THE BIG SLEEP by RAYMOND CHANDLER — 1994 HC/DJ with SLIPCASE — PENZLER First Edition Library (FEL) Publisher: Otto Penzler, New York (1994)
In excellent condition, with only slight smudges to back of slipcase. Scarce. First Edition Library (FEL) productions are highly collectible. In the late 1980s the First Edition Library (FEL) began publishing high quality facsimiles of famous first editions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Sold via subscription, the FEL eventually produced over one hundred titles. The degree of accuracy maintained in the duplication of original first editions was nothing less than extraordinary. FEL facsimiles had the same weight, size, typeface, art, dust jacket, finish and texture as the originals. Even mistakes were duplicated - for example, the infamous "jay" error on the front flap of The Great Gatsby dust jacket possesses the same capital 'J' that strikes over the lower case letter as the original.
There are, however, some distinguishing differences in FEL productions. Acid free paper was used, whether it was in the original or not - and often it was not. Also, an explanatory block of text appears on the facsimile copyright page indicating the date of publication of this Facsimile edition. Most FEL books were issued in slipcases; the originals were not, and each book arrived (see exception noted below) with a laid-in card of explanatory notes, including how the title came into being, background on the dedication, applicable issue points, the target copy from which the facsimile was produced, and some general notes about the book and its readership.
