Books
Rare Books

The Folio Society: devoted to beautiful books

Standing like an island amid the sea of cheap mass produced paperbacks and formulaic new releases, is the Folio Society. This organisation is half publisher, half book club (as it has members) and was founded in 1947 on the principle that books should be beautiful to the eye as well as captivating to the mind.

The Folio Society's formula for success is publishing books with exceptional typography, illustrations, paper and bindings. The Society sources new introductions from literary experts to accompany classic texts and uses skilled designers and master printers to produce memorable fine books. Fiction and non-fiction is published and you will be familiar with many of the titles and authors.

These books are often housed in beautiful slipcases. Sets and multi-volume editions are commonplace. The Folio Society takes a classic book and finds an expert to write a fresh introduction. It publishes books that are already winners - some of them like The Wind in the Willows and The Canterbury Tales have become iconic - but adds much more to the look and feel.

Share

Discover more beautiful books

28 July, 2025
A once-in-a-lifetime edition — limited to just 99 collector sets worldwide, each bearing astronaut signatures, a certified lunar meteorite, and Galileo’s vision of the cosmos.
4 Min Read
14 September, 2022
Find beautiful decorative books to decorate your home from vintage paperbacks to complete sets, leather-bound volumes and coffee-table books.
6 Min Read
By Sandra Hindman
24 January, 2022
Books of Hours were medieval bestsellers. Sandra Hindman, an expert on medieval manuscripts, explains why these books were, and still are, so important.
8 Min Read