Codex Seraphinianus: 40th Anniversary Edition Hardcover – October 12, 2021

I love everything about this book. Fun, vibrant, weird. Bigger than I was expecting. Very well made. The pages are like canvas. Bright colors. Not a single complaint. I almost wish I could buy it twice. Lol

(it's almost all) Pros: Beautiful book, has a slightly brighter, more colorful "Forbidden Planet" vibe that I really dig. It invokes the strange and mysterious and holds it all together with almost familiar elements that make it really interesting. Apparently it was written to invoke the feelings of a child who has not learned to read yet in adults who have long since forgotten that experience. The writing is indecipherable but familiar, welcoming, and seems to want to be understood. I enjoyed trying to interpret the pictures and the themes of what look like separate chapters. Not a lot of shadowy imagery (I usually go for the darker stuff), but more like an illustrated encyclopedia from a different world. The paper, the colors, the heft of the book...it's all very nice!If you are thinking about getting it, do so! It is almost half the retail price right now and if mine is any indicator, they finally quick gluing the slip cover piece to the front cover.Cons: It is an expensive book that is made to be enjoyed and shown off, and I was fortunate that mine arrived in great shape, but it was in a box big enough for it to get pretty banged up pretty easily if it had been handled just a little more roughly in delivery or been delayed in shipping and just banged around for longer. Others haven't been so lucky (see some other posts). This isn't to discourage you from buying it, if you are interested in it, it is probably for you. For the sellers/shippers/Amazon/whomever: The bags of air that were in the box with it might help a little, but for a pricier art book, bubble wrap in a box that fit more tightly would prevent some of the damage to the corners that some other customers have experienced. It doesn't need to be lead lined, just fit better.

Got this as a gift, and decided to also get myself one. It is super interesting and such great quality. It also looks amazing on my book shelf

Comparing this to the previous edition:Cons - When removing that lower 40th Anni. slip cover piece, it brought with it some of the image from the cover. Just a bit, but enough so that it's apparent this printing is not as steadfast as the prior. The grooves in the pages feel a bit less deep, I could he wrong here.ProsThe print within the book is sharper and what I can only imagine to be truer to the original drawings. This, luckily, allows us to see the entire book in a whole new light... the vibrancy, the detail, it's all a much higher quality than the previous edition. The weight feels considerably more. The added "plates" (pages of drawings) are an AMAZING edition, they are very fun and have a unique thing going for one particular set. I noticed there was some new details that are not as apparent as the illustrations & some "text" is changed up in the beginning, assumingly to designate this new edition. I notice there are 3 "kings" on the spine, I wonder if this designates Ed. #3?As an avid admirer of all things Luigi Serafini, I highly recommend this new edition as a first time buyer or as an added edition to your already stocked serafini shelf section. ;)

This review is for the print version. I see Amazon does separate editions in the reviews, which is a disservice. Anyway the paper stock is heavy and lightly textured, reinforcing the impression that was hand drawn in colored pencils. As noted by others, the wraparound band fuses with the cover and tears. In my case I removed it carefully and the cover itself was not damaged. The "Decodex" in the back cover pocket is a nice little addition, with some new art. The binding will stand up to normal use but having seen what happened to the copy in my university's library, I would not recommend this for libraries -- apart from the high theft rates for this title, the binding will not stand up to heavy use.I won't bother reviewing the contents because plenty of folks have covered that in depth. I'll just say it is a great conversation piece, fun to browse, and will get a lot of perusing as a coffee table book.

Linda presentación. Excelentes imágenes y textos súper originales.

Super cool, I could read it for hours

My son is over the moon. Got it for his birthday. He is an artist. All his artist friends are jealous. Haven’t seen that big a smile in ages! Haven’t been allowed to see it because he’s not done looking at it! 🤣