Why don't the Easton Press DLEs get much attention?

I've noticed that there is not much interest (in terms of online discussion, secondary market, etc) in the Easton Press DLEs - compared to say the Folio Society Limited editions. Is this because the limitation numbers for the Easton Press DLEs are typically larger and there is substantially less variety in materials, format, etc?

>1 punkzip: I think there are a number of things that contribute to the comparative lack of interest. Folio always has had more of a "community-minded" group of customers, as in the past they had a membership model they operated under, and though they left that behind some years back, their team has done an excellent job with social media and have kept many old and new customers engaged in that way. They also make a big deal of each new LE release, building anticipation and giving lots of background information about the artist, the materials, and the work itself, whereas EP is notoriously stingy with the amount of info they provide.

Also, there's a general opinion among the collector community that EP is just kind of "uncool," I think. EP seems to make a lot of money by slapping leather covers and gilding on otherwise cheap-ish event and persona-driven publications (e.g. recent releases on 9/11, the Obamas, British royals, etc, etc.) which certainly doesn't encourage serious collectors to take them seriously. Also, they are rightly criticized for often using generic binding designs and including little to no artwork with their standard editions, whereas with FS, each release (or series, if the release is part of one) is given a unique design and always has illustrations included.

I personally love the artist-signed DLEs and some of the facsimile editions, as well. So, I'm perfectly satisfied to keep buying those very fine releases, no matter how "uncool" they may be perceived to be.

>1 punkzip: >2 whytewolf1: in my opinion, ep books get a lot of attention. I.e. last chance and sold out banners on EP site. Also, check out YouTube videos of ep books and how many people view them. I find ep books much more interested than FS books. Personally, I don’t like most FS regular editions and prefer Suntup artist editions to FS regular editions, which I find much better made than Fs editions and with more fine press features. However, I do like most of our fs limited editions but find EP dles much more pleasing and better looking. This is just my taste in books. I agree that EP needs to improve on things but so is FS. FS regular editions remind me of Barnes and Noble books. Also, some of our FS regular editions have questionable quality. I’m not sure if it’s due to the fact that some of them are made in China like BN books. We just stopped buying them.

>3 fancythings: I thought you said in another thread that you’re still waiting on your first Suntup’s AE. How can you claim it is much better made than Folio’s standard editions? And what are those « fine press » features on Suntup’s AE ? I honestly don’t see them.

I think it actually depends on what you mean by FS regular edition. Do you mean all non-limited FS editions, or just the « cheaper » more basic editions ? Are Beowulf, Call of Chtulhu, Japanese Tales, Game of Thrones, Golden Bough, etc. regular editions according to you? Because if so, Suntup’s AE are definitely not up there with that kind of Folio editions in term of quality (binding materials, paper, gilding/foil stamping). And that can hardly be argued.

I have many Suntup’s numbered editions, a couple of Suntup’s AE and many FS (limited and non-limited editions). I find Suntup’s AE better than the most basic Folio standards, that’s for sure. But even then, some Folio cheaper editions such as Hitchhiker’s Guide and Steppenwolf are better than Suntup’s AE imo. Or at least as good quality-wise.

As for Suntup’s numbered, they used to be almost a sure hit quality-wise. Nowadays they are more of a hit and miss imo. Recent numbered such as Exorcist and 1984 are definitely of great quality, but other such as Seed and the Heinlein set are pretty average. I really liked (loved?) Let the Right One In, but found Neuromancer lacking (especially the glossy paper and cheap slipcase material).

>4 Nerevarine: Iam still waiting for my first the wolfen artist edition (they having issues with slipcases for this edition) and judging from our numbered production details, I like suntup books better than regular fs. I think that Artist editions basically the same minus the cover and I believe they have no limitation numbers. I really like suntup numbered editions that my parents have. I will post pictures of the wolfen artist edition and my impression of it as soon as I get it. Sorry to hear that you were disappointed by some of your suntup numbered editions. They are definitely not cheap to buy.

>5 fancythings: There are a lot of differences between AE and Numbered editions apart from the cover and limitation.

The slipcase, paper (except for 1 or 2 titles), endpapers, sometimes printing (letterpress vs offset) are all different. As someone who has both Numbered and AE, you definitely can’t judge the quality of one just by looking at the other. :)

>6 Nerevarine: well, we have just numbered and can’t wait to get artist and compare it. You right and thank you for setting me straight about artist editions. Kind of disappointed too.

>7 fancythings: oh don’t be disappointed just yet. I’m sorry it wasn’t my intention.

Artist editions are great for what they are, neat little books bound in bookcloth and wrapped in a dust jacket. The quality just isn’t up there with Folio’s non-limited « finer » editions or obviously Suntup’s numbered editions. It’ll more than fine if you don’t expect the same quality. Otherwise they’re very nice and a joy to read (compared to some numbered which you must handle with care).

Edit: And I always forget that AEs are signed by the artist(s). If you value such signatures, then it’s a great positive for AEs.

>8 Nerevarine: yes, I really want to like it. Something different from other books that I have in my collection

>3 fancythings: "FS regular editions remind me of Barnes and Noble books."
I think you're just joking...but in case you're not, either you've never held a standard FS book or you've never been to a Barnes and Noble. They are equally as different as any EP book is from any Barnes and Noble book.

>2 whytewolf1: "They also make a big deal of each new LE release..."
This is a really good point. EP issues a new DLE or DIE at a rate somewhere in the vicinity of once a month, sometimes faster. FS releases their LE's, at the very most, once a quarter (and probably less frequently). With EP, there's always a new $400+ DLE to consider, whereas with FS, there's time to recover from the excitement between LE releases.

>1 punkzip: "...in terms of online discussion..."
I have to agree with fancythings here - EP's DLEs and DIEs are discussed a lot. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that most of LT's EP Group's discussions seem to be focused on DLEs and DIEs. I don't venture into Facebook territory, so it's possible (probable) that I'm unable to see a more comprehensive view of book discussions across the internet, but LT would almost certainly have to have FB beat in terms of quality of discussion, if not quantity of Likes.

>1 punkzip: "Is this because the limitation numbers for the Easton Press DLEs are typically larger and there is substantially less variety in materials, format, etc?"
I doubt it. I think >2 whytewolf1: is closer to the mark, regarding Folio's old membership model. Moreover, here on LT, the FS group was established earlier, has more members, and just happens to have a more active population. Memberwise, the FS group currently has 2,051 members, while the EP group only has 684 members. Discussion-wise, right now, LT is showing the FS group at 506 messages for the week and the EP group at 96 messages for the week. Obviously, there are things to pick at with these numbers (deceased members, cross-joined members, spam accounts, no differentiation between DLE/DIE/LE books versus standard books in the message counts, etc.) but it's probably a reasonable bet that those failings are statistically similar between the two groups.

>10 treereader: lol I knew that I gonna get my butt kicked. Probably deserved it too lol yes we have folio society regular books. Not my favorites so we stopped buying them. To each it’s own.

>10 treereader: I think the difference too is that the FSD group has wider ranging discussions, not just about which new book is out. I’ve been part of both for a few years and the dynamic is very different.

>12 RRCBS:
Yes, you’re absolutely right. There’s currently much more breadth to their discussions. It used to be better here, though (maybe still not better than FS LT, but better than EP LT is now). There were a couple of members who dropped out or ceased to participate years ago that inadvertently took a great deal of that kind of drive, expertise, and variety with them.

One cause of the lack of attention may be the difficulty in obtaining EP books outside of the US. None of the books I’ve wanted have been available for delivery directly from EP, so I’m having to slowly (very slowly) build my collection from eBay and ABE.

Most people I’ve talked to in the UK have no knowledge or experience of EP books, so they either show a complete lack of interest in them or garner their opinions of them from sites like Reddit.

>2 whytewolf1: “There's a general opinion among the collector community that EP is just kind of "uncool"”

My philosophy of book collecting is simply to buy what appeals to me, whether that be genuine fine press or a nicely done trade hardback. Although it’s great to hear the opinions of experienced collectors on individual volumes, I tend to ignore the wholesale dismissal of a particular publisher.