Bram Stoker DRACULA - StagePlay (1927) © 1897 Remastered Dustjacket, Bela Lugosi

Description

eBay Listing - Newport Vintage Books - Photoplay Editions - Dracula StagePlay - Bela Lugosi
Dracula -
StagePlay Edition
[
1927 Broadway Play
starring Bela Lugosi
]
Digitally Remastered Dustjacket
Only
[Book is NOT included]
Bram Stoker
© 1897
Archibald Constable & Co (
UK
) /
© 1899
Doubleday & McClure (
US
)
- Grosset & Dunlap Printing
[
circa 1927
]
-
Classic Horror
H
igh Quality Digitally Remastered Laser
Reproduction
of Original Dustjacket
We will be offering a selection of several
digitally remastered dustjackets
in our eBay listings !!
Here is a nice opportunity to enjoy the original artwork while saving on the cost of an original dustjacket.
See my listings for
several
different
classic PhotoPlay & mystery jackets
available.
All digitally remastered dustjackets are shipped in a removable,
Brodart or Demco archival dustjacket protector, and ready to place on your book.
As a service to collectors, we are listing this remastered dustjacket which corresponds with the Grosset & Dunlap orange binding printing issued in 1927 [
copyright 1897
].
IMPORTANT NOTE
:  Sellers commonly list the orange G&D book as an 1897 1st edition because of the copyright page imprint.
That is
NOT
correct
- the book was reprinted in 1927 reusing the earlier printing plates [and copyright page] as was common practice in the 1910s to 1930s. Many collectors are being confused and sellers are unwittingly perpetuating these mistakes to the point of making it an urban legend.  [see more details below under
Collector's Tips
&
Caveat Emptor
].
Due to the scarcity of this dustjacket, I have added an embossed digital watermark to these images to avoid
unauthorized
duplication.
The embossed watermark will
NOT
appear over the artwork on the front panel.
The counter-stamps identifying this as a reproduction
WILL
appear
discretely
on the flaps only.
About
Jackets:
The dustjacket offered in this auction is digitally scanned from a high quality original at 600 DPI.  The master is then carefully restored to remove any minor imperfections.  This significantly enhances the eye appeal rather than just offering a color photocopy with flaws.  Great care is taken to painstakingly retouch these images with emphasis on maintaining the full scope of the original artwork and preserving the texture and granularity of the original.  The dustjacket is then printed on an industrial quality machine -- usually a Xerox DocuColor.  This professional color photocopier far exceeds the image quality possible on any inkjet printer, and produces sharper, crisper images and much better color definition (tone, hue & saturation) with pleasing results.
About
Broadway
Play:
After a harrowing ride through the Carpathian mountains in eastern Europe, Renfield enters castle Dracula to finalize the transferral of Carfax Abbey in London to Count Dracula, who is in actuality a vampire. Renfield is drugged by the eerily hypnotic count, and turned into one of his thralls, protecting him during his sea voyage to London. After sucking the blood and turning the young Lucy Weston into a vampire, Dracula turns his attention to her friend Mina Seward, daughter of Dr. Seward who then calls in a specialist, Dr. Van Helsing, to diagnose the sudden deterioration of Mina's health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is indeed a vampire, tries to prepare Mina's fiance, John Harker, and Dr. Seward for what is to come and the measures that will have to be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one of the undead.
Actor/Actress:
Role:
Bela Lugosi
Dorothy Peterson
Terence Neill
Bernard Jukes
Edward Van Sloan
Herbert Bunston
Alfred Frith
Nedda Harrigan
Count Dracula
Lucy Seward
Jonathan Harker
R. M. Renfield
Prof. Abraham Van Helsing
Dr. Jack Seward
Butterworth
Maid
Collector's Tip
The
StagePlay edition
of Dracula was released in 1927 to coincide with
the Broadway theatrical opening at the Fulton Theatre in New York on Oct. 5, 1927.
Grosset & Dunlap publishers issued the dustjacket above.
The
StagePlay jacket
corresponds to the
orange cloth
binding issue of the book.
The
PhotoPlay edition
of Dracula was released in 1931 to coincide with
the Hollywood cinematic release by Universal Studios starring Bela Lugosi.
Grosset & Dunlap publishers re- issued the dustjacket with a completely new design (see my other auction listing).
The
PhotoPlay jacket
corresponds to the
red cloth
binding issue of the book.
First Editions
:  The first American edition was published in NY in 1899 by Doubleday & McClure Co. Any other editions with an 1897 imprint were published later. The 1897 date refers to the UK edition published in Westminster, England in 1897 by Archibald Constable & Co., 2 Whitehall Gardens.
Reference
:
Dalby, Richard & William Hughes,
BRAM STOKER: A BIBLIOGRAPHY,
(Essex, UK:
Desert Island Books, 2004), pp.55-58.
See Also
: Op. cit., [Appendix of Subsequent Editions - English], pp.88-94.
One of the easiest ways to tell how old the book is --- is by the number of pages.
Editions issued up to early 1927 included
378 numbered pages
.
Editions issued in late 1927 and later were repaginated to
354 numbered pages
.
Therefore, any US editions with 354 numbered pages can easily be attributed to on or after 1927 by this fact alone.
All G&D printings are no earlier than 1927. eBay Dracula mistakes are rampant -- too many are basing their listings on prior listings & the mistakes perpetuate.
Grosset & Dunlap did not even exist in 1897, it was founded in late 1898 by George T. Dunlap and Alexander Grosset.
CAVEAT
EMPTOR:
If you find a
TRUE
US 1st edition [issued by
Doubleday & McClure
] there will be
NO Grosset & Dunlap
imprint anywhere on the book.
The 1st edition is truly rare and [when found] sell for over ,000 even in poor condition.  The G&D orange binding edition often listed as a 1st edition on eBay is typically worth less than 0 without an original dustjacket.  The copyright page is NOT an indicator of when the book was issued/printed, it is only an indicator of when a book was first published.  Don't be confused by reprints.  That being said, both the 1927 Stageplay & 1931 Photoplay editions are still valuable with their original dustjackets, and certainly collectible even without because of the nearly unattainable 1st edition as well as the important Bela Lugosi tie-in.
The 1927
StagePlay
edition in original dustjacket often sells for well over 0 or more on eBay, and more at retail.
Although not pictured, Bela Lugosi starred in the Broadway play which ran for three years.  At Tod Browning's urging, Lugosi reenacted his role for the 1931 film establishing him as one of the silver screen's greatest personifications of pure evil.