Creating rare, handcrafted letterpress books at Pegana Press since 2009.
Lord Dunsany, The Lost Tales Series
Dunsany Collectors
We tracked down rare material from the original magazine publications. These stories have never before appeared in book form, but now have been lovingly gathered together and published as The Lost Tales series, available from Pegana Press with the permission of The Dunsany Estate.
Rare Unpublished Material
Besides the previously uncollected works, we were given permission to include some unpublished works from the Castle Archives, as well as rare examples of Sidney Sime‘s watercolor work and an illustration by Lord Dunsany, himself.
We wanted to bring these stories to print in editions, lovingly made. The text for each edition has been hand set with letterpress type, printed on a vintage Vandercook sp15 press, using Hahnemüle laid paper, and then hand bound on site.
We hope you will enjoy these Lost Tales as much as we do.
Commentary from the Curator of Dunsany Castle.
One of the pleasures of my work as the literary curator for Dunsany is the time spent with dedicated publishers and scholars and for the last few years, a key part has been working with Mike (and Rita) to help with the latest volume in the Lost Tales series. This begins with screening for potential material. Mike has done his own research in magazines and newspapers, and then I bring ideas from reading through the grand spreadsheet of Dunsany work I made about 10 years ago, when the archive actually lived high in the attics, near the 18th Lord's writing room. We exchange scans, and Mike applies his publisher's instinct and knowledge of his customers, and narrows down the possibilities. We may go a couple of rounds on this level, also checking for uniqueness against the publishing record and other projects. Meantime Mike and Rita will have worked on design, typeface and paper selection, and layout. And then the amazing process of setting the book begins. This part I can only enjoy from afar, with some awe, as it requires true dedication to the art of printing. I have always loved books, and have a wide range of forms and editions, but the Pegana Press works are among the finest I have handled. Then on to the binding, and eventually, there it is, a new edition for the library at Dunsany Castle... Now, time to place an order for my own personal copy of this latest volume, and relax and look forward to its arrival too.
J. W. Doyle
Lord Dunsany - The Men of Baldfolk
The Men of Baldfolk and Other Fanciful Tales
More Lost Tales presented in an ornate edition.
Featuring four previously unpublished stories and five stories never collected in book form ranging from 1908 to 1955. With dark gods and dreaming poets, some really fine material, embellished with an exquisite watercolour Sidney Sime frontispiece not seen in print for 90 years. We wish to express our deepest appreciation to the Dunsany Estate for sharing these incredibly rare pieces from the Dunsany Castle archives.
Contents:
Absurd 1939 Unpublished
The New Look 1953 Unpublished
Gondolas 1908 Uncollected
The Cup 1948 Uncollected
A Taste For Strategy 1955 Uncollected
The Vengeance of Thor 1929 Unpublished
The Tale of The Men of Baldfolk 1925 Uncollected
The Book of Flowery Tales 1917 Unpublished
Pens 1909 Uncollected
Hand type set letterpress on sage green Hahnemühle laid and watermarked paper. Hand bound book.
Order to reserve your copy from the Bindery.
Published with permission from the Dunsany Estate. 35 pages, limited to 80 hand numbered copies.
Pegana Press 2016
$550
...and Thor said to the rest "It is even as we have dreamed. The years have been going by and the ages passing away; Time has been active here, and it grows late on Earth. Unstained and cold are the stones. It is later than we had dreamed."
--Lord Dunsany from The Vengeance of Thor written 1929, previously unpublished. Available from Pegana Press in The Men of Baldfolk & Other Fanciful Tales, in May 2016.
Lost Tales Volume 6
Edition Information
Hand-set type, Letterpress printed, hand-bound Edition, uniform with the Lost Tales Series.
This new collection of rarities from the Archives of Castle Dunsany consists of 4 Unpublished stories and 3 Uncollected stories.
Includes an Unpublished Joseph Jorkens story.
2 early Unpublished stories from the original projected 70 Tales Edition circa 1913.
A very rare and fantastic Play circa 1909/1910.
The Edition includes a new introduction by the 21st Baron of Dunsany, Randal Plunkett.
Several rare Sidney Sime oil paintings grace the book, courtesy of the Sime Gallery in Worpleson.
Lost Tales Volume 6 is printed on alternating sections of Earth brown, pale rose, and Antique cream Hahnemuhle Laid and watermarked paper. Bound In golden yellow cloth.
Strictly Limited to 80 Numbered Copies.
Order now to reserve from the Bindery.
$550.00
…The King sits pale and silent, not deigning to descend from the Throne of Skyadax. The four men draw silver pipes with their left hands out of their tunics and play on them as they move, and by the sound they keep in perfect line… Excerpt from “The Thlobbon of Sappanal” {1909-1910}
Lost Tales Volume 6
Lost Tales Vol 5
Hand type set letterpress printed book. Hand bound book uniform with the Lost Tales series.
More rare stories from the quill pen of the Master of Fantasy. Our thanks to the Dunsany Estate for material from the castle archives.
Featuring 6 unpublished stories, two early tales dated from 1914, are from the original 70 Tales projected volume.
Bound in double woven light green cloth with brown Nepalese Tiger endpapers.
Contents:
- The Masterpiece Of Creation League 1943 Uncollected
- At Midnight 1953 Unpublished
- The Vision 1938 Uncollected
- A Witch Of The Fells 1952 Unpublished
- A Talk With A Spirit 1953 Unpublished
- In An English Wood 1953 Unpublished
- The Street Of The Knaves 1914 Unpublished
- The Dreamer 1914 Unpublished
Order to reserve your copy from the Bindery.
$550
Original artwork by Amelia Leonards
Newly commissioned frontispiece illustrating the story "A Witch of the Fells." Amelia Royce Leonards is a graduate of Montserrat College of Art in Beverly.
Lost Tales Volume 4
Collection of 9 short stories, 8 of which were previously unpublished.
Tales that have been dreaming in Dunsany Castle for 102 years. This new edition of unpublished stories includes several intended for the 70 Tales Edition, which became 51 Tales in 1915 due to wartime paper shortages. We present them here for the first time by gracious permission of the Dunsany Estate.
Table of Contents
The Mystery of the Invisible Letters 1947 Unpublished
His Lone Interest 1955 Unpublished
At the Inn of the Two Adventurers 1956 Uncollected
The Cycle of The Gods
The False Gods 1911 Unpublished
The True Gods 1911 Unpublished
The Unknown and the Earth-Gods 1911 Unpublished
A Vision 1912 Unpublished
The House Called Life 1910 Unpublished
Death and the Poet 1909 Unpublished
Included also is a rare watercolor by Sidney Sime 1925 as frontispiece and Introduction by Douglas A. Anderson. Letterpress printed on Hahnemüle laid paper. Hand bound in blue cloth on boards. Ornate letterpress title inset on front and letterpress spine title. 34 pages, limited to 80 hand numbered copies. Order to reserve your copy from the Bindery.
Pegana Press 2018
$550
...but above the thunder undisturbed the GODS prepared the things that are to be...
excerpt from THE FALSE GODS 1911.
Rhymes From A Suburb
A Poem by Edward Plunkett
This early work from the pen of Lord Dunsany (before he was Lord Dunsany) was published in Pall Mall Magazine in 1897.
This is his first published poem beautifully presented as a two color broadside with pictorial engraving letterpress printed on Twinrocker handmade paper approximately 7 x 15". Printed using Goudy Franciscan & Friar types.
Pegana Press 2009
Limited to 120 hand numbered copies.
Please note, broadsides cannot be shipped via media mail but when purchased with any book or chapbook, postage will revert to media mail rates.
$45.00
Of Note
This Broadside of Lord Dunsany’s first published poem, was the first project printed at Pegana Press.