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Puffin is publishing six exclusive special editions designed by cultural figures including sculptor Antony Gormley and author and illustrator Lauren Child as part of celebrations for the company's 70th birthday.
The six titles will be published on 2nd September priced at £100 each and the children’s publisher will only release 1,000 copies. The titles are James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl designed by sculptor Antony Gormley; Little Women by Louisa May Alcott designed by fashion designer Orla Kiely; Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens designed by artist Sir Peter Blake; The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett designed by Charlie and Lola author and illustrator, Lauren Child; Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson designed by architect and sculptor Frank Gehry; and Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne designed by architect David Adjaye.
Each book comes packaged in a Perspex slipcase engraved with the title of the book and the designer’s name.
Anna Billson, art director at Puffin, said: “We came up with a list of artists and designers that we wanted to work with and wrote to them. Each designer then chose their favourite classic and we took it from there.”
She added that after seeing the success of the Penguin Designer Classics it “made sense” to do a Puffin set. Billson added: “If the Penguin ones are anything to go by, they will very quickly become highly collectable.”
She said the range would appeal to book lovers and collectors, design lovers, fans of the individual artists.
Billson said there were no immediate plans to extend this series, however she added: “As the digital revolution in publishing gains pace it is becoming clear that there is definitely a market for special print editions with luxury finishes. So we are looking at individual titles on our list with a
view to approaching other designers to create bespoke editions, tailoring designs to make the final product the best looking and the most covetable in its field.”