insurrbution wrote:

My 2017 Hammond & Scull boxed set is printed in Italy by Rotolito Lombarda, with the printing saying 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 2 for all three books. Maybe the re-prints were done there?

Yes, that number line is incorrect. The actual first print with the defective slipcase and glue seepage onto the jackets was printed in China (the books are nicely printed, FWIW -- they just didn't let the glue dry before trying to use the slipcases).

The numberlines are so often wrong at this point, they don't mean much (for the first print, anyway).

Ah, I see - thanks for clearing that up

Another QC wonder !

You shouldn't open it, Emilien, it's super rare !!

You should complain to HarperCollins about this one, I can't understand how that was shipped, and probably the next box-set with two copies of The Return of the King in it.

Haha not mine, just checked this on a second hand marketplace !

Now you have an extra copy of TT to mark up and make notes in though.

I certainly wouldn't put it past Quality Control (QC) to have let this slip by during printing and packaging, but there are two other possibilities:

• the shrinkwrap has been opened (seen at the bottom of the picture) enough for the Reader's Companion to be removed it looks like, to me, which would allow for all the other books to be removed and replaced without further opening the shrinkwrap.
  
• shrinkwrap machines are easy to buy, and use. Unlikely to be the case here (who would bother), but always something to keep in mind when you are buying something "new" just because it is "still in shrinkwrap".

Bumping this fairly old thread as my question didn't seem worthy of a new thread.

I recently ordered/received the Harper Collins Deluxe edition of The Story of Kullervo (9780008166724). If I'm reading the copyright page correctly, it's from the fourth printing and was printed by Rotolito.

My question is: in every photo and review video I see of this book, the binding and slipcase color looks like an orange-tinted red or maybe a brownish-red, but definitely overall red. My book and its slipcase are both very definitely brown, I see no hint of red. The color of the ribbon also very much matches the color of the case and the binding, no red there other.

I don't mind the brown, it looks fine and the book is in good shape. Just curious if this is a known issue, e.g. were the earlier printings of the deluxe Kullervo a different color or from a different printer or anything like that? Or are my eyes just deceiving me in every photo and video I've seen of this book?

At least my copy does not smell bad like the poor poster earlier in this thread, haha.

rosshm16 wrote:

Bumping this fairly old thread as my question didn't seem worthy of a new thread.

I recently ordered/received the Harper Collins Deluxe edition of The Story of Kullervo (9780008166724). If I'm readying the copyright page correctly, it's from the fourth printing and was printed by Rotolito.

My question is: in every photo and review video I see of this book, the binding and slipcase color looks like an orange-tinted red or maybe a brownish-red, but definitely overall red. My book and its slipcase are both very definitely brown, I see no hint of red. The color of the ribbon also very much matches the color of the case and the binding, no red there other.

I don't mind the brown, it looks fine and the book is in good shape. Just curious if this is this a known issue, e.g. were the earlier printings of the deluxe Kullervo a different color or from a different printer or anything like that? Or are my eyes just deceiving me in every photo and video I've seen of this book?

At least my copy does not smell bad like the poor poster earlier in this thread, haha.

Definitely much more red than brown for the first print (only a slight hint of brown). I did read somewhere else (perhaps reddit or facebook) of someone receiving a brown copy unexpectedly.

My first print definitely absolutely stank when I got it, but thankfully all those nasty VOCs have now boiled off and it doesn't have a smell. I do recall it being horrific at the time, though!