Five years ago, the Folio Society began regularly releasing science fiction novels in its lineup of high-end collectors editions, starting with Frank Herbert’s Dune.
With the film adaptation coming out this December, the publisher has announced a new special edition of the book, which goes above and beyond its already beautiful previous edition.
The Folio Society has been around for more than 50 years, and started out as a subscription business for bibliophiles. It re-released prominent literary classics, often with specially-commissioned art, introductions, or afterwords, and a handsome slipcase. While they had published the occasional science fiction and fantasy novel over the years—like Isaac Aimov’s Foundation trilogy, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, or J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, their release of Dune brought about a regular release of some of the best-known works of science fiction and fantasy, including authors like Ray Bradbury, Octavia Butler, Arthur C. Clarke, Ursula K. Le Guin, and more.
The original edition of Dune was already a very pretty book: it comes with some spectacular artwork from Sam Weber, an introduction from author Michael Dirda, and an afterword by Brian Herbert.
We're thrilled to announce a spectacular new limited edition: Frank Herbert's #Dune. Limited to just 500 copies, illustrated and signed by @sampaints, it comes in a stunning clamshell presentation box alongside a new fold-out map and a separate print. https://t.co/hHeN9EoT11 pic.twitter.com/pXrCsfkoAy
— The Folio Society (@foliosociety) September 29, 2020
This new edition comes with some changes: a bold red and gold cover and a new case. Weber has come back to create some new artwork for this volume, and packaged along with the book is a framable print, a new map of Arrakis, and new endpapers. The essays by Washington Post critic Michael Dirda and Brian Herbert are also moving out of the book and into a special companion booklet.
If you want to get a copy of this particular edition, you’ll have to move quickly—it’s available today, but it’s a limited thing: the Folio Society is only producing 500 numbered copies. It also won’t be cheap, costing $695 in the US and £495 in the UK.
If you still want to get a nice copy of Dune, but don’t have the ability to go for the new edition, the collector’s edition is still available for $135.
