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An advance copy of 1616 arrived this week. I gather only a couple of copies were air shipped from the printer (R.R. Donnelley) in China, so it was kind of my publisher, Counterpoint, to send one to me. The bulk shipment should be here in a few weeks, and the book should hit stores in the second half of February.

Counterpoint went to more expense and trouble on the production of this book than I expected, beginning with color throughout, which was a little surprising as this is a book intended for the trade and not a museum catalogue or art book per se. The book has nice chocolate-colored boards and a red and yellow headband. The 7¼ x 10 in. trim size makes it a little bigger than a standard trade book (often 5½ x 8½ or 6 x 9) but not so big as books intended mainly for the art market (which are often 9 x 12 or larger).

The front cover and spine are stamped with gold stamping (a little washed out here by my flash).

There are colored ensheets front and back. The image is a pair of Japanese screens (one shown above the other one) from the period covered in the book. Together these happen to fit the dimensions of the book perfectly, and they represent some of the best geographical knowledge of the time.

The book is well bound with sewn bindings so that it lies flat when opened.

All things considered, the art is nicely produced on 128 gsm matte paper with good opacity.

All in all, a nice piece of work, and for now attractively priced at $35.