After several long nights and weekends in the warehouse, all pre-orders (and CIV orders) have been packed and shipped (domestic) or shipping within the week (the remaining international orders). We've taken great pains to review each copy for any defects prior to packing and shipping, and our packaging has proven sufficient protection to the books in transit. That said, if you do find a problem with your copy that we somehow missed, please contact us and we'll do what we can to resolve any issues.

Those who pre-ordered the signed edition had been previously notified that we were not fully satisfied with the quality of some of the clothbound slipcases (mainly minor cosmetic issues, but still issues we were not comfortable with). Several folks opted to wait until our printer could supply replacements, and we're pleased to report we received the shipping notification for this week. They are expected to arrive in our warehouse in early August, and those remaining copies will begin shipping at that time. We apologize again for the delay, and appreciate everyone's understanding.

On the deluxe leatherbound edition, the creation of the hand-crafted wooden boxes has also been delayed due to issues outside our control, and the boxes have been arriving in smaller groups than originally anticipated. As a result, the shipping of those editions has been throttled by the rate in which we receive boxes. We hope to hear from the manufacturer soon that all issues have been resolved and that we will have the remaining boxes in hand soon, so we can ship out the balance of those orders.

Several folks have been asking about our presence at Celebration Europe in London in a few weeks, and I can confirm that Stan will be attending. As with Star Wars Celebration IV, Stan has designed two art prints that will be sold exclusively at the event. We will also be giving away a number of free bookmarks each day of the show. These were a big hit at CIV (you may have seen some of these on eBay). These will contain different images than their US counterparts, so definitely stop by and see us if you're attending.

For those of you that will be attending, we have prepared special commemorative bookplates that will be given out free of charge to attendees who have pre-ordered copies. The 8.5" x 11" bookplates are signed by Stan and I, and contain a Star Wars image that didn't make it into the final book. These are the same bookplates that we handed out at CIV, so if you picked one up in Los Angeles we ask that you don't request another as we want to be sure we have enough to satisfy all eligible attendees. The bookplates are different for the trade, limited and deluxe leatherbound editions (see below), so you will get a different plate for each copy you ordered. While we are unfortunately unable to bring copies of the book to the show, we will provide a codeword to use when ordering online after the event, and will ship your show commemorative bookplate to you with your book. There will be a limited window to get your show orders in, so once you get that information, don't hesitate to place your order to take advantage of this exclusive offer (available while supplies last - however we do expect to have a sufficient quantity to cover orders from the show).

The books arrived just in time to load on the truck and head to Los Angeles for the 30th anniversary Star Wars Celebration. The book was a big hit, and we were honored by visits of many Star Wars dignitaries. Some were even fortunate enough to hear Anthony Daniels giving a reading of his appreciation in our booth. It was a long show, with plenty of excitement (don't get in the way of collector's and their exclusives!), and all the hard work paid off - we sold out of the 250 copies we managed to bring down with us. The convention exclusive bookplates were a big hit, as were the free bookmarks we handed out. We're sorry to see some of them turning up on eBay, but that's the nature of the beast. For all those who have been asking, we do not have ANY of the Celebration IV exclusives left - sorry!

But we're back now, and we have begun the laborious process of packing and shipping approximately 600 pre-orders. That's going to take Stan and I a few weeks to get through (as every copy must be personally inspected, and in the case of the limited editions, hand numbered/lettered), so we appreciate your continued patience.

While we were expecting to receive the wooden boxes upon our return, as with the printer, the project proved to be a more significant effort for our box maker, too. We expect to take delivery of the first shipment of boxes this week as well, and begin shipping out the deluxe editions soon.

We're once again taking orders for the trade edition, and have started a waiting list for the signed edition. Please keep in mind that any new orders will begin shipping once all pre-orders have been processed.

Our 2000 books are scheduled to arrive in the Port of Oakland tomorrow. Barring any major issues, we should have them at our warehouse within 7 days. While originally scheduled to arrive in the Port of Long Beach, the fact that our order filled an entire shipping container saved us the additional stop. We have hundreds of pre-orders to process and ship, and will be getting the books very shortly before we head down to Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles. That said, we'll do our best to get as many copies shipped as we can before the show, and we ask for your continued patience as each copy needs to be individually (and securely) packaged so we can deliver it to you.

The deluxe, presentation boxed lettered edition of the book has SOLD OUT. Until all outstanding pre-orders have been finalized, we will maintain a waiting list for those interested in purchasing the deluxe edition should any of those orders get cancelled. There are still copies of the signed/slipcased edition available for pre-order, however we do not expect those will last long.

Stan and I spent last Saturday with Ralph and his wife Joan; presenting them with the first finished copies of the book. We wanted to share what Ralph had to say after examining all three editions:

"I cannot think of a more impressive end to my career than this book. It's fabulous - it's beyond my wildest imagination."
I also wanted to address two questions we've received over the last few days.

1) Are you selling the limited edition Ralph McQuarrie art prints that I've read will be available at Celebration IV?

Yes, the two prints shown on StarWars.com will be available exclusively from The Art of Ralph McQuarrie booth at Star Wars Celebration IV. Please note that these will not be sold in the artist area where the majority of the art prints will be available. Each print is limited to 125 individually numbered copies with a facsimile of Ralph's signature. The prints will be sold separately for $30 each.

2) Is it true that Ralph McQuarrie will be making an appearance at Celebration IV?

We're afriad that's just a rumor - Ralph will not be attending CIV. That said - between our book, the exclusive prints, and the show exclusive Hasbro action figures Ralph's presence will be felt throughout the convention center all weekend! And as with all the previous Star Wars Celebrations, we will have a guest book available for fans to send personal messages to Ralph.

We expect to give you even more reasons to stop by and see us at CIV in future updates. Until then - thanks for your continued support

As we've entered the full-time waiting mode, there's not a ton to report, but we do have a few key updates. We received word from our printer that all editions will be complete by 4/6, and on a boat to us by 4/11. It's a 3-6 week window for delivery from Singapore, depending on numerous factors outside of our control (whether the boat goes directly to California or has multiple stops along the way, how long it takes getting through customs, etc.). We hope to have a better idea as soon as we have a confirmation that all the printing, binding and assembly is completed. We're still on track to have books in time for CIV.

Speaking of which, we're gearing up for the show and hope to have a few more surprises in store for those of you who will be attending. Even if you've pre-ordered a copy of the book, you'll want to stop by our booth to say hello. We'll provide more details as the show gets closer.

We'll also be getting an actual production sample of the wooden presentation box for the lettered edition in the next few weeks. At the rate they're going, that edition will likely be sold out by that time we have final pictures to show, so if you're thinking about it, I encourage you to make your decision soon. Once we give a thumb's up on the production sample, the full quantity will be constructed. That will only take about six weeks, and should arrive in advance of the books themselves.

The printer officially has the green light on all files, so the waiting game has begun! It will take some time to produce a book the size of ours, and that's only half the schedule. Following that we're at the mercy of the book being shipped from Singapore, and hopefully making its way through customs smoothly. As we receive updates on the anticipated delivery date, we'll keep you posted.

We signed off on the revised blue lines and have submitted all of our templates for the slipcases, case board stamping, and the dustjacket. We thought we'd share a few more sample interiot pages from The Art of Ralph McQuarrie

We received revised templates and are putting the finishing touches on the artwork for the trade edition dust jacket and slipcase, as well as the tip-on artwork that will be debossed into the numbered edition cloth cover. As soon as those are finalized, we'll put the images online. We're also expecting the final blue-lines based on the revisions we made at the beginning of the month, and provided those look good, printing should commence later this week.

It brings us great pleasure to present the first sample pages from The Art of Ralph McQuarrie.

We finished our review of the blue-lines over the weekend. We caught a few minor issues that we have fixed, and decided to add one more piece of unseen Star Wars art that had arrived after the book had gone to the printer at the beginning of the month. The revised files, along with the signed tip-in sheets for binding into the limited editions are off to Singapore tomorrow.

We're finalizing the design of the presentation wooden box for the lettered edition, and hope to have photos of a prototype online soon.

Finally, we've made some changes to the thickness of the board to be used for the hardcovers, and are making minor adjustments to the dustjacket and slipcase art for the unsigned edition as a result. Once those are finalized. We'll be posting images online.

12/28/06 - Production Update #1

We've just received the blue-lines for our final review of the content (primarily pagination and text), and the book is on schedule to be printed in Singapore starting the second week of January. Everything is still on track for an April delivery, about a month in advance of Celebration IV.

We also wanted to treat you to the first glimpse of the signature pages for the two signed editions. Please note that the images on the limitation pages are only available in the respective editions of the book, and are not included in the unsigned edition.