Sunday, December 02, 2007

Lovecraft's Legacy: 1955 (Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadeth)


"Vampduster" is a collector of antiquarian items including this precious gem. He tells me,"This one is a '55 Shroud Publishing title, 645/1500 numbered originally appeared in Beyond the Wall of Sleep." Very unique.

He gave me a head's up that another copy was for sale at Heritage Auction Galleries - and they state:

H. P. Lovecraft. The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath. Buffalo: Shroud Publishers, 1955. First edition, first printing. Octavo. 107 pages.Publisher's black cloth with gilt spine titles (Currey D, first variant printing) with both states of the dust jacket present. One of 50 specially bound copies signed by the publisher Kenneth J. Krueger, from a total edition of 1,500 copies (original and only edition published). Numbered 467 of 1,500. According to Chalker, Krueger chose numbers 450 through 500 to bind in cloth, though a few other numbers outside this range have been observed. Remarkable condition, with minimal rubbing at the flap folds of the outer dust jacket. The white first state jacket has a red ink smear towards the top of the front panel, most likely from the printer. A beautiful, fine copy of a rare Lovecraft title. "In 1959, when Krueger was doing his ill-fated Food for Demons...he took a number of excess copies, apparently at random, and bound these uniform with the original cloth, using a yellow jacket with Maker of Moons [The Moon Maker] plugged on the back, also used to bind the rest of the pbs." (Chalker 574).

This is also part of the catalog:

H. P. Lovecraft. The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath. Buffalo: Shroud Publishers, 1955. First edition, first printing. Octavo. 107 pages.Publisher's black cloth with gilt lettering on the spine and front board (Currey F, the De La Ree binding) with the second state of the dust jacket present. One of 12 copies specially bound by famed science fiction collector Gerry De La Ree. Light bump to one edge of the book. Textblock is in remarkably clean condition. Dust jacket shows minimal edge wear. The spine is slightly faded, with two vertical creases running the length of the spine; two more vertical creases can be seen near the flap folds. A near fine copy of the scarcest binding of The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath."In 1972 fantasy collector/dealer Gerry de la Ree specially bound 12 copies in black cloth stamped in gold. These copies have a label affixed to the colophon page reading # [number inserted] of 12 specially bound copies of THE DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH." (Currey 261)

I have no other information at this time on Shroud Publishing. I have no idea if they received permission from Arkham Books to print this or not. I'm uncertain if this 1955 Shroud Press is affiliated witht he current Shroud Magazine. - CP

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There is no formal or intended connection between the '55 Shroud Publishing, and the current Shroud Magazine/Shroud Publishing. As it turns out, it's a happy, albeit unintentional, coincidence.

www.shroudmagazine.com

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