MEDITATIONS test run available

The first books produced at the Castalia Bindery are now available

One of Castalia Library’s most popular books has been THE MEDITATIONS by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, which has been sold out since 2020. While we have not yet produced a second edition, we have printed and bound a test edition of the book as part of the process of testing the machinery at the Castalia Bindery. We have recently finished most of that testing, and are therefore making available the first 140 copies of THE MEDITATIONS produced there.

These are not second editions or proper Library books per se, since they lack both the a) gilded page edges and b) spine hubs that are features of the Library books. But they are excellent, high-quality books with genuine leather bindings, Smyth-sewn interiors, and stamped gold foil. They also have the added cachet of being denoted as being part of “A Test Edition of 200” as well as featuring the unmistakable image of Chateau Castalia on the pre-title page.

Their rarity and unique significance will make them of serious appeal to collectors. However, since they do lack the full features of the Library, we are making them available to everyone at the reduced price of $95, which is less than half the retail price of a Library book. There are presently 140 77 18 5 available for sale, and we anticipate producing another 20-25 or so; unfortunately the remainder of the 200 book blocks printed were suboptimal and therefore lost to the vagaries and challenges of testing new equipment and production processes.

To be honest, producing 170 or so saleable books out of a possible 200 is a testimony to the excellence of our bookbinders, especially since they produced all those books without the benefit of the new casemaker that will arrive in November. In the interest of full disclosure, we must point out that it is possible that the remaining 20-25 book blocks will be bound in pigskin, and may even be hubbed, since we need to test those machines and processes as well.

The move to pigskin necessitates us improving our leather-cutting game, so we’re building an ad hoc cutting system with a laser that will permit us to move the pigskin around underneath the laser’s working area. Below is a video of the first test of the laser cutting our new leather. This is the blue leather being used for the leather edition of HYPERGAMOUSE, which is why the size of the cover is larger than one might expect.

As previously mentioned, there are 140 77 18 5 available copies of the test Bindery edition of THE MEDITATIONS. If your credit card doesn’t work at Arkhaven, we have reserved 20 of those 90 copies for sale through NDM Express. NDM Express is now sold out.

• Arkhaven store

• NDM Express

For questions about subscription status and billings: subs@castalialibrary.com

For questions about shipping and missing books: castaliashipping@gmail.com