THE EDITION
HM’s new edition of The Dunwich Horror (approx. 7.75 x 10.5 inches, 54 pages + prints), with original aquatints by Briony Morrow-Cribbs, will total 50 numbered copies (+ 6 hors commerce), all signed by the artist. The text will be set in Bembo and Desdemona types, with chapter tailpieces created from Bodoni ornaments, and printed from polymer plates at HM with a handpress, on dampened Barcham Green handmade papers. The aquatints will be printed by the artist on kitikata. Twenty copies will be specially boxed with working proofs of the prints. The edition will be sewn and quarter-bound by hand, with original etchings by the artist covering the boards.
“In the years since publishing The Shadow Over Innsmouth, I have frequently been asked about doing another Lovecraft project, and the idea of following up with The Dunwich Horror had always been there. A series of unrelated events and coincidences in late 2023 revived the idea. Shortly after re-reading the story for the first time in years, I happened across a copy of Briony’s 2013 etching “Buzz II” and was struck by how many elements from the story appear in the print. With no expectation of success, I sent her a link to an audio version of the story, and asked if she might be interested in pursuing the idea. To my surprise and great pleasure, she said yes!” – HM
Our approach is not to illustrate the story; this isn’t a book for children. Briony’s prints draw on the story’s imagery and tone to create a visual accompaniment. They will be interspersed through the text, placed to provide a pause – or even interruption – to the narrative, a moment for the reader to ponder the image’s textual connections and references.
The Dunwich Horror was first published in Weird Tales, in 1929. The story partly revolves around Lovecraft’s fictitious Necronomicon, an ancient text of terrible secrets that developed its own history as it began to make appearances in stories by other authors. A short history of the book written by Lovecraft was published in 1938 by the Rebel Press as a modest four-page pamphlet. It will be included as an appendix in HM’s new edition of The Dunwich Horror.
As of late March 2024, we don’t have many images to share: Briony has just started working on the copper plates, and printing the text is underway. We expect to have a bound copy to share by early summer. Then there’s a lot of binding and boxmaking to be done, for publication in November.
THE ARTIST
AQUATINTS
THE PRINTS
THE HANDPRESS
THE BINDINGS
PUBLICATION