathanOv: >22 What_What:
Points taken :-)

>18 astropi: Yes, the Press was a victim of the 2017 Tubbs fire which wiped out a significant portion of the town of Santa Rosa where Nawakum was located at the time. David founded the Press in 1979 in his basement in nearby Sebastopol.

The product page (linked to from the main page, not the private link shared above) indicates the Deluxe edition is now out of print.

>25 What_What: Despite the high prices I’ve noticed that Nawakum seems to sell out fast compared to other comparable fine presses - e.g. Foolscap. So the Deluxe selling out quickly is not too surprising.

>26 punkzip: You may have noticed Cascadia sellout quickly, but that was a landmark work for both Nawakum and Richard Wagener. Republic of Dreams had copies available into last year, and they had a fair amount of available stock prior to the 2017 fire.

I’m pleased to see this one doing so well for them though, and am happy to have finally snagged a Nawakum deluxe.

>27 NathanOv: I managed to snag one of the last remaining Deluxe copies; happy I reached out to David when I did.

>27 NathanOv: Went with the Deluxe as well, which will also be my first Nawakum Deluxe edition. I was able to request letter ‘E’ as in Eric (my name), or Esoterics, or Edgar Allan Poe.

There was plenty of time to pick up a deluxe if one was so inclined. Pricing was spot on, no mad rush and all copies sold.