November 17, 2025: As of Monday, all copies of the Standard Edition are finished: 1,600 in English, 964 in German, and 260 in French. Production took place at the industrial bookbinder Büge in Celle, a town in northern Germany. The multi-station book production line stretches roughly 220–240 meters. Each book spends about 14 minutes in the system!
First station: glueing of the spine with the cooling tower in the background.
The sewn book blocks are placed individually onto the line, where the spine is glued and the endpapers are attached. From there, the blocks pass through a 70-meter cooling tower, cross an overhead bridge, and loop down through a second cooling tower before returning to working height. The next station trims the blocks on three sides to their final format.
At the ribbon-marker station, each edition receives its own color-coordinated bookmark. The final step—known as the “marriage” in automotive terms—joins the book block with its cover. Unlike many books, the 964 RS edition is not shrink-wrapped, as each copy receives a numbered limitation sticker. This final detail is applied by the hand bookbinder in Burgdorf, eight kilometers away.
The slipcases are already produced and awaiting their printed cover sheets. Between 17–21 November, these sheets are being screen-printed with their decorative stripes in Bremen. Unfortunately, this step was delayed due to a port strike in Rotterdam, which left materials anchored offshore for three weeks.
The printed sheets will arrive at the hand bookbinder on 24 November, allowing the first Standard Edition books to ship from 28 November onward.
Above: embossed book covers; below: book blocks (not yet cut to final format)
After three and a half years: Christoph Mäder holds one of the first books in his hands.
All pre-ordered books placed up to today will be collected by DHL and UPS between 28 November and 5 December. Thank you for your patience as we complete the final steps and prepare your book for dispatch.
