Question regarding Stephen King's thoughts on S/L edition books

[jhanic]

Oh, Mr. King you know me too well. Seriously though, wasn't Salem's lot one of his firt limited editions other than Firestarter and his collaborations with Bernie Wrightson?

King had limited editions of many books before the Centipede Salem's Lot: Cujo, Danse Macabre, Gunslinger and Christine all came before the limited Cycle of the Werewolf with Wrightson.

John

[Theli]

King had limited editions of many books before the Centipede Salem's Lot: Cujo, Danse Macabre, Gunslinger and Christine all came before the limited Cycle of the Werewolf with Wrightson.

John

Interesting I didn't know about any of those. I wonder what gave him the change of heart toward limited releases.

[subie09lega]

Interesting I didn't know about any of those. I wonder what gave him the change of heart toward limited releases.

Look at Tomas' lists for all the limiteds:
http://skcollector.com/us_limiteds.html
http://skcollector.com/uk_limiteds.html

[T-Dogz_AK47]

Look at Tomas' lists for all the limiteds:
http://skcollector.com/us_limiteds.html
http://skcollector.com/uk_limiteds.html

I have read some bad press on other forums about the limited edition of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and having just seen the entry for it on The Collector website, I can see why.

The publisher Simon & Schuster, originally offered the book at $500 but then kept increasing the price until it finally reached a whopping $1,000 for a 14 page book.

http://skcollector.com/limited/tomgordon.html

I would have thought Stephen King would have had more of an issue with this limited edition, instead of attacking Jerad at Centipede Press.

[Theli]

Yeah that's pretty low. Maybe it's that whole attitude in general that pisses of King. I'm still a little peeved about the CP edition of Salem's Lot. I see absolutely no reason to buy the "gift edition". Cheaper cloth binding, cheaper paper, no photos, no sig, and no slipcase (apparently 200 were made independently of CP). I'll track down the trade copy with the photos and call it a day. Hopefully someone releases a new Salem's Lot, maybe for a 40th anniversary, cause I would still love a premium copy, but I can't afford $600+ for a book, and won't pay $200+ plus for an oversized hard cover.

[T-Dogz_AK47]

Yeah that's pretty low. Maybe it's that whole attitude in general that pisses of King. I'm still a little peeved about the CP edition of Salem's Lot. I see absolutely no reason to buy the "gift edition". Cheaper cloth binding, cheaper paper, no photos, no sig, and no slipcase (apparently 200 were made independently of CP). I'll track down the trade copy with the photos and call it a day. Hopefully someone releases a new Salem's Lot, maybe for a 40th anniversary, cause I would still love a premium copy, but I can't afford $600+ for a book, and won't pay $200+ plus for an oversized hard cover.

I totally agree with you there! recently an unsigned, sans slipcase, sans artwork copy of Salem's Lot sold on Ebay for $292.87 + $29.32 postage.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SALEMS-LOT-b...item3cd513275c

You could buy a lettered edition for that kind of money, it's obscene!

[T-Dogz_AK47]

Barnes and Noble are selling copies of the Illustrated Edition of Salem's Lot, which includes all of the deleted material that was added to the Centipede Press Edition. You can get your hands on a 'Like New' copy for $39.99 through their marketplace sellers.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sale...=9780385516488

Salem's Lot Illustrated Edition.jpg

[Theli]

Thanks T-Dogz! Was looking at copies an abebooks and that's actually cheaper than any of their new copies.

[T-Dogz_AK47]

Thanks T-Dogz! Was looking at copies an abebooks and that's actually cheaper than any of their new copies.

Always glad to help, Theli!

[subie09lega]

I totally agree with you there! recently an unsigned, sans slipcase, sans artwork copy of Salem's Lot sold on Ebay for $292.87 + $29.32 postage.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SALEMS-LOT-b...item3cd513275c
You could buy a lettered edition for that kind of money, it's obscene!

That listing did include The Collector's traycase, so it's a 1/200 edition.

[T-Dogz_AK47]

That listing did include The Collector's traycase, so it's a 1/200 edition.

My bad, I didn't see that first time round.

I think it's still too much money to pay for that edition though. Don't get me wrong, I think having a truly oversized book (9 x 13) would be awesome and I am pretty sure that Jared did a great job producing it. I just think the price of books on the secondary market can be obscene at times. Centipede Press's original list price for this book was $95 (but without a slipcase or traycase and without the interior photographs). Most copies now found on Ebay are more than $300. AbeBooks are even worse, as copies on that website get listed nearer $500.

I think if this edition came with either a traycase or slipcase as standard and included all the interior photographs, then Centipede Press would be more than justified in charging the original $95 (or even slightly more) - but without, it does seem a bit steep.

I will say however, Centipede Press were nowhere near as obscene with their pricing as Simon & Schuster were with their edition of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. $1,000 for a 14 page book just smacks of corporate greed!

[Theli]

I got nothing against CP. Love their books. It's just the one book and $95 isn't that bad , if it's a good binding. I just don't see the point of excluding the photos. That's what made the edition special.

[subie09lega]

I agree that the secondary market can be outrageous but then I think that if I want cheap limiteds I should just collect books that no one wants to read and collect.

[T-Dogz_AK47]

I agree that the secondary market can be outrageous but then I think that if I want cheap limiteds I should just collect books that no one wants to read and collect.

Very true. I just wish I could get my hands on some these books before they hit the secondary market. I would have dropped the $900 original list price for the Centipede Press roman-numeraled edition of Salems' Lot if given the opportunity. It's priced at $12,500 on AbeBooks now.

[bsaenz24]

The Centipede Press signed limited is probably my least favorite signed King that I have. It's such a dust collector!! Yikes!