I must preface and say that my review is intended more for those who, like myself, already have used Mr. Loomis' books (in one form or another), know what the content is, and who are simply wondering what Titan's reproduction is like. Is it worth buying? "A thousand times, yes," is my quick summary. I pre-ordered, and received it just a few days after the release date, and in seeing no other reviews giving you specifics of this version, I figured someone should give this particular perspective.
Andrew Loomis' family has actively held their copyright to his books over the years in which the titles in his catalog were out of print, but simply were waiting to find the right publisher to work with. Enter Titan. Working with the Loomis Estate (mentioned in the credits), Titan's new reproduction of "Drawing The Head and Hands" is magical.
To my utter shock, surprise and gratitude... this is a hardbound book, with dust jacket - it's gorgeous. It truly is. It looks nearly identical to the copy I saw in the library, years ago (and the PDF scan of the 1956 version) - but in pristine condition (no markings, no rips!). Starting with the dust jacket, it is a faithful reproduction - only the back image is shrunk down a touch, for a new quote from Alex Ross, the new UPC code and publisher URL. The leaves give us the text from the original jacket. The only other indications that this is a newer print, are unobtrusive mentions of Titan on the publisher info page, the tasteful back cover, and the rear leaf's mention that Titan has "
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth" already in the the series, with "Creative Illustration," "
Successful Drawing" and "Fun With a Pencil" to come - welcome news. [Note: the enclosed links are the current Titan reprints which can be ordered from Amazon, as of this writing].
Unlike the previous disappointing reproductions of Loomis' work from Walter Foster - this Titan reproduction is faithful and complete. They don't appear to have edited anything, or randomly opted to exclude, omit, or alter anything from the original text. It's all here - Loomis' illustrations, plates, notes and dedications, the table of contents, even the same font and page numbering. It looks as though Titan may have gotten their hands on a pristine copy of the book from the Loomis Estate or a collector, and meticulously scanned it with the ideal treatment for print. Though Loomis' book is copyrighted 1943, I can only really compare it to the 1956 scan - in terms of actual side by side comparison. It has the same amount of pages and all of the text and images line up, accordingly. In this book, the images and text are crisp and clear, down to the most faint shading.
As of this writing, I've already ordered "Figure Drawing..." (released before "Drawing The Head and Hands") and pre-ordered Successful Drawing (due in May 2012) - and not having those yet, I cannot comment on those reprints, yet. Based upon "Drawing The Head and Hands," I expect reprints on par with this one. Titan obviously has a lot of respect for the source material and realizes that the best approach is to simply understand that it's great, as is, and doesn't need to be touched. As a long-time fan of Loomis, I couldn't be happier with the reproduction and am looking forward to other releases in the series.
Any longtime Loomis fan should expect to be as pleased as I am, if your main concern is owning a book you can actually take off the shelf and read and use regularly, rather than having a 1940s/1950s original, simply for collection purposes. Great quality, great price, and not a single thing missing. I really feel it's been worth the wait. I look forward to getting more from the series, and showing my support, to ensure that a. The Loomis family finally gets something from their loved one's brilliant work and b. that Titan can keep these in print for as long as there is a demand for it. Every art student who wants to see these books, should be able to without having to compete with others for the privilege or pay great sums of money - Loomis' own writings demonstrate that his intentions were that his books would be accessible for all. From his own revisions of certain titles in his lifetime, it was clear that he put a lot of thought into what he was teaching and how. Finally, there's a publisher who understands this, and has given us this gorgeous, complete and faithful testimony to it.
