The Ship That Sailed to Mars (Calla Editions) Hardcover – October 20, 2011

"The Ship that Sailed to Mars" is a masterpiece. William M. Timlin wrote the story for his young son and it is a tale of fantasy that will capture the imaginations of readers young and old. My eight-year-old and I took turns reading this out loud over several nights (though my daughter did run into some pronunciation problems due to the text being rendered in a calligraphic font). One can only imagine the effort required to write and illustrate this book, a true labor of love.The introduction by John Howe is revealing and provides lots of insights into both Timlin and the story. Howe advises readers to read the story first before coming back to the introduction and this is sage advice. The objective is to appreciate the story with all the innocence, wonder, and curiosity of a child, and I'm glad I did not proceed beyond the first page of the introduction as I was able to enjoy the story and appreciate my daughter's expressions of wonderment without being clouded or affected by preconceived notions of the work."The Ship that Sailed to Mars" has become one of my favorite and most cherished of all the Calla editions not only for its aesthetic value but also for its ability to take me and my daughter on a magical journey that will not be forgotten anytime soon.Note:The quality of each Calla Edition up to 2011 is superior in terms of binding, paper quality, the illustrations, and content. These Calla Editions are a must-have in every collector's library and will bring great pleasure to bibliophiles. The Calla Editions printed in and prior to 2011 were printed in the United States and are of stellar quality, whereas those printed in 2012 onward were manufactured in China, and the change in quality is noticeable - the bindings look and feel cheap, and do not hold up well (I own two of these inferior Calla Editions), the paper is thick yet not as creamy or smooth like the previous editions, and the illustrations do not feel glossy either. So buyers of the later (2012 and after) editions might want to be aware of this.As for the "The Ship that Sailed to Mars", it is a 2011 Calla edition and the quality is wonderful. The binding (in Arrestox B and Rainbow) is a sturdy hardback and is quite hefty in weight. The paper too is of superior quality (100# Utopia II Ivory Matte) and the pages are creamy in color with an attractive green border all around. The beautiful watercolor illustrations are wondrous creations indeed and fill up the pages in all their glorious details.

Someone asked me recently if I believed extraterrestrials were coming to Earth, and if I did, what did I think they wanted. I replied that I had never made up my mind between the scientific explanation for the Universe and the magical one. Are aliens the same or different from the fairies, or the Gods, or the spirits?I believe in a world beyond the mundane, but I don't know if it's magical or scientific, or whether that distinction is a real as some would tell us it is.The Ship that Sailed to Mars is from that rarest class of fantasy wherein the distinction between science and magic is blurred. A man wanted to travel to the planet Mars. Because of his faith, the fairies decided to build him a spaceship. That's so simple an idea, and so beautiful a whimsy, and as a concept it breaks all of the modern rules.C.S. Lewis, besides being the author of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, also wrote a science fiction trilogy which painted outer-space as Heaven rather than void. Not empty - but full of light and life. When reading William Timlin's work I feel a similar sense that the Universe is not filled with dead rock and vacuum so much as it is with wonder and imagination. I believe this is a too-often missing perspective at the present moment.This is a deluxe hardcover version of the book printed on very thick paper. The illustrations and text pages are separated and reproduced with great care. I did detect what appeared to be a light amount of blurring on a few of the pictures, but I can't say if that's an error in reproduction or how the original pictures were. It does seem a shame that no dust-jacket is provided. The interior art (drawn and painted by the author) is wonderful and I am sure that one of the many pieces of art the author created could have been selected as a cover. Did the first print not have a cover illustration?The text appears to be hand written, but very legible. I noticed it encouraged me to read more slowly. Over-all the layout is reminiscent of the original presentation of William Blake's books.This book would be suitable for a child of any age or any adult who is able to avoid feeling embarrassed when faced with unbridled and playful imagination. You will find it free of the formulaic cliches so many of our modern works of fantasy and science-fiction now seem permanently locked in the clutches of. To a child, this will be a wonderful adventure filled with imagination. Perhaps an adult might see something deeper in the protagonist's journey and the long voyage from Earth, past so many worlds in-between, to get to the world of Mars.Noah Mullette-GillmanAuthor of Magic Makes You Strange

Albert Einstein said: "If you want children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want children to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." "The Ship That Sailed to Mars" by William M. Timlin is exactly the sort of book Einstein must have had in mind. Timlin was an architect by profession, but he also exhibited his watercolors, pastels, and oils, as well as illustrating books and periodicals with his pen & ink drawings. The chapters in "The Ship That Sailed to Mars" grew out of bedtime stories for which he created watercolor illustrations and calligraphic pages for his text. The text can be best enjoyed, I believe, by reading aloud, whether to children or to yourself, for it reads like prose poetry. In the new introduction by John Howe for the Calla edition, Howe ..."beg[s]the reader to postpone the introduction" until finishing Timlin's fantasy. It is excellent advice, for the reader must shed the robes of a scholar and don the innocence of childhood to best enjoy the book. However, don't forget to read the Introduction later for it's scholarly information. Returning to Einstein's advice, we must develop the intelligence of our children by not only encouraging logic and reason but also creative imagination. Just as Einstein evidenced the intelligence of a great scientist, he also revealed his creative imagination to reach beyond the fixed scientific ideas of his time. This is a wonderful book for adults and children to be reminded of the capacity for both forms of intelligence to coexist.

The extensive Introduction in this edition which gives detail about the author William M Timlin is a real bonus.The Overall presentation is also superb.However in this edition the text which accompanies each illustration is presented on the page previous to the illustrations, whereas in the original edition the text faces the illustration which enhances the impact of the story.So in this respect the Calla edition is a disappointment.Chris Cobb

This edition is too cheap in my opinion as the production quality is magnificent!

A gem of a find. Gorgeous book in every way. Great story (little hard for my 5yr old to follow). Quality binding. Thick gram paper, with fine plates on every other page of Timlin's mind blowing artwork, and text is handwritten.

Really enjoyed the story and its illustrations.

great work! thanX for bringing this back to life