Fine press Plath

Are there any fine press editions of Sylvia Plath out there? I can't seem to find anything substantial other than a few broadsides.

>1 filox:

1. Dialogue Over a Ouija Board, Rainbow Press, 1981.
2. Crystal Gazer and Other Poems, Rainbow Press, 1971.
3. Lyonnesse, Rainbow Press, 1971.
4. Trois Poemes Inedits de Sylvia Plath, Editions Dufour, c. 1975. Text is in English.

the Bell Jar is in the public domain. I can't believe it has not been done. It needs to be done in a fine letterpress edition. I would buy that in a heartbeat.

>1 filox: Three Women: A Monologue for Three Voices, Turret Books, 1968.

>2 dlphcoracl: >4 Flaubie: Great suggestions, thanks a lot!

>3 jveezer: +100

The Bell Jar turns 60 next year. It is in the public domain. C'mon somebody...Thornwillow? No Reply? Century Press? Anybody? More from the women writer canon please.

>6 jveezer: How is The Bell Jar in the public domain so soon after the author's death? I thought it was 70 years in the US ... ?

>7 LBShoreBook: It’s in the public domain in Canada, not the U.S.

>8 jordanxn: Got it

>6 jveezer: Doubt Century Press would do it, they seem more focused on classic novels. I could see this being a good fit for Thornwillow or No Reply, and I would probably buy it even from Arion provided they don't completely screw up illustrations.

>10 filox: erm, it is a classic.

>11 supercell: Interesting. I checked when I made my public domain statement about the novel last year and my source said it was public domain. So Century Press it is. Then I buy one, ship to my Canada friend, and smuggle.

>12 jveezer: i doubt it's in the same class as Hemingway or Dickens in terms of popularity, which i think is where Century wants to be in the beginning at least. Would love to be wrong in that one!

I don't think Plath would be difficult to obtain permissions for. I believe her estate is professionally represented, which means obtaining permission is matter of paperwork and not a lot of hustle like some others. The real nightmares are the superstar authors — like Tolstein, whose intellectual property is guarded by a committee who collectively wheeze "my precious" as they reject 99% of inquiries — or the obscure ones for whom the estate is managed by a relative whose contact information is impossible to find. Professionally managed estates are really straightforward, and sometimes even automated.

Which is to say, I think a U.S. press could print Plath without too much trouble!!! That said, the Canadians are lucky bastards. For copyright, it's like the wild west up there!

>14 filox: That's a tough one for me. I really enjoyed The Bell Jar but having read it once I have no desire to return even in fine press form. But I would support it in at least that it is different than trendy classic novels. I've become enamored with Foolscap recently in that their selections are so unique and the quality of work is bar none. Not to mention how nice and kind the team is.

The best edition of The Bell Jar I know is the 2015 Faber's Members edition. Not Private Press grade by any stretch, so don't expect anything of the Foolscap level - rather a lower-end Folio Society. From Faber's website:

Like all our Faber Members Collectors’ editions, The Bell Jar has been printed on premium woodfree paper using the traditional lithographic method on a small Heidelberg press. Each book is sewn and bound by hand, using a quarter-bound case of real cloth and printed panels front and back, featuring foil blocking and matt lamination. The books are finished with full colour printed endpapers, head and tail bands and a ribbon marker.

I can add that the book is made in the UK by Smith Settle, the shop known to many on these boards that's responsible for the Slightly Foxed Editions on the lower end and FS Letterpress Shakespeare and other limited editions on the higher.

Again, not a Private Press limited edition, but a solid sewn book printed on archival paper and bound in quarter cloth, nice endpapers, about the level of the low-end standard Folios. No illustrations or a slipcase. Btw, some other Faber Members editions are illustrated, at least my Pamuk-signed My Name Is Red is.

Btw Folio is publishing The Bell Jar as part of its spring collection. Again not fine press, but a nice edition nonetheless.

>17 elladan0891: I have the Faber and it is quite nice for a trade edition. I can live with it for sure but I would still love to see a letterpress and illustrated edition from a press recognizing the rightful place of the novel in the U.S. writing canon.

>19 jveezer: Agreed. Having seen The Yellow Wallpaper get the fine press treatment it deserves (and more than once), I'd really like to see a press tackle The Bell Jar. I also agree that it seems like a natural fit for Thornwillow and/or No Reply.