The Folio Society has a habit of sending its books to convicts. The UK publisher sent a selection of its high-quality illustrated hardback books to a prisoner who had been on death row for many years after he wrote requesting some.
Lord Gavron, Folio's owner and chairman, says he also sent some unsolicited books to disgraced peer Conrad Black in prison. Black was pleased with Eyewitness to History – a four-volume set of first-hand accounts throughout the ages – and sent a letter back.
The gifts to prisoners highlight the idiosyncratic and quixotic manner in which the Folio Society is run. Lord Gavron, who made his fortune in publishing before bankrolling Folio when he took it over in 1982, describes it as a “cultural icon” that is run less for profit and more for the joy of books.