The Scarlet Envelope is an art book I designed and edited for Tiamat Studio, published in March 2025. The work belongs to Albert Victoria — 29 illustrations meticulously crafted around a single night at the Pynchon Hotel, where the guests are hiding secrets, nursing hidden agendas, and all converging on the same objective: getting their hands on the scarlet envelope. The texts, in both English and Spanish, are mine.
Albert Victoria’s visual language is immediately distinctive — delicate line work and an aesthetic sensibility rooted in early 20th century illustration, drawing clear inspiration from Edward Gorey, George Barbier and Erté, filtered through the kind of darkly whimsical storytelling energy that Lemony Snicket fans will recognise immediately. It’s a world of spies, secrets and charismatic characters rendered with real restraint and elegance.
The physical object was designed to match that ambition. The first print edition is a hardcover in matte finish with red metallic details, 17 × 24 cm, 128 pages of thick paper — the kind of book that feels considered in the hand. It’s published bilingually, ISBN 979-13-990023-0-0, and the first edition is now out of stock, which tells you something about how it landed.
CREDITS
Albert Victoria — Illustration & Author
Fidel Martínez Lorite — Texts, Design & Editorial
Tiamat Studio — Publisher
