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The Secret History of Stephen King’s Baseball Cards
As many of you know, Lonely Road Books published a deluxe Limited Edition and a deluxe Lettered Edition of Blockade Billy by Stephen King. They looked something like this (click on any of the images for the full gallery on the LRB website):
Many collectors already know that Stephen King autographed his first-ever baseball cards as his way of signing these special editions, which I thought was very cool, but what no one outside a small group knew until now is that there were actually two different baseball cards created for King. Here’s how this unique and unusual collectible item came to be:
After running the baseball card idea by King, who loved it, we hired a local shop to custom-make a uniform and baseball cap for the fictional New Jersey Titans. These items were shipped down to King in Florida and we waited to see what happened. A few weeks later, the results of a photo shoot arrived.
We narrowed the photos down to one image and Kate Freeman Design went to work, creating two versions of the card. The first version used the original photo of King exactly as it was taken. The second version used the same photo of King, only he was photoshopped into a stock photo of Wrigley field. (We didn’t want to use a photo of Fenway because that seemed a little clichéd given King’s well-known affinity for the team, but we did want something that evoked an earlier era of baseball.)
Here are the two versions of the card before Kate finished aging them a bit:
We ran the cards by the folks who needed to approve them, and no one could pick a favorite because everyone liked both of them for different reasons. In the end, we printed both designs because the book is about a baseball player with a secret and we thought it would be fun for this special edition to also have a secret or two of its own.
Approximately 25% of the “original photo” cards without the baseball field background were sent out to customers with their books, making it the rarer version of the two.
Here is a photo of one of the signed cards:
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
Thanks for posting the write-up!
Yep, that's what I thought regarding the rarity of the "original" card.
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!
I wonder how much the non-Wrigley Field signed card would affect the value of the S/L.
This looks legit to me:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stephen-King...gAAOSwhQhYxJJf
Brian
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!
This is true so long as the person shipping correctly says BOOK on the customs label... I had a couple of problems last year - Jean Cocteau bookstore shipped one parcel with a customs label that just said 'game of thrones' and Fairy Magazine shipped a signed Charles Vess book with a label that said 'gift / jewellery ' (which I assume is a standard label they use). The problem then is proving what you received when you fill in a tax reclaim form, which is a hassle
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!
I figured I'd mention this now for future reference:
For those who snag a Gwendy's Button Box ARC from a reviewer or wherever, you'll want to note that there are approximately 15 to 20 little changes between that version of the text and the final file I sent to the printer for the 1st Edition, 1st Printing hardcover. Mostly some word choice changes by the authors, but also corrections of a few anachronisms. (Meaning the anachronisms that DO remain are there because the authors wanted them there!).
Brian
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!
Brian, Is there any update on The City of Mirrors? Production page lists this as deep into production.
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!
Brian, whats a good estimate for the Shining to get out?
HELP ME FIND
Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!
The first official review I've seen for GWENDY'S BUTTON BOX has been posted:
http://sechrestthings.com/exclusive-...chard-chizmar/
If you've been wondering about the nature of the button box, some answers await you there.
Brian
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com. Please always feel free to email me or send me a PM if you have any questions about either!