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Newsletter September 2023

Neil Packer and Shakespeare

It's been a dream commission. On 25th September we'll celebrate the publication of The Folio Society's magnificent edition of Shakespeare's Complete Works at The Globe Theatre in London. Four hundred years after the publication of the First Folio, Neil Packer was asked to produce one illustration for each of Shakespeare's plays, and to provide designs for the binding, the slip case and much more.
Neil gave a great deal of thought as to what style of illustration would be suitable and has drawn on many references from that time but also more recent styles which have influenced him during his career. He talks about that here.
This is Twelfth Night.
King Lear.
And Othello.
Using blackwork as an inspiration, he's designed the fabric for the jacquard silk binding and was invited to visit the factory to see it being produced.
He's designed a theatre interior to go inside the slip case.
And it can be made into a 3D model.
Throughout the whole process Neil has been invited to share ideas and to work closely with the team at The Folio Society. I believe that it shows just how much can be achieved when all parties are thoroughly dedicated to finding the absolute best solutions for each stage of an important and historic production like this.

This is a highly desirable collectors' edition – with the same attention to detail as the edition of The Divine Comedy illustrated by Neil, published just two years ago, and which sold out within weeks. More information on both on The Folio Society website.

Neil's images were largely produced digitally so we don't have any originals to offer but we have superb paintings from his other books, including The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Olivia Lomenech Gill original art

And while we're on the subject of Shakespeare, I also have some beautiful sketches by Olivia Lomenech Gill.

In other news

I know some people are waiting to hear whether Ian Miller is able to sell any proofs from the Sorcery Contested Realm series. He probably will at some point but he's rather preoccupied at the moment so just let me know if you're interested and I'll pass the message on to Ian when he's ready. This one is Warp Warrior.

We've also been asked for prints of Ian's covers for some of the Fighting Fantasy series: Creature of Havoc, The House of Hell, and Phantoms of Fear amongst others so let me know if you're interested in those too.
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