Stephen King "Skeleton Crew" Slipcased Signed Deluxe Limited First Edition No. 308 of 1,000 w/Color Poster [Very Fine]

Personally signed by Stephen King and the artist J.K. Potter

SIGNED LIMITED EDITION NO. 308 of 1,000 WITH ORIGINAL FOLD-OUT POSTER.

Scream Press 1985. Stephen King "Skeleton Crew". Signed Limited Edition of 1,000. Personally signed by both the author Stephen King and artist J.K. Potter on a special black dedication page. First edition with matching slip-case.   Includes a full color 3-Fold Poster laid in. A profusely illustrated book with a matching slipcase as issued by the publisher. This is number 308. 

Arguably one of the most beautifully done limited editions. A Horror collection of 23 stories. 545 pps. Illustrated throughout.

This is an over-sized hefty volume, measuring 7 1/2" x 10" and weighing about 5lbs. 

The limitation sheet reads: "STEPHEN KING'S SKELETON CREW This volume is one of one thousand copies, signed on the facing page in silver ink by the author and artist."

Full Color 3-Fold Poster

Skeleton Crew

Skeleton Crew is a collection of short fiction by American writer Stephen King, published by Putnam in June 1985. A limited edition of a thousand copies was published by Scream/Press in October 1985 (ISBN 978-0910489126), illustrated by J. K. Potter, containing an additional short story, "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", which had originally appeared in Rolling Stone magazine (July 19 – August 2, 1984), and was later incorporated into King's 1987 novel The Tommyknockers. The original title of this book was Night Moves.

Stephen King’s #1 New York Times bestseller—an anthology of stories from the outer limits of the imagination!

From one of the greatest storytellers in modern times comes this classic collection of twenty-two works of fright and wonder…unforgettable tales that will take you to where your darkest fears await. Whether it’s a mysterious impenetrable mist camouflaging bizarre, otherworldly terrors that could herald the destruction of humanity…or an eerie-looking child’s toy that harbors an unimaginable evil…or four college students on a deserted lake encountering something that crosses the boundary of sanity…or a man suddenly given the omnipotent ability to quite literally edit his own reality…the extraordinary narratives found in Skeleton Crew are the enduring and irresistible proof that Stephen King is a true master of the short fiction form.

Background

In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), his second collection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literary elephantiasis," makes scatological jokes about his muse, confesses how much money he makes (gross and net), and tells a story about getting arrested one time when he was "suffused with the sort of towering, righteous rage that only drunk undergraduates can feel." He winds up with an invitation to a scary voyage: "Grab onto my arm now. Hold tight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way."

And he sure does. Skeleton Crew contains a superb short novel ("The Mist") that alone is worth the price of admission, plus two forgettable poems and 20 short stories on such themes as an evil toy monkey, a human-eating water slick, a machine that avenges murder, and unnatural creatures that inhabit the thick woods near Castle Rock, Maine. The short tales range from simply enjoyable to surprisingly good.

In addition to "The Mist," the real standout is "The Reach," a beautifully subtle story about a great-grandmother who was born on a small island off the coast of Maine and has lived there her whole life. She has never been across "the Reach," the body of water between island and mainland. This is the story that King fans give to their friends who don't read horror in order to show them how literate, how charming a storyteller he can be. Don't miss it.