World Exclusive-The Dark Half Signed 30th Anniversary Edition

[zeIig]

I'm pleased to announce here at The DarkTower.org that we will be doing a signed 30th Anniversary edition of Stephen King's famous novel "The Dark Half"

The official press release and ordering information can be found here


Paul

[Randall Flagg]

Holy shit. I'm entering.

[Randall Flagg]

I count 19 birds on each book. Nice touch.

[stroppygoblin]

O.M.G!! :panic:

[Randall Flagg]

Apparently the prank was not enjoyed by everyone. To anyone that I upset, I apologize. I'm sorry.

The posters name, and the website were slight misspelling of Paul's member name, and more importantly his brand.
The website will be taken down. This thread will be archived shortly.

Once again-I apologize.

Next year I'll stick to the Sword in the Darkness prank. That didn't upset anyone.

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

The internet and the abominable, insidious, despicable, evil, satanic social media has thinned the skins of many people to the point of transparency...

Or in other words - they can't take a joke.

And if anyone disagrees with me I'll just explode all over the place, dammit all to Perdition and back again!!!

[Ricky]

I have heard it said that parody is the sincerest form of flattery. Although the April Fool's prank caught me off guard, I will say that I was cracking up at some of it. For example, the stuffed sparrow 'mounted on an oak base turned from a 200 year old oak tree', and something I missed at first was the 'craftely flawed limited editions' spoof of my logo with my last name misspelled.

At first, I wasn't sure if I should be flattered or ticked off, and even though it pushed some boundaries, the perpetrators deserve some kudos for the effort they put into it.

And yes, those were some good looking books. Hmmm.

I was irritated not because it was fake, but because there would only be two copies...and through a lottery. I would've totally bought one. For a book that doesn't exist, it sure was a great-looking one. :lol:

The main thing that tipped me off was that they're would be only two copies, which I doubt SK would agree to.

[Room 217 Caretaker]

I still want the taxidermist limited edition bird, forget the books.

Did anyone else catch on when Jerome said "A little bird told me".

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Mulleins

[Randall Flagg]

I did.

[stroppygoblin]

I did.

Yeah, me too... :evil:

[Hunchback Jack]

I'm just sorry I missed the whole thing. I had a good chuckle over the Sword in the Darkness prank tho.

[stroppygoblin]

I have reopened this thread in order to allow the details and images of the April fool to be kept for posterity. Too much damn work went into this to lose it :evil:

Other than I think, one member, everyone has been very complimentary regarding the overall design and apart from a little (understandable in hindsight) concern regarding his brand, Paul has also taken this very well.

[stroppygoblin]

So a little background… Just over 2 weeks ago, RF approached me with an idea for this years April Fool. His concept was to create something as a homage to Suntup (which would become Sutnup) and be based on The Dark Half. He gave me a loose description (Feather lined tray case, only 2 books to be offered by lottery only superior binding, etc) and asked if I could produce a mock-up. I’ve been experimenting lately with some 3D modelling software so I decided to see just how far I could push this.

The basic idea of the book having the sparrows was one I had already considered for one of my slipcase designs and I produced that first. We went back and forth on ideas for the slipcase and the idea of brain or other body parts was discussed until we finally settled on the ‘slice of tumor damaged brain’ set in a glass slide. The creative juices just flowed after that…

Some subtle details have been picked up, Br!an was the first to spot the taxidermist name was an anagram and Paul noticed the modified logo text, but there are still others that no-one has picked up on yet….


These are the images and the text from the Web Site:

THE DARK HALF
A NOVEL BY
STEPHEN KING


Artist to be announced

We are delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of a
Signed Limited Edition of*The Dark Half.
The sparrows are flying again...

To commemorate the upcoming 30th anniversary of Stephen King’s novel*The Dark Half, Sutnup Press is pleased to announce what may be the rarest Stephen King collectible book ever.
Limited to only two signed copies - a Thad Beaumont edition and a George Stark edition, the books will be 'mirror' images of each other. Since there will be only two copies, we know demand will be incredible, and that many customers will be disappointed. To be fair, we will conduct a lottery drawing from the owners of our “Misery” lettered AND numbered editions to determine the two lucky individuals. Pricing has yet to be determined, but will be appropriate for the rarity of the books.

ABOUT THE EDITION
The Limited Edition of*The Dark Half*is published in two states. Both editions are bound in opposing black and white Morroco leather, printed on hand created Laid Paper and housed in a Shokkokin Japanese silkbound traycase lined with taxidermist quality sparrow feathers. The slipcase also features a sliver of tumor infected human brain tissue sample, encased in Borosilcate glass, renowned for its optical clarity and sourced from a 300 year old artisan glass foundry in Venice. A laid in silk ribbon, embossed with the iconic phrase, "The sparrows are flying again" is hand sewn into the tray case for ease of book removal.
More “secret” binding materials will be announced in the near future. We are not at liberty to announce the artist at this time, but he is considered by many to be THE pre-eminent artist for Stephen King works.
For now, please enjoy our vision of what the books will look like:

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DH_OpenCaseNoBook.jpg
The traycase inlaid with sparrow feathers and medical sample slide encased in optical glass.


http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DHTwoBooks.jpg
The*The Dark Half*Limited Edition twins


http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/TwoBooksSlipcaseSparrow.jpg
The Dark Half: Limited Edition. From left to right, The George Stark Edition, Tray case and The Thad Beaumont Edition are mockups and final designs may differ slightly.


Publication Date: 4/1/2019
* THAD BEAUMONT LIMITED EDITION
* ISBN: 116-18-912615-15-12
* Publication price: $tba

* GEORGE STARK LIMITED EDITION
* ISBN: 116-18-912615-15-12
* Publication price: $tba

Entry to become eligible to own The Dark Half: The Limited Edition*will begin on Sunday, 4/1/2018 at 08:00AM Pacific, at which time the entry buttons above will be activated.*Notification of the final price will be detailed prior to the final draw. All entrants will be notified and may withdraw from the final selection at that time. Only one book may be purchased by a single individual.
There will be no payment plan for this edition.
MATCHING NUMBERS & LETTERS
Due to the very limited nature of this edition, it will not be possible to match to prior books from the publisher.

LIMITED EDITION TAXIDERMIED SPARROW
http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/house-sparrow_4.jpg
This beautiful, professionally stuffed and mounted example of the common sparrow is included with both editions of the book. Made by world-famous Olaf Prilo, specialist in avian taxidermy for over 40 years and mounted on an oak base turned from a 200 year old oak tree.

GALLERY
http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DH_TrayCaseandwhitebook.jpg

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DH_OpenTrayCaseWIthBook.jpg

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DH_TrayCase_and_Book.jpg

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DH_BrainRibbon.jpg

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DH_TrayCaseribbon2.jpg

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/medium/DH_TrayCase.jpg

http://www.thedarktower.org/gallery/data/500/sutnuplogo.png

'Common Sparrow' © 2018 Olaf Prilo
Gift Enclosure Design and Macro Photography by Dani W. Thiupsis Design
Letterpress Macro Photography © 2018 Dani W. Thiupsis
Published editions may differ slightly from the prototypes and
digital mockups shown in the images.

[stroppygoblin]

Oh and to all of you that entered the competition, I collected all your comments :evil:

Here are a few (names held to protect the innocent...)

"The birds, man. Those birds!"

"It looks beautiful - love the idea of the mirrored editions."

"I believe that combining a legend in the literary world and a rising legend in book production cannot fail. This edition is breathtaking. When seeing the quality of the materials and execution, I believe all other producers of Mr.Kings books are in awe...and scrambling to meet a new standard."

"The limitation number is "I just enter anything for sunup books - even if an elaborate April fools joke- just keep them coming...but it does look like a great edition" high!"

"Olaf Prilo's work is often quite fun although not what it seems."

"I just enter anything for sunup books - even if an elaborate April fools joke- just keep them coming...but it does look like a great edition"

"I may have a line on a brain tumor you can use if you haven't found one yet."

And of course the many, many comments that acknowledged the April fool. :)

[racerx45]

Thanks for posting. I missed this and I am really impressed with the effort and work that went into this.

[firemonkey66]

I think the real question is did ari win the opportunity to buy both books or just one of them?

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

This is a wind up?

[Father Cody]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I had a feeling you were in on it, Simon! You guys got me, I admit it. I’m not ashamed of it either...even found a way to rationalize the taxidermy sparrow. Those birds! :lol: :thumbsup:

[stroppygoblin]

This is a wind up?

well spotted! (but there are more)

[stroppygoblin]

I think the real question is did ari win the opportunity to buy both books or just one of them?

That's actually quite funny - I'll let RF respond to that one.

[jhanic]

Simply awesome!

John

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

You spelled borosilicate wrong.

[stroppygoblin]

You spelled borosilicate wrong.

No, I spelt it incorrectly. :evil: yeah - that was a typo.

[Phalucha]

It was well done. I signed up for both copies - was already evaluating cover stories for when my wife noticed the drop in the savings. :)

[Ben Mears]

Well played Simon.

[FlyerPhan0826]

This is awesome in so many ways :)

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

You spelled borosilicate wrong.

No, I spelt it incorrectly. :evil: yeah - that was a typo.

Now you spelleded spelled rong, like gee willikers already!

[Randall Flagg]

I think the real question is did ari win the opportunity to buy both books or just one of them?

That's actually quite funny - I'll let RF respond to that one.
In one of the preliminary designs, people would enter the lottery, and upon completion, there would be an automated response saying "Congratulations Ariel B****" you have been entered.

[TravelinJack]

Don’t we all know by now, if there was a highly limited lottery who would win........? :lol:

In fact he’d have won both copies had this been legit. :lol: :lol:

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

I may be wrong, but I think there is something funny abut the ISBN number. It should have 13 digits, but it has 15. And it should start with 978. Or else I'm just paranoid - or something...

[burial]

"Craftely Flawed Limited Edition" - I JUST LOVE IT!

[jeffingoff]

Thank you so much for posting this. I missed it entirely and I love the concept and the execution. You obviously worked your ass off on it and I think everyone should be insanely skeptical on anything that read on the internet on April 1. So I think this joke was completely cool.

Awesome job!

[Beverly Marsh]

:biggrin1: This is great! People need to lighten up. It's April Fool's folks!
P.S. I want a stuffed sparrow :biggrin:

[Randall Flagg]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcRihRpM54wgkU-jjE6SQS-GXt-7TwjQoeuxr_B-cugKKs_Kaczp29jDLD2sXXJ_dELpsJPPjl8G&usqp=CAE


https://www.ebay.com/i/173018793810?chn=ps&dispItem=1

[stroppygoblin]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcRihRpM54wgkU-jjE6SQS-GXt-7TwjQoeuxr_B-cugKKs_Kaczp29jDLD2sXXJ_dELpsJPPjl8G&usqp=CAE


https://www.ebay.com/i/173018793810?chn=ps&dispItem=1

But it's not on a base turned from a 200 year old Oak tree!

[herbertwest]

I personally think that Jerome will take to heart to actually CREATE those rebound copies and put them for the Fundraiser ;)

[Ari_Racing]

I think the real question is did ari win the opportunity to buy both books or just one of them?

That's actually quite funny - I'll let RF respond to that one.
In one of the preliminary designs, people would enter the lottery, and upon completion, there would be an automated response saying "Congratulations Ariel B****" you have been entered.

Oh, this would have been priceless! hahahaha

[ruderabbit]

That whole scenerio is brilliant. Well played.