Now, experience Milo Winter's breathtaking full-color illustrations from
the 1922 Rand-McNally Windermere Series Edition of Jules Verne's classic

TWENTY  THOUSAND  LEAGUES
UNDER  THE  SEA

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Rand McNally 1922 Windermere Series Edition  

Available for the first time: Finest quality photo reproductions
from the 1922 Rand-McNally Windermere Series Edition of
Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
translated by Philip Schuyler Allen - illustrated by Milo Winter
(Go directly to product offerings)


From inside a stained and well-worn cover, treasures from the Golden Age of fine book illustration   by Larry Cottrill, Director, Cottrill Cyclodyne Corporation

My well-worn copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Boyhood wonder ...

One of the joys of my childhood was the personal library of my father's parents, Clarence and Sophie Cottrill. On the wages of a career postal worker, my grandfather put together an eclectic set of books from the 1920s through the 1950s. While I now realize that this collection was quite small, it always seemed wonderful to me -- but the most wonderful of all was this big, old Rand-McNally edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

The first time I took this book off the shelf, I had just seen the beautiful [but somewhat inaccurate] 1954 Disney film interpretation, so I dug eagerly into the book. At that time, I had probably never heard the cliche expression, "The book was better," but even as a seven-year-old boy, I immediately realized that reading the book was a higher order of experience in many respects. Through the Schuyler translation, Verne spun in my young imagination a wondrous tale of impossible yet shockingly believable adventure, pulling me into the strange submarine world of the vengeance-driven genius calling himself Captain Nemo. I was captivated by the author's erudite style and brilliant sense of detail.

Even in these days of safe, affordable sport diving and Man In The Sea projects [and in spite of a few technical errors in terms of physics and marine biology - remember, Verne was writing in the 1880s!], the book is still a thing of wondrous literary magic, and justly retains its place as one of the great early classics in the science fiction genre.

The illustrations ...

Not the least of the delights in this edition are the brilliant color renderings of the much-lauded illustrator, Milo Winter. In these masterful illustrations, the artist brings out wonderful visual conceptions of key moments in the story line, perfectly complementing the printed text. There is wonderful 'life and breath' in these paintings, and I remember eagerly studying them time and time again in visits to my grandparents' home, even years after I had finished my first read of the book.

Without falling into the camps of being either stylishly avant-garde or slavishly realistic, these paintings turn out to be a brilliant example of fine book illustration in what could arguably be called the Golden Age of that art genre. I have always particularly thought that Winter had a wonderful sense of composition, especially in capturing the visual drama of a scene. Just scroll down through the eight thumbnail representations below to see what I mean!

Now, an opportunity for you to own this beautiful and
    unusual artwork to display proudly in your own home or office


Three factors aligned themselves to make this offer possible: [1] My possession of my late grandfather's copy of this edition; [2] my skills as a former professional photographer; and [3] the fact that printed works published before 1923 can be freely copied. This means that these wonderful examples of the craft of Milo Winter can now be made available to the public, not to just the few collectors of old books who happen across a good copy of this edition!

Recently taking a critical look at my copy, I found the printed pages and the brilliant color plates to be in as good condition as I remembered them! The quality of this edition must have been very good for its day - not only are the colors in the plates still well-saturated and vibrant, but even the text pages are only slightly darkened to a fairly uniform light ivory tone. [The only detractions from the beauty of the interior of the book are the general weakening of the binding, and occasional pencil notations here or there in the text.]

About Design - 'Graphic' and 'Diptych' Versions

My first design was, of course, simply the wonderful Milo Winter renderings, which qualify as fine art in themselves. In the book, there is always an inscription, taken from the written text on one of the preceding pages, imprinted in blue italic print directly below each rendering. I immediately decided to include this, reproduced as faithfully as possible, in the same way.

But then, as a lover of great writing (albeit translated, in this case) and as a former professional photographer, it occurred to me that the juxtaposition of each rendering with the text of the associated page could make a more unusual photographic work of art, while being just as beautiful for display in a home or office setting. Why not, then, produce top-quality reproductions in this 'open book' style and offer them to the public as well?

This forced me to create terminology to distinguish between the two design styles. I finally chose the old artist's term 'Diptych' (basically, two scenes side-by-side) to describe the text-plus-graphic version. I decided to place the graphic on the right side, since this is how it appears in the book. The only exception is the Frontispiece of Ned Land the harpooner, which appears on the left as you open the book to the title page. I had to call the solo rendering something, so I settled on naming it the 'Graphic' version of the design. All this is made clearer when you view the thumbnail representations below

A new addition to the design is that I decided that the book title and the illustrator should be prominently featured. So, at the very bottom edge of each print, I set up in small but bold white modern font the inscriptions: TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and MILO WINTER 1922. These are just barely visible in the thumbnail pictures below

About Dimensions - NEW 'Full Poster' Size Available!

My original design, years ago, was limited to the 11 x 17 inch [about 28 x 43 cm] 'Mini Poster' size, because that was the largest size I could get printed that was practical and affordable. Today, I can do the printing in-house up to the 'Super B' size outside dimensions - 13 x 19 inches [about 33 x 48 cm]. While adding two inches each way doesn't sound like much, the difference in visual impact is surprising.

The larger size is excellent if you're going to frame or hang the work in a larger room or if you just want the print to be especially prominent in the space. I think the larger format is especially nice for the 'Diptych' form - the text can be read by a person with normal vision from better than 6 feet [about 2m] away. In the case of the full-size 'Graphic' poster, the blue inscription beneath the rendering is readable at a distance of close to 10 feet [about 3m]! The total area of the 'full poster' is over 32 percent greater than that of the 'mini poster' - that's a lot of gain for the extra cost.

Quality of the product is exactly the same for the two sizes offered. The printed area has a slightly better 'fit' to the larger rectangle, i.e. a little less noticeable 'white space' around the edges. Here's a true-to-scale size comparison:

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Rand McNally 1922 Windermere Series Edition
Graphic Full Poster
Overall dims: 13 x 19 inches (33 x 48 cm)
Rendering dims: approx. 11.25 x 15.75
inches (29 x 40 cm)
  Graphic Mini-Poster
Overall dims: 11 x 17 inches (28 x 43 cm)
Rendering dims: approx. 9.75 x 13.75
inches (25 x 35 cm)


Here's what you get:

These frameables are printed on heavy weight, bright white, acid-free paper, in 11 x 17 inch [about 28 x 43 cm] 'Mini Poster' outside dimensions - OR, the NEW 'Full Poster' size, 13 x 19 inch [about 33 x 48 cm] dimensions. 'Graphic' posters are 'portrait' format [vertical orientation] while the specially-designed 'Diptych' style posters are 'landscape' format [horizontal]. They are shipped carefully rolled in an ample, rugged mailing tube. I will only accept up to five posters in a single order, and will only ship a maximum of five posters in a single tube! If you want more, please use a second order. All US shipments are Priority Mail with Confirmation [i.e. a tracking number]. [Foreign shipments are by the most economical means available with proof of mailing, and promptness of delivery cannot be guaranteed.] Shipment will be within five business days of placing your order. All payments are through PayPal, BUT if you don't have a PayPal membership, you can choose from several common credit cards when you order.

Please note that these are strictly limited editions - there will be ABSOLUTELY NO MORE THAN 1,000 PRINTED of each frameable offered, regardless of sizes produced!

Now, choose from eight full-color heavy photo
   print, gallery quality Milo Winter illustrations
   to grace the decor of any home or office ...

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Illustration I (Frontispiece):
    Ned Land under the bowsprit of the Abraham Lincoln
Graphic mini-poster :   $ 30.00 US
TTL-01: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-F01: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: Ned Land under bowsprit of the Abraham Lincoln



Diptych mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-D01: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD01: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: Ned Land under bowsprit of the Abraham Lincoln (with facing title page)
Inscription:
The Canadian, his body thrown slightly backward, brandished his harpoon in an experienced hand
Illustration II:
    A museum in which an intelligent, if a spendthrift, hand ...
Graphic mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-02: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-F02: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: A museum in which an intelligent, if a spendthrift, hand ...



Diptych mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-D02: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD02: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: A museum in which an intelligent, if a spendthrift, hand ... (with facing page)
Inscription:
A museum in which an intelligent, if a spendthrift, hand had gathered an amazing medley of the best treaures of nature and art
Illustration III:
    All these and many other wonders I saw ...
Graphic mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-03: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-F03: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: All these and many other wonders I saw ...



Diptych mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-D03: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD03: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: All these and many other wonders I saw ... (with facing page)
Inscription:
All these and many other wonders I saw within the space of a quarter of a mile
Illustration IV:
    The canoes at a given signal approached the "Nautilus" ...
Graphic mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-04: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-F04: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: The canoes at a given signal approached the Nautilus ...



Diptych mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-D04: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD04: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: The canoes at a given signal approached the Nautilus ... (with facing page)
Inscription:
The canoes at a given signal approached the "Nautilus" and a shower of missiles alighted on her
Illustration V:
    He threw himself aside with amazing quickness ...
Graphic poster:   $ 30.00US
TTL-05: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00US
TTL-F05: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: He threw himself aside with amazing quickness ...



Diptych mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-D05: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD05: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: He threw himself aside with amazing quickness ... (with facing page)
Inscription:
He threw himself aside with amazing quickness, avoiding the shock of collision and at the same second driving his dagger into its side
Illustration VI:
    There, indeed, right beneath my eyes, lay a town ...
Graphic mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-06: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-F06: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: There, indeed, right beneath my eyes, lay a town ...



Diptych mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-D06: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD06: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: There, indeed, right beneath my eyes, lay a town ... (with facing page)
Inscription:
There, indeed, right beneath my eyes, lay a town that had been
destroyed
Illustration VII:
    Captain Nemo unfurled a black banner which bore an "N" ...
Graphic mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-07: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-F07: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: Captain Nemo unfurled a black banner which bore an 'N' ...



Diptych poster:   $ 30.00US
TTL-D07: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD07: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: Captain Nemo unfurled a black banner which bore an 'N' ... (with facing page)
Inscription:
Captain Nemo unfurled a black banner which bore an "N" in gold quartered on its bunting
Illustration VIII:
    The unhappy sailor was brandished in the air ...
Graphic mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-08: 11 x 17 inches [28 x 43 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-F05: 13 x 19 inches [33 x 48 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Graphic poster: The unhappy sailor was brandished in the air ...



Diptych mini-poster:   $ 30.00 US
TTL-D08: 17 x 11 inches [43 x 28 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych full poster:   $ 36.00 US
TTL-FD08: 19 x 13 inches [48 x 33 cm, approx.]
Shipping and handling, world-wide: FREE!
Diptych poster: The unhappy sailor was brandished in the air ... (with facing page)
Inscription:
The unhappy sailor was brandished in the air at the caprice of this huge trunk
P.S. These are available NOW for the first time anywhere. Don't miss your chance to choose from these eight full-color photo print quality frameables to accent your home or office ...
Order Today!


Larry Cottrill testing the original 'Short Lady' FWE, summer 2004

   
Larry Cottrill
Director of Product Development
Cottrill Cyclodyne Corporation

Soli Deo Gloria
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 - 1750

 
 
   

Page updated: 24 April 2023

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Mingo, Iowa USA
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