Various incidents this week have encouraged me to return to one of my favourite subjects: the future of books. First I bumped into Stephen Gan, the creative force behind Visionaire, the limited edition fashion and art publication that he launched from his New York apartment in 1991. Today, each edition of Visionaire (there are three of them a year) is highly sought after by collectors. About 1,500 copies are printed and they sell for more than 200 dollars each. But as they are beautiful objects, back issues can fetch thousands on eBay. Increasingly, I suspect, books and magazines will become luxury items. For more info, take a look at visionaireworld.com.
Soon after my meeting with Gan, I saw a quote from science fiction author William Gibson, who had been asked about the future of bookstores. He believes that bookstores will soon display only samples. If you like the look of the book, the store will print one for you on the premises. It’s haute couture for books.
By pure coincidence, I was later invited to lunch by Blurb, a company that runs exactly the service Gibson is proposing – but online. You provide the text and the illustrations, they provide design tools and printing. Effectively, you become an artisanal publisher. This is the future of books: bespoke, limited edition and highly desirable.
