The Fairy books were a good and constant seller for many years. It is a remarkable record that shows the quality control exercised by the printers and binders chosen by Folio. I accept that even a new and sealed Folio Society book might have an internal printing or internal binding error but having sold many hundreds of their books I have yet to receive notification from one of our buyers of a single defect in a new Folio Society book. In selling a sealed Folio Society book still in its shrink-wrapping I know from scrutiny of the exterior that the book is without an external blemish. I think a new book should be free of flaws and signs of any use. I have bought supposedly 'New' copies of other publishers' books from booksellers when on taking delivery I find really obvious signs of wear including serious flaws such as the text block separated from the book spine. >10 folio_books: As a bookseller, I justify my references in book descriptions to 'original shrink-wrapped' copies of Folio Society books, as I find perceptions of what a new condition book do seem. Overall, I think that the collecting mentality is the primary reason for the premium you describe, in that the first is the most desirable just because it is the first. There is also, of course, the current controversy of reprints being done at different presses with potential quality-control issues. The edition I have is the so-called “second impression” from 2002 and it is not letterpress as there are tell-tale signs of photographic reproduction (hairline marks in the text-block, less than perfect edges of letters). I’m currently reading The Forsyte Saga, which the Folio Society originally issued in letterpress in 1984. Type would eventually become worn, so electroplates and other forms of reproduction were used to extend out print runs or re-print. However, in the bygone days of physical type on paper, there were significant differences. With modern printing there really shouldn’t be any physical difference between a first printing, a 10th printing, or even a print-on-demand book. >8 caesarofcaesars: “I will never understand the first printing premium on some FS books.”
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