Bram Stoker "Dracula" Slipcased Transylvania Limited Edition of 666 [Sealed]

Transylvania Edition of 666 Numbered Copies. The ultimate edition of Dracula.

Amaranthine Press. Bram Stoker "Dracula" – Transylvania Edition is a limited edition of 666 numbered copies. Draped in red, richly textured fabric, featuring glow-in-the-dark covers and illustrations, it comes in a polyurethane slipcase with a wood motif. Weight 1.54 kg. Dimensions 24.2 × 16.6 × 6 cm. Very Fine, sealed without any flaws. 

Exclusive Features

• Limited to 666 copies
• Slipcase with wood motif
• Printed on PERGRAPHICA® Natural Rough paper
• Bound in red velvet-like cloth
• Glow-in-the-dark covers and spine
• Sixteen coloured & glow-in-the-dark illustrations by Vedran Klemens
• UV coated endpapers
• Black painted page edges
• Small illustrations for every entry type
• Several hidden design details
• Stake-shaped bookmark

Production

Only the finest quality materials and superior production techniques have been used in production of this book. Also, many elements had to be handmade to guarantee maximum attention to detail. To ensure the best reading experience we used the beautiful and versatile the Brioni typeface.

The book is draped in a red, lush fabric and it has a rich, velvety texture. Despite its delicate looks, the material is very durable and water-repellant. The glow-in-the-dark effect was achieved with the use of phosphorescent ink on both the covers and all sixteen illustrations. The ink we used is of high quality and it provides the best results if strong light was directed straight at the illustration, but will react even to medium lightning. The glow-in-the-dark effect dissipates over time and will stop glowing completely in around 30 to 60 seconds, depending on the lightning. New exposure to light resets the effect.

The black bats on the endpapers are made with UV coating to achieve the desired glossy effect and to make them stand out on the black paper.

The bookmark is made out of a special paper that has a texture of wood across its surface. This, combined with a special printing process that leaves parts of this texture exposed, allows for each bookmark to have a unique combination of pattern and colour.

All of the above and numerous other details make this truly an ultimate edition of Dracula.

Dracula

Dracula by Amaranthine Books comes in two luxurious limited numbered editions: Transylvania Edition and Scholomance Edition.

The Transylvania Edition of Dracula, named after his domain, aims to offer a new reading experience of this famous novel. The number of copies – 666 numbered editions – was inspired by the point in the story where it is mentioned that Dracula was a student of the devil himself in the great underground halls of Scholomance. The book comes in a special slipcase with a wood motif, hiding one of the design Easter Eggs. The title of the book is pressed in the material, making it elegant and non-intrusive.

On the other hand, Scholomance Edition of Dracula, aptly named after the supposed place of Dracula’s education, is the ultimate collector’s item. The idea behind it was to create something truly unique, without taking anything away from its counterpart, Dracula – Transylvania Edition. The number of copies – 50 numbered editions – was inspired by the number of boxes of Transylvanian soil that Dracula has shipped to London, because he can only rest on the soil of his homeland. That is why the book comes in a sleek wooden box, beautifully carved and numbered, hiding one of the design Easter Eggs and a big surprise – a piece of real Transylvanian soil behind the small plexiglass window. This is because, as the story goes, Dracula can only rest on the soil of his homeland, so we made sure that even our Dracula can get the same “rest”. This soil was shipped to us by our dear friends at Bran Castle in Transylvania and we’ve also included the soil’s certificate of authenticity, signed by both Amaranthine Books and Bran Castle representatives.

Once you have the book in your hands, you are met with covers draped in red, richly textured fabric that is a joy to touch which aims to underline Dracula’s opulence, his seemingly unlimited funds. It is a common misconception that Dracula was killed by the sunlight, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth – he is merely sensitive to it, it makes him weaker. Therefore, we decided to make our book sensitive to light as well, so the cover features Dracula’s portrait that absorbs the light and then glows in the dark. The only difference from the Transylvania Edition is that his eye is red – this is another nod to the story, because his eyes turn from blue to red when he is angered.

When you open the book you’ll be greeted by beautiful black, bat-themed endpapers. There is a regular title page in Transylvania Edition, but Scholomance Edition holds yet another specialty. You’ll notice the title is a bit different – this is because it is written in real blood; the blood of the creatives that worked on this book. The blood was carefully extracted and used for all 50 copies, then it was sealed with a fixative spray so the reader wouldn’t be in direct contact with it. Inside the book you’ll also find sixteen gorgeous illustrations by Vedran Klemens that cover the key plot points in the book, also featuring glow-in-the-dark effect. The page edges were painted in black, but in a way that it would interact with the capillarity of the paper, making the paint flutter on the edge of each page differently, like some kind of darkness is seething into the book. Occasionally, we even let a few tiny droplets escape on the margins, just to emphasise the effect. Once you reach the end, you should notice another design Easter Egg and you can read the Afterword which explains the thought process and the creative concept behind this edition. Also, with each book comes a bookmark in the shape of a wooden stake, a precautionary method that ensures that you and Dracula remain on the same page, so to speak.

Concept and Art

The Transylvania Edition of Dracula, named after his domain, aims to offer a new reading experience of this famous novel. The number of copies – 666 numbered editions – was inspired by the point in the story where it is mentioned that Dracula was a student of the devil himself in the great underground halls of Scholomance.

The book comes in a special slipcase with a wood motif, hiding one of the design Easter Eggs. The title of the book is pressed in the material, making it elegant and non-intrusive.

Once you take the book out of the slipcase, you are met with the covers of the book, draped in red, richly textured fabric that is a joy to touch and which aims to underline Dracula’s opulence, his seemingly unlimited funds. It is a common misconception that Dracula was killed by the sunlight, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth – he is merely sensitive to it, it makes him weaker. Therefore, we decided to make our book sensitive to light as well, so the cover features Dracula’s portrait that absorbs the light and then glows in the dark.

When you open the book you’ll be greeted by beautiful black, bat-themed endpapers. Inside the book you’ll also find sixteen gorgeous illustrations by Vedran Klemens that cover the key plot points in the book, also featuring glow-in-the-dark effect. The page edges were painted in black, but in a way that it would interact with the capillarity of the paper, making the paint flutter on the edge of each page differently, like some kind of darkness is seething into the book. Occasionally, we even let a few tiny droplets escape on the margins, just to emphasise the effect. Once you reach the end, you should notice another design Easter Egg and you can read the Afterword which explains the thought process and the creative concept behind this edition. Also, with each book you’ll receive a bookmark in the shape of a wooden stake, a precautionary method that ensures that you and Dracula remain on the same page, so to speak.

As previously mentioned, the whole run has only 666 numbered copies, of which two are going to the artists that worked on this project and one is going into the archive of Amaranthine Books.

Illustrations

There is total of sixteen illustrations by Vedran Klemens in the book and, just like Dracula, they are sensitive to the light. It is a common misconception that Dracula is killed by sunlight, but in fact it merely weakens him. Thus, we wanted to make a book that will react to light in some way. This is achieved with use of phosphorescent ink which absorbs bright light and emits it in dark, even in low ambient light. Each illustration represents an important event in the book.

About Dracula

Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula.

Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is an epistolary novel, that is, told as a series of diary entries and letters. Literary critics have examined many themes in the novel, such as the role of women in Victorian culture, conventional and conservative sexuality, immigration, colonialism, postcolonialism and folklore. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for many theatrical, film and television interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Bram Stoker

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the West End's Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned.

In his early years, Stoker worked as a theatre critic for an Irish newspaper, and wrote stories as well as commentaries. He also enjoyed travelling, particularly to Cruden Bay in Scotland where he set two of his novels. During another visit to the English coastal town of Whitby, Stoker drew inspiration for writing Dracula. He died on 20 April 1912 due to locomotor ataxia and was cremated in north London. Since his death, his magnum opus Dracula has become one of the best-known works in English literature, and the novel has been adapted for numerous films, short stories, and plays.