Book Collection - Rachel Readman

[Rachel Readman]

Well, I figured it is high time I throw my modest collection up here after all this time. These photos are old and the only pitures I have right now but I will take more and add to it as a lot has changed and I've moved house twice since we were in this place:

My self designed custom built 30 year old oak Dark Tower bookcase:






























A load of reading copies which has grown substantially now as well and a few of my other non King sculptures scattered around:

[Dan]

Great stuff! I love the bookcase. You made, or had made, this 30 years ago?

[Rachel Readman]

Talisman S/L:








The Art Of Michael Whelan Signed Limited and 1st HB eds, Inscribed, doodled and Original DT art ) slipcase not shown here. This is a beautiful production:










This is in the standard 1st Hardback edition




Gunslinger 1st Signed by Michael



Gunslinger 2nd Signed by Donald M Grant:



Alan M Clark Keys To The Kingdom Print with added sketch:





Glenn Chadbourne Wizard & Glass Original 1/1

[Rachel Readman]

Framed Stuff

Alan M Clark




Michael Whelan














There's a lot more but I need to get around to photographing it all so I'll add in when I can.

[Rachel Readman]

Sorry I wasn't very clear on that, hell I'm only 32 myself LOL. The Oak used to make it was aged and weathered for 30 years after being cut. I designed the case and had it made by a professional furniture maker/restorer.

It also has the numbers 19 (left) and 99 (right) carved into the sides at the top similar to the eye. Black 13 mounted into the front.

[jhanic]

Beautiful! I love the bookcase!

John

[Rachel Readman]

Thanks John, in hindsight I should have had it made much bigger as it is full and I now have the usual collectors dilemma of having no space for more, which simply will not do at all now will it!? Back then I couldn't have afforded to have it made any bigger as it cost a fortune as it was. I might have to design a second one

[The Library Policeman]

Great collection, Rachel. Love that bookcase!

[Bad Penny]

Rachel - it's great to see you in the collection threads at last - you've some wonderful pieces here, and I bet you have a whole bunch more yet to post (I, for one, look forward to seeing them!!!)

[Rachel Readman]

Thanks guys, I do love how the bookcase turned out and it is more special that I designed it myself. Originally I was going to have the whole wizards rainbow around the top but getting nice looking orbs that were the right size and colour proved to be too difficult so I went with just the Black 13 on it's own.

I do have a fairly modest collection compared to many. Most of my books are firsts or artist editions but I do have a number of nice items in there such as signed by King or remarqued, a few new DJ's for WAG a Gunslinger 1st and 2nd, portfolios and prints and a Michael Whelan 1/99 Road to the Dark Tower canvas print that remains unframed. There's probably items there that I have forgotten I even have.

I'll get some photos of them up here soon...

[Shannon]

Hey, Rachel Readman has a SK collection! Some nice books and signatures, but I love the artwork the best. Are any of those originals or are they all prints? And man oh man, you have some nice frames.

Shannon

P.S. Oh, also, what is that white Eyes of the Dragon book?

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

Very impressive. What is that blue proof next to the DARK TOWER?

[jhanic]

Yeah, I can see it's by King, but I can't make out the title.

John

[Rachel Readman]

Hey, Rachel Readman has a SK collection! Some nice books and signatures, but I love the artwork the best. Are any of those originals or are they all prints? And man oh man, you have some nice frames.

Shannon

P.S. Oh, also, what is that white Eyes of the Dragon book?

No originals Shannon, I wish!! Those frames took some finding too and they are all framed to museum standard with anti glare and 200% UV protection etc.

The EOTD is just without it's dustjacket the one next to it is the same with a jacket. I think the one without is a second printing if I remeber correctly.


The blue proofs are DTVII, The Wastelands and I think the one you mean is a Scribner Dreamcatcher which is in an dark blue slipcase. Someone gave me the Dreamcatcher I forget now who it was. I think it was either back on .net or not long after this site was started and the slipcase is just a plain blue that they happened to have lying around.

[Shannon]

Oooooh, duh!

[dnemec]

Beautiful bookcase. And those frames are amazing! Can't wait to see more!

[Cook]

Rachel, Wow !
Showing your artistry skills in so my ways.
Bookcase is amazing, framing is fantastic & another cool book collection to the thread... Yeeaaaaa!
Whelan's framed Firestarter is absolutely perfect
Thanks for sharing Rachel

[Rachel Readman]

Thank you guys, glad to have finally joined in the collection thread. I've been meaning to for quite some time and just never got around to it.

I do particularly like the Firestarter print because it is a photographic print and the strength of colour to it, it is very sharp and captured details superbly. The frame was chosen specifically because it looks almost charred and burned. The black matte around it is also textured and looks a little like paint burning off wood.

Just found some other pictures on a backup CD from back when I was having the bookcase made.

The original designs:











This was the day I finally got to fill the bookcase after having my collection stored for a long time I think this must have been 2007 and we still had our Bearded Dragons Draco and Falcor back then, the house was tiny and very full. Another reason (apart from cost) that the bookcase couldn't be made bigger was that I didn't have space to have a bigger one:





I certainly don't regret moving from there as now we live here:



The house is a grade 2 protected listed building and it was derelict. It was taken down and rebuilt stone by stone and every stone had to be put back exactly where it came from because of it's protected status. The building has a lot of history. It was a dairy farm and mill. The Cornish Roundhouse was where horses would walk around and around to drive the mill to grind grain and there were only (as far as I can tell) 2 still standing in the whole world when the house was rebuilt around two years ago. There used to be lots of 'bad' men would come here and hold bare knuckle fighting contests upstairs and hide out from the law and there is still one of the original doors from upstairs with names of those men carved into it stored in the outbuildings.. Originally it was built around 1800.

[Merlin1958]

What a very cool collection thread!!!!!

[Rachel Readman]

Some pics of how the house was before being rebuilt:





The firewood that came out of the place:



This is the mill that was used after the roundhouse became so dilapidated it couldn't be used anymore. This was engine driven via a large belt that went through the narrow window to the left front of the house. I believe this is now in an agricultural and Cornish history museum having been restored:



As you can imagine it is very rural and idyllic, lots of wild animals, fields, trees and tractors but very historical and inspiring for an artist and very quiet for a bookworm like myself to enjoy me lovely booksies.

[Rachel Readman]

Got to do some more work now but happy reading folks. I thought it would be nice to give you all an insight into where we live.

More soon...

[Shannon]

Wow, very very very nice house. Speaking of which, I think I might have found one of my dream houses while looking through Craigslist for houses to rent. Going to go show it off in my thread. Thanks!

[Rachel Readman]

Yep we do love it but we too are renting. Would love to own it but it would cost us £850,000+!!

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

But ---- the original house had so much ATMOSPHERE! How could you bear to rebuild it!

[Bad Penny]

Yep we do love it but we too are renting. Would love to own it but it would cost us £850,000+!!

Ouch !!!! Rachel, the house is nothing short of amazing - love the pix, love the story !!!!