Almost Boxing Day
HMS Victory wood labels for our solander box
In anticipation of finishing the binding of the Anchor Edition of Master and Commander late next week, my thoughts are starting to turn to making our solander boxes. Yesterday, I was able to collect the box labels from woodworker Dan Eklund. I could not be more pleased with the results.
Each label is made from a thin piece of teakwood salvaged from HMS Victory as a part of her ongoing restoration. I absolutely love the variation in grain and color of the wood. Even the aroma is remarkable; I am sure that someone with greater olfactory skills than I could even determine the origin of the wood itself, as, apparently, Burmese, Indian, Javanese, African, and Indonesian teak each have a distinct aroma.
Dan laser engraved the title and author using Baskerville – the same font used for the book’s text. The only artistic license is the use of the ampersand in the title. After my previous post about the box, one of our dear Admiral of the Fleet supporters wrote, “I would have thought you might have taken a tiny liberty in the label… Instead of ‘Master and Commander’ it might have been ‘Master & Commander’ in recognition of the press name and of the astonishing work that has been put into the remarkable edition.” He was absolutely right! So, I used the italic version of John Baskerville’s transitional type.
In many ways, this entire project has been one of design restraint, echoing (but not slavishly following) English books of the late-18th century. However, as I have previously written, the ampersand represents one of the few places that typographers can “show away” (as Jack might have said). So, I hope that I might be forgiven this small bit of typographic flamboyance.
Last Chance for Box Orders
As I wrote at the end of November, the Anchor Edition should be finished and ready for shipping by the end of next week. So, this is the last chance for those who did not order the solander box to do so.
If you ordered the Anchor Edition without the clamshell box but would now like to add it to your order…
Please remit your final payment on our website before then.
Here is the link for Early Bird Kickstarter Backers
Here is the link for regular Kickstarter Backers
Make sure to add the Clamshell Box to your order when you submit final payment.
The final deadline for ordering the box and submitting final payment will be Sunday, December 22, 2024. After that, we will be unable to accept any additional orders for the box.
Although your book will be ready for shipping the week of December 23, we will hold off shipping it until the boxes are finished in late January.
To ensure proper delivery, please make sure that you enter your current mailing address when making your payment. We will use this address for shipping, regardless of the one used in the original Kickstarter campaign.
If you ordered the Anchor Edition without the clamshell box…
Your book will be ready for shipping late in the week of December 23. In preparation, please remit your final payment on our website by Friday, December 27.
Here is the link for Early Bird Kickstarter Backers
Here is the link for regular Kickstarter Backers
To ensure proper delivery, please make sure that you enter your current mailing address when making payment. We will use this address for shipping, regardless of the one used in the original Kickstarter campaign.
If you ordered the Anchor Edition with the clamshell box…
We will send you payment details and collect shipping information once the box and book are ready to ship together in late January. We will contact you through both email and Kickstarter messaging when the time comes.
Congratulations on your progress. The labels look stunning!