On a recent trip to Tilghman Island on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I was able to sneak away from my obligations for a quick visit to Chestertown and the Old Book Company and Chester River Press.
While there I got a quick look at the display copy of the Standard Limited Edition of their Heart of Darkness. They’ve done a nice job with Conrad’s classic and I particularly liked Marc Castelli’s drawings and the way they were placed within the text. I also saw their edition of Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey. Much more imposing in person than I had expected from looking at their website and very striking.
Their next publication will be The Chesapeake Voyages of Captain John Smith in an edition of 100 with drawings by Castelli. Based on Castelli’s work on Heart of Darkness and my love for Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay, this one’s probably a must have for me. So hopefully you can look forward to a review sometime this fall when the book is released.
The Old Book Company had some other interesting books including a Limited Editions Club book that were very close to coming home with me but I was not able to make up my mind about them in the short amount of time I had to spend there. I hope to get back there soon and get a better look at their books.
ERRATA: Gerard Cataldo of the Chester River Press has informed me that The Chesapeake Voyages of Captain John Smith was actually the first limited letterpress publication of the Press, not the next one to be published.