Stephen King, Tabitha Spruce. Moth (The Dark Man, etc.). The Blanket Conspiracy, 1970.

Price: US$24995.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Signed by Stephen King and former book owner and fellow Maine author Sanford Phippen. VG+. ONE OF ONLY A FEW SIGNED COPIES KNOWN AND ONLY A FEW DOZEN KNOWN UNSIGNED COPIES. ***THIS IS THE RAREST OF STEPHEN KING BOOK PUBLICATIONS AND 1 OF ONLY A FEW KNOWN SIGNED COPIES.*** Three copies can be found at institutions by WorldCat. Provenance: This copy was once owned by author Sanford Phippen who, like King, is a graduate of the University of Maine and fellow Maine-based published author. He has signed the book on the inside front cover.I have sold Stephen King books for over a decade. I have sold some of the rarest of King’s works. This is rarer than The Plant (signed copies sell between $20k-30k), lettered limited edition sets, and even a signed copy of Rage (sells for up to $30k). There are only five or six known unclipped TRUE first state dust jackets of Salem’s Lot and they used to sell with first edition copies for $40,000 - $50,000 TEN YEARS AGO before King’s book prices skyrocketed in value and before being snatched up and hoarded away by prominent King collectors. A signed copy of Moth is *possibly* just as rare or even rarer than these legendary unclipped true first state Salem Lot copies! To give one example, in the past 16 years I cannot find a single example of a signed copy of Moth having ever been sold on eBay, until I recently snatched this one up. Keep in mind, Stephen King no longer signs his older work. Since there are only a few known signed copies that have come to market, and perhaps a few more unknown signed copies being hoarded away by top King collectors (whose copy you won’t get get until they are long gone!), a mere handful of signed copies is possibly all there ever is and will be . Beyond scarcity, this is one of the most important publications featuring Stephen King for several reasons: 1. It is the first published writing of “The Dark Man” in book form, King’s most important canonical poem and the genesis of his most famous villain featured in The Stand (Randall Flagg) and The Dark Tower series (The Man in Black/Walter o’Dim, etc.). If you want the true first iteration of both King’s masterpiece— The Stand— & King’s Magnum Opus—The Dark Tower series—the singular poem that started it all, this is it! 2. While King had been initially published in 1965 in Comics Review and in a few magazines in the late 1960s and his college newspaper, this is King’s first significant publication of fictional works in book form (three poems). This poetry anthology predates Carrie by four years. 3. Moth is the culminating publication from a University of Maine student poetry seminar from 1968-69 where King states he fell in love with Tabitha Spruce (see Stephen King’s On Writing), now Tabitha King of course. Tabitha has several poems also published in the anthology. If they hadn’t met, where would Stephen King be today? Would Carrie have ever been written let alone published? It was Tabitha, after all, who famously rescued a partial draft from the trash and urged King to finish it and seek publication. Other items of note: 4. Michael Alpert, who penned the opening three poems, later worked with King as co-founder of Philtrum Press, where he designed and composed the type for "The Plant," and the limited editions of "The Eyes of the Dragon," and "Six Stories". Published in 1970: MOTH with Stephen King (Steve King) & Tabitha Spruce, Michael Alpert, et al. The Blanket Conspiracy, Orono, Maine.OVERALL Condition: VERY GOOD+ BOOK is in VG+ condition. The all white wraps show light soiling and a few stains. Some light rubbing to spine tips and corners. “$1.00” price stamped on title page. Cover art is colorful and unrubbed. Hinges and joints are tight. A few very light vertical reading creases near the spine. Minimal edge wear. Interior is clean with no writing beyond the author signatures. No stamps or ex libris marks, a few stray marks. Page edges show some toning and light foxing; the interior pages are bright and still white with no foxing.Keep in mind, once again: King no longer signs books except at scheduled events. You can’t mail him books anymore or bring along his older work for him to sign at signing events. This extremely rare signed copy of Moth will only appreciate in value, particularly because of its extraordinary scarcity, provenance, literary importance and collectible condition. Book will be exceptionally well packaged and shipped priority or registered mail and insured with signature required upon delivery for you and your new treasure’s protection.I have bought and sold books and art on eBay for over a decade and have a 100% satisfaction rating. I am now selling on ABE Books. I’m a collector first and know what it's like to receive items not matching the seller’s descriptions or that were poorly packaged and damaged in transit. That is why I offer a 100% satisfaction, money back guarantee, and go to great lengths to accurately describe my rare, signed and collectible books and post pictures of the "actual book." I carefully package and ship your newly acquired treasure(s) and ship within 1 business day of receiving your order.

Seller: Ironwolf Books, Litchfield Park, AZ, U.S.A.