Stephen King "The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger" First Edition, First Printing, Slipcased [F/NF+]

A Rare First Printing of The Gunslinger, currently one of the most sought after collectible books that Stephen King has ever written

A wonderful edition for the discerning collector. Currently the First Edition of "The Gunslinger" is one of the most sought after collectible books that Stephen King has ever written. This book is significant because it started The Dark Tower series, of which King considers his magnum opus. The condition is better than most copies of this first printing title. A rare find in this original condition.

"Dark Tower: The Gunslinger" Donald M. Grant Publishers. Copyright 1982. "First Edition" as stated on the copyright page. First printing of this hardcover book with dust-jacket. Only 10,000 were printed. Not price-clipped. Original vintage hardcover collector's grade book. Illustrated by Michael Whelan.


Brand new Mylar covering is now on the book to protect your investment. Collector's grade hardcover book worthy of your Stephen King library. Includes beautiful matching black slipcase. This case is faux leather and has the title and author stamped in silver on the spine. The front states "The Gunslinger" in silver and "Dark Tower - Book I" in red. Very Fine custom matching slipcase.


Correct First Edition - First Printing Markings:

* "First Edition" as stated on Copyright Page
* Dust-jacket price $20.00 and $60.00 (unclipped)
* ISBN 0-937986-50-X
* ISBN 0-937986-52-X
* West Kingston, Rhode Island 1982



Background & Publication

The novel was inspired by the poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" by Robert Browning, which King read as a sophomore at the University of Maine. King explains that he "played with the idea of trying a long romantic novel embodying the feel, if not the exact sense, of the Browning poem." In March 1970, while a senior at the university, King began writing the novel on bright green sheets of paper. The five parts that constitute the novel were originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction:

* "The Gunslinger" (October 1978)
* "The Way Station" (April 1980)
* "The Oracle and the Mountains" (February 1981)
* "The Slow Mutants" (July 1981)
* "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" (November 1981)

In all, it took King twelve years to complete the novel. The finished product was first published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. as a limited edition in 1982. In 1988, Plume released it in trade paperback form. Since then, the book has been re-issued in various formats and included in boxed sets with other volumes of the series.

In 2003 the novel was reissued in a revised and expanded version.

About the artist Michael Whelan

Michael Whelan is one of the world’s premier painters of imaginative realism. For 40 years he has created book and album covers for authors and musicians like Isaac Asimov, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Brandon Sanderson, the Jacksons and MeatLoaf. His clients have included every major U.S. book publisher, the National Geographic Society, CBS Records, and the Franklin Mint.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted Whelan in June 2009, the first living artist so honored. According to his Hall of Fame citation, Michael Whelan is one of the most important contemporary science fiction and fantasy artists, and certainly the most popular. His work was a dominant force in the transition of genre book covers away from the surrealism introduced in the 1950s and 1960s back to realism.

His paintings have appeared on the covers of more than 350 books and magazines, including many Stephen King novels, most of the Del Rey editions of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, the Del Rey edition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars series, Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince and Dragon Star series, the Del Rey editions of H. P. Lovecraft's short story collections, the DAW editions of Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné books, numerous DAW editions of C. J. Cherryh's work, many of Robert A. Heinlein's novels including Friday and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, the Ace editions of H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy novels, and Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Otherland, and Shadowmarch series and Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive. Whelan provided covers and interior illustrations for Stephen King's The Gunslinger and The Dark Tower, the first and last of his Dark Tower books.

Cover art by Michael Whelan has graced many music record albums including Demolition Hammer's Epidemic of Violence, The Jacksons' Victory; Sepultura's Beneath the Remains, Arise, Chaos A.D. and Roots; Soulfly's Dark Ages; Obituary's Cause of Death; and every album by the Elric-influenced metal band Cirith Ungol. He painted original works for the covers of Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and The Very Best of Meat Loaf albums and several of his older paintings illustrate the liner notes of the former. Recently, he painted the cover art for thrash metal band Evile's album Infected Nations.

Wikipedia