{Ed Note: This review and pictures were sent to me by LibraryThing user ‘astropi’.}

Stephen King, is one of the most successful authors in the world. As of October 2011, he has published 49 novels and nine collections of short stories. His books have sold more than 350 million copies worldwide. King’s second novel, Salem’s Lot, won the American Library Association’s award for “Best Books for Young Adults” in 1978. In 2004, Centipede Press published this in a truly magnificent way, creating a limited edition worthy of being in the finest libraries.

It is quite unfortunate that Stephen King often gets brushed under the rug by some readers and critics. King is a master of portraying Americana as both idyllic and gritty, beautiful and haunting, bright and menacing. Many of King’s works, aside from being entertaining, deal with real and difficult problems. In 2003, King was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters by the National Book Foundation. When announcing the award, Neil Baldwin, executive director of the Foundation, said:

Stephen King’s writing is securely rooted in the great American tradition that glorifies spirit-of-place and the abiding power of narrative. He crafts stylish, mind-bending page-turners that contain profound moral truths – some beautiful, some harrowing – about our inner lives.

In this edition of Salem’s Lot, the illustrations, the extra features, and the feel of the paper combine to form a volume that is meant to be cherished for generations. Centipede’s edition of Salem’s Lot is one of the most sought after Stephen King novels. This volume is difficult to find. If you do find a copy, you likely will pay far more than it’s original release price of $470. The limited edition was so successful that it was reprinted by Centipede Press in an unsigned edition (limited to 600 copies), and also by Doubleday as a smaller hardcover in 2005. Both the reprint and Doubleday edition are far easier to find, and consequently far less expensive than the signed edition. However, for a lover of this genre done by fine press, nothing less than the limited signed edition will do.

The heart and soul of Centipede Press is Jared Walters. Aside from being a very warm, friendly, and thoughtful individual, Mr. Walters has a passion to produce some of the finest and most beautifully illustrated books in the genres of crime, science fiction, and especially horror. Centipede Press specializes in re-publishing out of print horror classics, but also produces unique illustrated editions you will not find elsewhere, with Salem’s Lot being an excellent example.

About the Edition

• Book designed by Jared Walters
• Dimensions are roughly 9 x 13 x 4.25 inches
• 556 pages, bound in black Japanese cotton over archival boards with a matching slipcase
• 405 copies produced, of which 315 were for sale (300 limited, 15 deluxe)
• Stunning photographs by Jerry Uelsmann printed in duotones
• Printed on 100# Mohawk Superfine paper by Finlay Printing in Connecticut under the direction of David Lorczak
• Composed in Janson and Perpetua types
• Includes a black ribbon marker, head and tail bands, three-piece cloth construction
• Bound by Gregor Campbell at the Campbell-Logan Bindery in Minneapolis
• The volume contains: Salem’s Lot (novel), One for the Road (short story), Jerusalem’s Lot (short story), King’s introduction, and nearly 50 pages of deleted and modified scenes from the original manuscript that were never before published
• SIGNED by both Stephen King and Jerry Uelsmann on a limitation page
• The deluxe edition came in a traycase and was bound in full, top-of-the-line Nigerian goatskin; in addition, the text was printed on mouldmade Saunders Waterford and had deckled edges

Pictures

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