That's great Bob and now i'm off to hunt for a copy of my own, i really, really loved the film too, kept me hooked all the way through!
That's great Bob and now i'm off to hunt for a copy of my own, i really, really loved the film too, kept me hooked all the way through!
I think you will really, really love the book too.Originally Posted by Tito_Villa
Good job on pulling the strings. Very interesting info. Thanks
reality continues to ruin my life
That's a really cool story. Have you thought about having the arc signed or inscribed?
It was signed when I bought it. I think that the author is pretty accessible for those who live in the UK.
What a fantastic story, and a great response from the author. I too loved the movie. I saw it in an art-house theater and once again on TV. I might just hunt up the Blu-Ray DVD and watch it on my 70".
I watched it on a blu-ray and it was spectacular!
I also loved that movie. Priest seems like a really nice guy too. If you get tired of that 70" screen you can come over and watch the movie on my 85 incher Jerome.
That's an 85 inch TV, by the way.
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
Resolution?
I suppose I could watch it on my 70" AND the 55" mounted directly above...that equals 125"....mine are bigger than yours!
We only have a 32" screen and it looked great on that!
Weird. I have a 36" and an 85" in the same room! I have to get the 36" out of there though, I never watch it. The resolution is pretty good. It's a Mitsubishi and I mainly bought it so I could watch 3D movies.
EDIT - Yes, I mean I bought the 85" so I could watch 3D movies on it. So far have watched HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, DIAL M FOR MURDER and MONSTERS VS ALIENS in 3D. Looked pretty good!
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
What? Your 85" isn't 3d? My 70" is 3D, Has Netfilx, 480 hertz blah blah blah
Very nice, Bob! I've been a Priest collector for awhile now. We've exchanged e-mails in the past and I've interviewed him for a research paper I was writing.In 2006 I watched the movie The Prestige. I absolutely loved it and immediately watched it again. The next day I watched it again. I think I have seen it twice more since then. There is something about that story that really gets into me. Anyway (because I am a book collector and what else would you expect me to do?) I started looking for a first edition. I found that they were really expensive and online dealers were quoting figures like "only 200 printed in the first edition" and "between 200 and 500 printed." I finally found a F/F copy that was signed for a reasonable price and told myself that one day I needed to read the book.
I only recently got around to reading the book. I loved it even more than the movie. I think in this instance having already seen the movie INCREASED my enjoyment of the book, if that is possible. There are a few plot twists that are not in the movie and caught me completely by surprise. I think it is just a fantastic book. Anyway (because I am a book collector and what else would you expect me to do?) I found and bought an ARC/proof. On the back of the proof they mention a "massive PR and promotional campaign." I thought that was weird as supposedly they only printed 200 to 500 copies of the first edition.
I asked the seller who seemed knowledgeable about the book and he thought the 200 to 500 copy numbers were made up by some bookseller to enhance the saleability of his book and that the numbers just got perpetuated by other sellers. He suggested that I contact the author, Christopher Priest, and see if he knew. I found Mr. Priest's website and asked him. I was pleasantly surprised to get this reply just a few hours later:
Dear Mr Jackson
I thought no one would ever ask.
I don't know where those estimated figures for the print-run of the Touchstone edition of The Prestige came from. Not from me, and certainly not from the publisher. I have always assumed it was a used book dealers' fiction to keep the price up.
When it was first published The Prestige was released as a conventional trade hardback novel, and would therefore have been given a conventionally sized UK first printing. According to sales figures I would estimate the minimum print was 2,000 copies, and probably as high as 3,000. It was never to my knowledge reprinted in hardcover by Touchstone.
However, to put these figures in context. Firstly, although the Touchstone edition is a handsome production it is not well manufactured: the paper is too thin and the binding is weak. Copies once read or carelessly handled are often damaged. As is common in the UK, most sales of hardback fiction are to lending libraries, and you can safely assume that all those copies, if they reached the secondhand market now, would also be damaged or seriously over-used. Finally, my novels in hardback are bought by a core audience of readers, who appear to collect and keep their own copies. Good secondhand copies almost never enter the used trade. I am an habitual book-buyer myself, spending much time in s/h bookstores, and in the last 40 years I have only ever seen ONE copy of one of my first editions on sale in an ordinary UK bookstore (and that was at a fancy price). It might be different in the USA, of course.
What all this means is that clean or mint or unread copies of the Touchstone edition of The Prestige are genuinely rare. The scarcity is for those reasons, not because only a small number were printed. Used-book dealers are entitled to get what they can for scarce editions, so I don't complain, but I believe what I've told you here is the reality.
All best wishes
Christopher Priest
I thought this was pretty cool and the point to emphasize is to not accept print run numbers listed in book listings as facts. I am as guilty as anyone in repeating print run numbers that I have heard or read and accepting them as true. Few people really know for sure and online booksellers are an unreliable source. They get accepted by collectors as facts and we perpetuate the inaccuracies.
I've been unable to find a Fine copy of The Prestige at a decent price (and unsigned. Seems like they're all signed out there). I, too, saw the film before I read the book and you're right; the book does enhance the experience of the film. Both are very compatible. The book is one of my favorites, as well as the movie.
If you want to continue with Priest, try The Affirmation. An amazing read and one of my favorite books.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
Thanks, Ricky, for recommending The Affirmation. I was wondering which one to try next.
Will they make a movie from The Affirmation, do you think?
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
Just curious, does anyone else on this site read/collect John D. MacDonald books?
Just wondering if anyone collects Steven Erikson and would know what the TOR ARCs for Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice might be worth?
Wanted: Human skin edition of The Book of the Dead. Will accept PC copy.
Added a few books from other authors this week.
For some reason I had never picked this one up for my Anne Rice collection.
It's not quite a nice as the seller described it, but it was cheap and a lot better than most of the copies I've seen.
Now I just need a first of Interview. (My 50 cent garage sale find barely qualifies as a reading copy.)
Three of the UK slipcased ASOIAF books also arrived. Hopefully A Clash of Kings will be here in another week.
A Storm of Swords
A Feast for Crows
A Dance with Dragons
Mark Twain
Nice looking copy of THE VAMPIRE LESTAT. One of my favorite books. Is your copy of the variety with purple top stain on the pages....or without top stain?
Thanks Bob. Mine is without the top stain.
I've been casually looking for that version as well, but haven't come across one yet.
Most of the listings I've seen make no mention of it either way, which is a bit frustrating.
Was the top stain the first state and this is the second state?
Mark Twain
I think it is the other way around. I remember talking to Barry Levin about this several years ago. According to Barry, Anne Rice was unhappy that THE VAMPIRE LESTAT didn't have top stain originally. She said it didn't match her first book INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE which did have top stain. So, again according to Barry, they added top stain to several copies. If this it what really happened then the books without top stain would have to be considered the first state. I have never heard any other discussion about it. Have you? Or anyone else?
I've never come across anything that specifically said either way. Even the site that I usually refer to for Anne Rice edition information isn't much help in this case.
This book was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1985 in two versions: a limited release version with purple end-paper borders (much like the first edition of Inteview); and a white end-paper release.
Mark Twain
What is this site you refer to for Rice information?
Here is a photo of the two states of THE VAMPIRE LESTAT:
Very nice, I like the look of top stains/edge stains. I wish more publishers would use them on S/L editions.
The Anne Rice Novel Photo Gallery
The site backgrounds will give you a headache, but the content covers enough of the basics to be helpful.
Mark Twain
Any one else here read the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch?
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