All right, there seems to be a LOT of confusion about this offering. Let me try to clear things up a bit. Just an FYI, I'm not part of CARC or related to it, I'm just an Erdnase enthusiast (and an amateur at best).
The Erdnase edition with "no words" and only pictures that John B. is referring to is the Erdnase Journal, which is not part of this CARC offer. The Erdnase Journal was a blank edition with only pictures included (in their original publication positions), meant to serve as a personal notebook for the study of Erdnase. I believe it was published in the same form as the Erdnase Facsimile edition, which was meant to reproduce the first edition of the book in the most exacting details (cover material, color, font choice, etc.).
The original, first edition of the book (circa 1902) of course contained a lot of text with the pictures. The Journal edition was simply a special edition and is absolutely not representative of the complete contents of the book. So John, get a good edition if you're interested in magic history and gaming moves, it's a seminal work.
The CARC offer includes two editions of Erdnase. The first is the bible edition, with a green cover. The bible edition was released by Bill Kalush in 2007. It is a small book, fits easily in a pocket. It has gilded edges (like a bible, natch) and a small ribbon to mark your place. The paper is very thin, again, like those small pocket bibles. One interesting thing about this edition was that it was made in 3 colours. The black was meant for general release and was what you could get in stores. There was a red/burgundy/plum edition given out in limited quantities (never sold generally), and there was also an even rarer green cover edition, which was given out personally by Bill and had the recipient's name engraved on the front. I think Jason England wrote about it in his small review of Erdnase editions and said it didn't exist (as a joke/comment on its rarity, not as a disclaimer of their existence). I asked him once how I could get my hands on one and didn't get anywhere. This very rare green cover bible edition is what's being sold here. I don't believe they'll have the name engraved on them, but it's still very scarce. You can see
I'm actually surprised the black cover edition seems to be sold out. I had thought this would remain in-print for a long time to come. I guess it was a good thing I bought a copy for my own use and a copy to keep shrinkwrapped. I bought the burgundy edition third hand some years back, and I've been on the lookout for the green cover bible for at least 5 years now (although not very actively).
The second edition in the CARC offer is the "indestructible" edition, which is made of waterproof paper and resists tearing. With this one, you can even study Erdnase in the shower, although you might want to invest in plastic cards as well.
Needless to say, I was on that offer minutes after getting the email. If you have any interest in Erdnase and his work, I think you should be as well.
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