My Most Beautiful Books • Eugen von Bücherbriefe

A few years ago, I started the blog series My Most Beautiful Books, where guest contributors—book people—present their most beautiful books. Like me, these book lovers place great value on bibliophile editions and want to take you on a little stroll through their bookshelves to introduce some of their finest works. This time I was able to persuade Eugen from Bücherbriefe to contribute a guest post, and I’m especially pleased because he has an exquisite taste in books and I knew he would showcase some true bibliophile insider tips. I love browsing his blog Bücherbriefe—you’ll find wonderful classics and beautiful editions there, and you can feel Eugen’s love for splendid books. It’s a niche; there isn’t all that much about it on the internet, which makes blogs like Eugen’s all the more valuable. Let this post take you on a little tour of Eugen’s bookshelf and inspire you with new, beautiful literature.

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There’s no doubt I love surrounding myself with beautiful books—but what exactly makes a book beautiful? Does it require a cloth binding, or even leather? Gilt edges, colored edges, or no edge treatment at all? Do illustrations enhance a book, or does too much ornamentation detract from the overall impression? Let’s take a little tour through my collection to at least approach an answer.

Our starting point will be the Hanser Classics series. At first glance, the unobtrusive dust jackets don’t necessarily suggest “beautiful books.” But remove them and you’ll find the finest cloth bindings, title labels with embossing, and carefully coordinated, high-quality components. In short: premium books that, despite—or precisely because of—their understated timeless elegance, are a delight. These books will likely outlast generations and form the ideal backbone of any collection.

What few people know: several decades earlier the same publisher, under the guidance of a young up-and-coming publisher named Michael Krüger, approached the fantastic genre with similar dedication. With the Bibliotheca Dracula they truly dared to publish classics of fantastic literature in bibliophile dress. The biggest difference from today’s classics? The remarkable dust jackets designed by Uwe Bremer, which make the series highly sought-after—and in some cases no longer obtainable—collector’s items to this day.

A little more restrained is the Edition Andreas Irle. The publisher’s aim is to present the extraordinary body of work by the—still woefully neglected here—Jack Vance in high-quality, enthusiast editions. Once again, you get the finest cloth bindings, gold embossing, and a timeless, simple yet elegant concept. In addition, individual series by the author are assigned different colors, so a sufficiently large collection creates a wonderfully colorful tableau.

No list of beautiful books would be complete without the works from Mare Verlag. In a way, they form the interface between the elegant—though somewhat uniform—and the more extravagant editions in my collection.

Even though handsome cloth bindings and sturdy slipcases also lend an unmistakable appearance here, the bindings are allowed a bit more variety—sometimes they are printed, and embossing may adorn more than just the title label. With such a superb selection it’s nearly impossible to single out just one book. But since we’re at a turning point in our tour, I’d like to highlight Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo, which in terms of design deviates just a little from the classic look.

Coppenrath Verlag has also increasingly become a destination for beautiful classic editions in recent years and continues to surprise with its title selection. The most distinctive hallmark of the series—besides the blend of classical and playful elements—is the array of more or less elaborate extras. Personally, I’m especially fond of the smaller gift editions—in the German-speaking world you’ll hardly find more beautiful Sherlock Holmes editions.

Die Andere Bibliothek takes things a step further—a series every bibliophile reader is likely to know. Format and paper slipcase set the framework, but everything else can vary greatly from volume to volume. Whether it’s the materials used or the interior design—each volume is overseen by different artists and becomes a small, individually designed work of art.

As a hidden gem, I especially recommend The Power of the Charlatan by Grete de Francesco. It wasn’t only the numerous excellent illustrations that won me over—it’s the typographic design that leads me to this judgment. The typeface (Sabon) combined with the accent color (gold) turns every single page into a visual reading pleasure.

We truly leave the classical path with Kat Menschik’s Illustrated Favorite Books. All the volumes share the same format, but beyond that the well-known illustrator varies every single element. And although her style is unmistakable, she proves capable of very different approaches to book design. I’m particularly taken with her edition of Chinghiz Aitmatov’s Jamilia, where story, illustrations, and the entire color palette form an irresistible symbiosis.

Illustrated editions of successful works have become standard, so it’s no surprise that the Harry Potter novels received two different editions. That may seem excessive, but consider that in the last thirty years no book has had a greater impact on literature. Readers can choose between the large-format gift editions illustrated (to date) by Jim Kay and the much more playful editions overseen by the artist collective MinaLima—or, in case of doubt, simply pick both.

It’s not a given that we can rejoice in such beautiful works of the fantastic. For many years, Edition Phantasia was the only German-language publisher to issue fantastic literature in bibliophile editions. And although the publisher’s great days seem to be over, its legendary editions are still traded at exorbitant prices among collectors. I’d like to highlight two works in particular.

The first example is the collected works of H. P. Lovecraft. Apart from the fact that he is the most influential horror writer of all time—even before Stephen King—this edition also convinces with its outward qualities. Especially noteworthy is the velvet binding, which in this size is even more impressive than the smaller variant used for Charles Baudelaire’s On Wine and Hashish.

Perhaps the most beautiful book from Edition Phantasia in my collection is John Bellairs’s The Face in the Frost. Appropriately housed in a fine slipcase, we’re treated to truly outstanding illustrations, decorative initials on every page, and of course a wintry tale—a book that seems made for a cold winter evening and a nice pot of tea.

Thankfully, we no longer have to rely solely on Edition Phantasia. An ambitious project of more recent years is the collected works edition of Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, published by the Golkonda Verlag. Beyond the obligatory elements such as thread stitching, cloth bindings, and pleasing typography, the edition is above all shaped by the artist BenSwerk, whose signature shines through in small details on every page.

Let me add another little insider tip: the Pandora Magazine. A few years ago, Pandora set out to publish sophisticated international short stories and articles at a high level in an appealing format. Even today, the list of contributors reads like a who’s who of fantastic literature.

Although the series didn’t make it past the fourth issue, each volume still delights with an impressive selection of short stories, excellent articles, and beautiful illustrations. Incidentally, the series also proves that you don’t need colored edges to produce a high-quality paperback.

The same creative minds have since moved on to Carcosa Verlag, where they were responsible, among other things, for Ursula K. Le Guin’s late work Always Coming Home. From a bibliophile perspective, this volume convinces from beginning to end. BenSwerk’s minimalist exterior design is prizeworthy, and the interior delights with diverse text forms, illustrations, and maps.

I’d like to end our little tour with a look at comics and manga. A series that has captivated me for some time is Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima’s Lone Wolf & Cub. Carlsen Verlag has given this classic truly massive and, for the manga realm, very high-quality bindings—an appropriate stage. It’s a series that also suits readers who usually find manga too colorful and playful. The only downside: mobility is not these hefty volumes’ strong suit.

Even these volumes are surpassed by Héctor Germán Oesterheld’s legendary The Eternaut. Here too, the materials are absolutely top-notch. The highlight is, of course, the brilliantly designed dust jacket, which offers a strong contrast to the superb black-and-white art—outdone only by the tragic backstory of this comic.

And that brings us to the end of our little stroll through my shelves. What’s the takeaway? Something seemingly banal, but no less true: beautiful books come in the most varied forms, and each one has its place—whether a premium classic or a lovingly designed paperback. I hope I was able to draw your attention to one or two gems and entertain you at least a little along the way. Thank you!