About our Press

The Press at Toad Hall
About our Press

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We are a small reprint publishing house specializing in classic books and publications. Currently, we offer 21,000 items divided into libraries; The Shellback Library and 32 Libraries of Timeless Reading.

CONTENT AND QUALITY:
The text content of our publications are not photo-facsimiled; all of our products are newly typeset for excellent readability. All of our illustrations are digitally enhanced for clarity and printing brightness. The books in both our Libraries have a highly useful red-ribbon bookmark bound in. (Once you have read a book with a bookmark, you won't want to do without one again!.) All text blocks, including those for Booklets, are printed on 70 lb. cream-coloured paper for reduced print-through and higher opacity. If the book is from the nineteenth or early twentieth century, its appearance is as close to the original as possible.

LIBRARY CONSISTENCY:
All of our publications have a consistent design so that they will look good together on your bookshelf.

THE SHELLBACK LIBRARY

Nautical Books
Most books are octavo, 5 3/8" X 8 1/8" except for some music books, which are quarto, 9" X 12", (bound on the short side for playing), and some classic nautical texts, in which the plates would suffer from being reduced. These latter are reproduced in elephant folio size (approx. 11" X 17") as were many of the originals. All of our editions, both octavo and elephant folio are hard bound with maroon book-cloth spines in the "half-calf" manner. The octavo titles are enclosed in a laminated dust jacket. Maps and plates which are oversized are pocketed.

booklet1 Booklets
Our Booklets offer substantive narratives excerpted from larger well-known works or stand-alone articles from the periodical literature. Booklets measure 5.5"x 8.5" and contain between 4 and 48 pages and most have a number of plates in addition to the text. The plates are printed and contained in their own pocket in the Title Folio so that they can be easily accessed in building. Each Booklet comes enclosed in its own red-sealed Title Folio which maintains our library cover design.

Data and Plan Sheets
Our Data and Plan Sheet series is made up of informative reference articles from the literature. For a modest price, Data Sheets contain information selected from our classic books or the periodical literature reprinted to provide specific information on a particular subject. Plan Sheets are for boat building projects and contain building plans. These items measure 8.5" X 11" and contain between 1 and 4 pages. Most of the Data Sheets and Plan sheets are illustrated.

32 LIBRARIES OF TIMELESS READING:

Image of covers

The books in our Timeless Reading Library are all high quality hard-cover editions with laminated dust jackets. Most books are 8vo (Octavo, 8 1/8" x 5 3/8"). The inside front and back covers are of a royal-red cover stock and the cover itself is a two-colour cream stock, often with full-colour artwork. The jacket is laminated for cleanliness and durability. All books have a red-ribbon bookmark and all are printed on heavy 70lb. cream-coloured text stock for reduced print-through and excellent readability.

We are a small reprint publishing house specializing in classic books and publications. Currently, we offer 21,000 items divided into libraries; The Shellback Library and 32 Libraries of Timeless Reading.

CONTENT AND QUALITY: The text content of our publications are *not* photo-facsimiled; all of our products are newly typeset for excellent readability. All of our illustrations are digitally enhanced for clarity and printing brightness. The books in both our Libraries have a highly useful red-ribbon bookmark bound in. (Once you have read a book with a bookmark, you won't want to do without one again!.) All text blocks, including those for Booklets, are printed on 70 lb. cream-coloured paper for reduced print-through and higher opacity. If the book is from the nineteenth or early twentieth century, its appearance is as close to the original as possible.
LIBRARY CONSISTENCY: All of our publications have a consistent design so that they will look good together on your bookshelf.
THE SHELLBACK LIBRARY
Nautical Books Most books are octavo, 5 3/8" X 8 1/8" except for some music books, which are quarto, 9" X 12", (bound on the short side for playing), and some classic nautical texts, in which the plates would suffer from being reduced. These latter are reproduced in elephant folio size (approx. 11" X 17") as were many of the originals. All of our editions, both octavo and elephant folio are hard bound with maroon book-cloth spines in the "half-calf" manner. The octavo titles are enclosed in a laminated dust jacket. Maps and plates which are oversized are pocketed.
Booklets Our Booklets offer substantive narratives excerpted from larger well-known works or stand-alone articles from the periodical literature. Booklets measure 5.5"x 8.5" and contain between 4 and 48 pages and most have a number of plates in addition to the text. The plates are printed and contained in their own pocket in the Title Folio so that they can be easily accessed in building. Each Booklet comes enclosed in its own red-sealed Title Folio which maintains our library cover design.
Data and Plan Sheets Our Data and Plan Sheet series is made up of informative reference articles from the literature. For a modest price, Data Sheets contain information selected from our classic books or the periodical literature reprinted to provide specific information on a particular subject. Plan Sheets are for boat building projects and contain building plans. These items measure 8.5" X 11" and contain between 1 and 4 pages. Most of the Data Sheets and Plan sheets are illustrated.


32 LIBRARIES OF TIMELESS READING:

The books in our Timeless Reading Library are all high quality hard-cover editions with laminated dust jackets. Most books are 8vo (Octavo, 8 1/8" x 5 3/8"). The inside front and back covers are of a royal-red cover stock and the cover itself is a two-colour cream stock, often with full-colour artwork. The jacket is laminated for cleanliness and durability. All books have a red-ribbon bookmark and all are printed on heavy 70lb. cream-coloured text stock for reduced print-through and excellent readability.