Peter S. Beagle "The Last Unicorn" Traycased Signed Limited Edition of 250, "PC" Edition [Very Fine]

Personally signed by Peter S. Beagle and Tom Kidd.

Traycased Signed Limited Edition of only 250 produced. "PC" Edition.

Suntup Editions 2024. Peter S. Beagle "The Last Unicorn" Signed Numbered Edition "PC". The signed limited edition of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle is presented in three states: Classic, Numbered and Lettered. The edition measures 6” x 9” and features nine full color tipped in oil painting illustrations by Tom Kidd as well as a new exclusive introduction by the author. One of the nine illustrations is a presented as a fold-out appearing in all three states.

This is the "PC" of the signed numbered edition. 

Designed by Mark Argetsinger, the text pages are set in Monotype Van Dijck with calligraphy by Jerry Kelly, and are printed letterpress in two colors on the title page and chapter openings by Bradley Hutchinson on his Heidelberg Cylinder in Austin, Texas. The states are printed on Mohawk Superfine, Cranes Lettra and Arches mouldmade papers.

NOW SOLD OUT FROM THE PUBLISHER.

The Signed Numbered Edition

The Numbered edition of 250 copies is a Bradel binding with a cover design inspired by the famous Unicorn Tapestries of the late Middle Ages. The spine is covered in Chieftain Goatskin from J Hewit & Sons; the historic leather merchant which was founded in 1823 and continues to manufacture the finest quality leathers for bookbinding.

The front and back boards are covered in a printed cotton cloth from a commissioned painting in the millefleur style by heraldic artist Tania Crossingham. The cloth is expertly printed by fine art print studio, Magnolia Editions in Oakland, California using UV-cured acrylic ink resulting in an exquisitely detailed finish.

Endsheets are Hahnemühle Bugra and the headbands are handmade with leather. Included in this edition is a tipped in fold-out of the Classic edition dust jacket illustration. The book is housed in a clamshell enclosure covered in Dubletta cloth, a luxurious woven cotton fabric with a subtle duo-tone appearance, and velour lined floors.

A giclée print of the frontispiece painting by Tom Kidd, as well as the millefleur painting by Tania Crossingham are included in a wraparound paper sleeve. The frontispiece print is signed by Tom Kidd.

This edition is printed letterpress on Crane’s Lettra 100% cotton paper which is engineered for letterpress and is soft to the touch. This state is signed by the author & artist.

• Signed by Peter S. Beagle and Tom Kidd.
• 6” x 9” trim size.
• 216 pages.
• Limited to 250 copies.
• Bradel binding with a cover design inspired by the famous Unicorn Tapestries of the late Middle Ages.
• Spine is covered in Chieftain Goatskin from J Hewit & Sons.
• Front and back boards are covered in a printed cotton cloth from a commissioned painting in the millefleur style by heraldic artist Tania Crossingham.
• New exclusive introduction by Peter S. Beagle.
• Nine full color tipped in oil painting illustrations by Tom Kidd.
• Color fold-out featuring the Classic edition dust jacket illustration by Tom Kidd.
• Endsheets are Hahnemühle Bugra.
• Handmade leather endbands.
• Printed letterpress on Crane's Lettra 100% cotton paper in two colors on the title page and chapter openings.
• Text pages are set in Monotype Van Dijck with calligraphy by Jerry Kelly.
• Housed in a clamshell enclosure covered in Dubletta cloth with velour lined floors.
• Giclée print of the frontispiece painting by Tom Kidd, as well as the millefleur painting by Tania Crossingham are included in a wraparound paper sleeve.
• Frontispiece print is signed by Tom Kidd.
• Bookmark with all orders.

The Last Unicorn

An enchanted fantasy full of unforgettable characters and profound themes, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle has charmed and delighted readers for over half a century.

Magical, beautiful beyond belief and completely alone, the unicorn has lived since before memory in a forest where death could touch nothing. Maidens who caught a glimpse of her glory were blessed by enchantment they would never forget. But outside her wondrous realm, dark whispers and rumors carried a message she could not ignore: “Unicorns are gone from the world.” Aided by a bumbling magician and an indomitable spinster, the unicorn embarks on a dangerous quest to learn the truth about what happened to her kind.

One of the most enduring classics of the twentieth century, The Last Unicorn has sold more than six million copies since its original publication in 1968, and has been translated into over twenty-five languages. In 1987, The Last Unicorn was ranked number five among the 33 All-Time Best Fantasy Novels by Locus magazine, and in 2020 Time included the novel on their list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All-Time.

With its lyrical prose, whimsical humor and philosophical ruminations on what it means to be human, The Last Unicorn is a quasi-medieval fairy tale that remains timeless.

Experience one of the most enduring classics of the twentieth century and the book that The Atlantic has called “one of the best fantasy novels ever.”

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone...

...so she ventured out from the safety of the enchanted forest on a quest for others of her kind. Joined along the way by the bumbling magician Schmendrick and the indomitable Molly Grue, the unicorn learns all about the joys and sorrows of life and love before meeting her destiny in the castle of a despondent monarch—and confronting the creature that would drive her kind to extinction....

In The Last Unicorn, renowned and beloved novelist Peter S. Beagle spins a poignant tale of love, loss, and wonder that has resonated with millions of readers around the world.

Reviews

Praise for Peter S. Beagle and The Last Unicorn

“Comes alive and stays alive on bright intensity of imagination.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Written in lyrical prose and rife with both whimsical humor and philosophical ruminations on what it means to be human, Beagle spins a quasi-medieval fairy tale that remains timeless.”—Time

“The Last Unicorn is the best book I have ever read. You need to read it. If you've already read it, you need to read it again.”—Patrick Rothfuss

“Peter S. Beagle is (in no particular order) a wonderful writer, a fine human being, and a bandit prince out to steal readers’ hearts.”—Tad Williams

“Almost as if it were the last fairy tale, come out of lonely hiding in the forests of childhood, The Last Unicorn is as full of enchantment as any of the favorite tales readers may choose to recall...A delicate, sensitive, yet powerful rendering of all the intangibles that make a fairy tale unforgettable.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Beagle...has been compared, not unreasonably, with Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien, but he stands squarely and triumphantly on his own feet...The book is rich, not only in comic bits but also in passages of uncommon beauty. Beagle is a true magician with words, a master of prose and a deft practitioner in verse.”—The Saturday Review

Peter S. Beagle

Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American novelist and screenwriter, especially of fantasy fiction. His best-known work is The Last Unicorn (1968) which Locus subscribers voted the number five "All-Time Best Fantasy Novel" in 1987. During the last twenty-five years he has won several literary awards, including a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2011. He was named Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by SFWA in 2018.

Career

Beagle was raised in Bronx, New York, and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1955. He garnered early recognition from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, winning a scholarship to University of Pittsburgh for a poem he submitted as a high school senior. He went on to graduate from the university with a degree in creative writing. Following a year overseas, Beagle held the graduate Stegner Fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University, where he overlapped with Ken Kesey, Gurney Norman, and Larry McMurtry.

Beagle wrote his first novel, A Fine and Private Place, when he was 19 years old, following it with a memoir, I See by My Outfit, in 1965.

He wrote an introduction for an American print edition of The Lord of the Rings. He and Chris Conkling co-wrote the screenplay for the 1978 Ralph Bakshi-animated version of The Lord of the Rings. Two decades later he wrote the teleplay for "Sarek", episode 71 of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

With David Carlson as composer Beagle adapted his story "Come, Lady Death" into the libretto for an opera, The Midnight Angel, which premiered at the Opera Theater of St. Louis in 1993.

In 2005, Beagle published a coda to The Last Unicorn, a novelette entitled Two Hearts, and began work on a full-novel sequel. Two Hearts won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2006 and the parallel Nebula Award in 2007. It was also nominated as a short fiction finalist for the World Fantasy Award. Beagle also received a special Inkpot Award in 2006 for Outstanding Achievement in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and in 2007 the inaugural WSFA Small Press Award for "El Regalo", published in The Line Between (Tachyon Publications). He is also a winner of the Jack Trevor Story Cup, also known as the Prix du Goncourt, awarded to an outstanding humorous writer.

IDW Publishing released a six-issue comic book adaptation of The Last Unicorn beginning in April 2010. The collected hardcover edition was released in January 2011, premiering at #2 on the New York Times Hardcover Graphic Novel bestseller list.

Beagle's 2009 collection of short fiction, We Never Talk About My Brother, was nominated for a World Fantasy Award.

In 2013, he collaborated with the musician Phildel on a new track "Dark Water Down", mixing poetry and music. They then appeared together at a gig at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco.

About the artist 

Tom Kidd is an author/illustrator who has painted hundreds of fantasy book covers and, for a wide variety of publishers, illustrated many books: The Three Musketeers, The War of the Worlds, Dying Earth, The Books of Babel, Elric: Fortress of the Pearl, Dark Crusade, The Last Unicorn and many others. He has written: Kiddography, OtherWorlds, Fantastic Dragons & How to Draw Them and an award-winning short story, Comedy of Nature. His long-term project is Gnemo: Airships, Adventure & Exploration. A four-time Hugo Award nominee and seven-time Chesley Award winner, Tom Kidd has also received the Golden Pagoda Award and the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist.