STOKER, Bram. Dracula. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co. 1902.
8vo. Publisher’s original red cloth, front panel and spine lettered in white with decorative black borders, the front board with an illustrated vignette mounted centrally; pp. [2], ix, [1], 378, [2]; white lettering to spine faded away; the paper over the inner hinges front and rear expertly reinforced; the hinges remain secure. Moderately rubbed to spine tips, edges and corners, with a few light surface marks to the cloth, which otherwise remains unusually bright and fresh; a very good copy.
The scarce blood-red Second US edition of Stoker's masterpiece.
Written during the 1890s, and first published in London by Constable in 1897, Stoker’s Dracula needs little introduction. Unfolding as a series of letters, diaries and newspaper reports, the intricately woven narrative (far stranger than the countless adaptations and imitations that have followed) has perplexed and haunted readers ever since. As Neil Gaiman has noted, “[n]one of the people who are telling us the story knows the entirety of what is actually going on. […] Dracula is a book that forces the reader to fill in the blanks.”
If less sought after than the first UK edition with its iconic yellow cloth and red lettering, the early US editions are uncommon in commerce. The second US issue appeared three years after the first (also Doubleday). Its blood-red cloth – the original was less vampiric shade of buff – features an alternative illustration to its front board.
Exceedingly rare: OCLC lists only 3 copies, all in the US (Emory, San Antonio Public Library, Houston); no copies on Library Hub.
#2122153