The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition ["Coffin Edition"] by King, Stephen; Wrightson, Bernie (Illustrator) - 1990

New York: Doubleday, 1990. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. Wrightson, Bernie. No. 252 of 1250 copies of the first edition of the uncut version, octavo size, 1273 pp., signed by both Stephen King and Bernie Wrightson, with glassine wrapper in wooden box. When Stephen King (b. 1947) was still a somewhat-struggling young author (this was his sixth book, published four years after "Carrie"), the publisher of the original version of "The Stand" asked King to shorten the original 1,200 pages down by a third as they thought a larger book (which would carry a higher price point) would not sell successfully . He did as asked, but clearly still believed the full novel would make a better story (a sentiment with which we heartily agree). This, the "Complete and Uncut Edition" was published twelve years later, when King was a household name. For this first printing of the uncut edition Doubleday went full-out with this deluxe edition, which has a lavish leather binding and is housed in a wooden box designed to be reminiscent of a coffin. It restores most of the material deleted for the original version and updates the setting of the story from the 1980s to the 1990s. At the time of publication it was then the longest book published by Stephen King, coming in at 1152 pages (trade edition); to our knowledge it still holds that record, with "It" coming in second and "Under the Dome" (published in 2009) third. With twelve black-and-white illustrations by artist Berni Wrightson (1948-2017) who contributed so much to the world of horror and fantasy; creator of "Swamp Thing" with writer Len Wein, illustrator of works by Lovecraft, Poe and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", as well as several books by Stephen King, including this "restored" (full-length) edition (n.b., info from the web site of the artist). Limited to 1250 numbered and 52 lettered copies, this number 252, signed by both King and Wrightson on the limitation page. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full black padded leather with rounded corners, ornately stamped on both boards with a wide border with ornaments of two creatures fighting (reminiscent of the first edition dust jacket design), the front with author and title stamped in red, the back with a vignette stamped in red (again of the figures fighting surrounded by a decorative border), spine with gilt lettering and red ornaments, all edges gilt, red silk moire endpapers, limitation page with the signatures of King and Wrightson tipped in following the front free endpaper, double-spread title page with the same wide ornate borders in red (the divisional title pages with the same design), twelve black-and-white illustrations by Wrightson throughout the text, red satin ribbon marker; book designed by Marysarah Quinn and Anne Ling, Bembo text, octavo size (9.5" by 7.25"), pagination: [i-iv] limitation page, 2 blanks, list of prior King titles, [i-x] xi-xiii [xiv-xx] xxi-xxiii [xxiv-xxviii] being the preliminaries including the Preface, [1]-1237, blank [1238], author and artist bios [1239], blank [1240], colophon (titled "Book Mark") [1241]. In the original glassine wrapper, housed in a two-piece publisher's box made by Miro Packaging (NJ), of black wood with a red satin lining (hence the sobriquet "coffin edition"), black ribbon inside (to help lift the volume), metal plate affixed to the cover with author's name and title etched in gold with a single ruled border. ___CONDITION: Volume is fine, with clean boards, the leather soft and free of tears or wear, the gilt stamping bright, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, as new. The glassine wrapper is almost fine with a bare minimum of toning and a minute amount of general wear. The wooden box is fine overall, strong and sturdy, clean, the only minor imperfections we see are two shallow scrapes to the wood which likely occured at the factory, as they are overpainted with black. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.