The White People
Arthur Machen
Pre-orders open Wednesday June 10th for right's holders at 4pm (UK time GMT)
and Thursday June 11th at 4pm (Public)
Scheduled for publication Q1 2027
Presenting the third title in our Weird Shorts series Arthur Machen's masterpiece The White People.
A discussion between two occult flaneurs, Ambrose and Cotgrave on the nature of evil, of saints and sinners leads Ambrose to reveal the mysterious Green Book he possesses. The book is a dairy like document written by an adolescent girl, telling of her initiation by her nurse into an ancient pagan cult, a world of folklore, black magic and the supernatural traditions and rites of the countryside. It tells of her own spiritualist experiences first hand, in a heightened, mystical reality, with cryptic allusions to what she has witnessed...the white, green and scarlet ceremonies, the aklo letters and Mao games, the Dôls and 'voolas'.
The White People is considered by scholars and devotees of Weird Fiction to be one of the finest stories of the genre, it had a huge influence on H P Lovecraft who shaped many elements of his Cthulhu Mythos around Machen's visions and terminology. It also served as inspiration for T.E.D Klein's epic novel The Ceremonies and has influenced many other writers Alan Moore and Ramsey Campbell to name a few.
Praise for ‘The White People’ by Arthur Machen
"Probably the finest single supernatural story of the century, perhaps in the literature",
E F Bleiler
"If I were to list the greatest supernatural short stories of all time, I would start with Arthur Machen’s 'The White People,' about a young girl’s unknowing initiation into an ancient, otherworldly cult."
Michael Dirda
"a masterpiece of indirection, a Lovecraft plot told by James Joyce’’
S. T. Joshi
"Machen's narrative, a triumph of skilful selectiveness and restraint, accumulates enormous power as it flows on in a stream of innocent childish prattle"
H. P. Lovecraft
About this Edition
Consisting of only 226 copies in three states, Limited Edition, Deluxe Edition and Lettered Edition.
The 75 Deluxe copies are numbered 1-75 and come in a handmade slipcase
The 125 Limited edition copies are numbered 76- 200
The 26 Lettered copies are Lettered A - Z
Illustrated by Samuel Araya
Page Count: 48 pp approx
Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm (uniform size of our other titles.)
The book will be printed hot metal Monotype in 12 pt Centaur with Apothecary Serif for display by Pat Randle and Ellen Bills at
Nomad Letterpress
Book designs and typography by Elijah John
Limited Edition
125 copies
£145
Only 125 copies of the Limited Edition
-
These copies are hand numbered 76-200
-
Printed letterpress, hot metal monotype by Ellen Bills and Pat Randle at Nomad Letterpress on Hahnemühle Biblio 150gsm. A beautiful, watermarked paper with two deckle edges.
-
The text is set in 12pt Centaur with Apothecary Serif as display
-
48pp
-
Hand Bound in quarter forest green cloth with gilt stamped titles to the spine, the boards are covered in exquisite, hand-marbled 'green fantasy' paper by Rachel Maiden. So each book has a unique touch due to the varying marbling patterns.
-
Title page printed in two colours
-
Letterpress printed ornaments and illustration borders
-
With 3 tipped-in illustrations by Samuel Araya
-
Comes with a Bookmark
Deluxe Edition
75 copies
£195
Only 75 copies of the Deluxe Edition
-
Housed in a handmade, lined slipcase covered in forest green cloth with green foiled key motif which incorporates Arthur Machen's monogram, designed by Aubrey Beardsley in 1895 for John Lane's 'Keynote Series'.
-
The Deluxe Edition comes with a numbered print unique to this variant + the bookmark
-
These copies are hand numbered 1-75
-
Printed letterpress, hot metal monotype by Ellen Bills and Pat Randle at Nomad Letterpress on mould made Somerset Book 130gsm paper
-
The text is set in 12pt Centaur with Apothecary Serif as display
-
48pp
-
Hand Bound in quarter forest green cloth with gilt stamped titles to the spine, the boards are covered in exquisite, hand-marbled 'green fantasy' paper by Rachel Maiden. So each book has a unique touch due to the varying marbling patterns.
-
Title page printed in two colours
-
Letterpress printed ornaments and illustration borders
-
With 3 tipped-in illustrations by Samuel Araya
Lettered Edition
26 copies
£425
Our Lettered Edition is bound by Gillian Stewart of Juju Books.
Juju Books is a contemporary design and bookbinding practice, founded in 2017 by prize-winning bookbinder Gillian Stewart. A QEST Ambassador and graduate of Glasgow School of Art, Gillian’s background is in design, illustration and printmaking. Combined with traditional bookbinding skills gained through years of experience and intense training across Europe, Gillian seeks to make beautifully crafted objects to elevate, archive and inspire for years to come. Gillian's clients include, Idris Elba, Sir Quentin Blake, The Royal Collection at Windsor, Royal Commission for Al Ula
Suntup Editions, Robert Macfarlane and Bentley Motors
-
These copies are lettered A-Z and are signed by the binder.
-
Printed letterpress, hot metal monotype by Ellen Bills and Pat Randle at Nomad Letterpress on our handmade Velke Losin stock which carries the Nepenthe and Losin watermarks.
-
The text is set in 12pt Centaur with Apothecary Serif as display
-
48pp
-
Hand Bound in quarter forest green leather with gilt stamped titles to the spine. The boards are covered in a handmade cyanotype printed paper which Gillian has made to evoke forest moss and woodland textures.
-
Title page printed in two colours
-
Letterpress printed ornaments and illustration borders
-
With 3 tipped-in illustrations by Samuel Araya
-
Housed in a handmade, lined slipcase covered in forest green cloth with green foiled key motif which incorporates Arthur Machen's monogram, designed by Aubrey Beardsley in 1895 for John Lane's 'Keynote Series'.
Hot metal monotype
Most presses today use photopolymer plates for their 'letterpress' books. Hot metal monotype is the original process where type is cast one character at a time in molten lead alloy, which is then hand-set and printed.
Pat Randle and Ellen Bills at Nomad Letterpress are passionate practitioners of this traditional method, and it is precisely this level of meticulous craftsmanship that sets these books apart.
Typesetting: 12pt Centaur
Bruce Rogers, recognising the success of Monotype Garamond and Poliphilus, offered his own design, Centaur (hand-cut in 1915 for hand-setting), to the Monotype Corporation so that it could be made available for machine composition. Centaur was modelled on the type of Nicolas Jenson's edition of Euse-bius De evangelica pracparatione, 1470. Rogers's redrawn version for Monotype Centaur was issued in 1929 and used in the Oxford Lectern Bible, which Rogers designed and the production of which he personally supervised - in Morison's opinion, 'the most monumental impression ever given to a Monotype face'.
Paper: Velké Losin
The Paper mill at Velké Losiny is a historic mill in Velké Losiny in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It was founded in the late 16th century and is manufacturing handmade paper to this day. The four-hundred-year continuity of traditional handmade paper production is unparalleled in Central Europe and in 2001 the paper mill was declared a Czech national cultural monument. We feel honoured to now have our own paper stock for lettered editions which carries both the Nēpenthé and Losin watermarks.
Cyanotype
A photographic process Invented in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, it is a form of camera-less photography (photogram) where objects or film negatives cast shadows onto a chemically treated surface, which is then exposed to UV light. As well as binding the lettered edition Gillian Stewart will produce the photographic sheets that cover the boards using this traditional process, each copy will therefore be covered in a unique cyanotype.
Arthur Machen's Monogram designed by Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley was commissioned by publisher John Lane to create designs for the Keynote Series of novels and short stories begun by publishers Elkin Matthews & John Lane, and afterwards continued by John Lane, 1894-1896.
Beardsley created woodcuts and decorations for the covers and title pages, including the key designs which incorporate the authors initials. In 1890 he produced this key design for the first edition of 'The Great God Pan.' The key motif ties in beautifully to the story The White People and the secret nature of The Green Book and the occult secrets contained within.
Rachel Maiden Marbling
Rachel Maiden is an artist and the owner of Maiden Marbling.
She lives in Chester, Cheshire and works as a designer and producer of marbled papers and textiles, collaborating with publishers, graphic and interior designers.
Rachel has created a beautiful 'fantasy swirl' paper for this edition in a palette of rich and vibrant greens.
.
