"Dracula" by Bram Stoker, published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, undated, the only date is the copyright 1897 by Bram Stoker. Photoplay Edition published to coincide with the release of the Universal film Dracula (1931). Glossy frontispiece photo of Bela Lugosi, and three other plates with monochrome illustrations from the Universal Picture Produced by Carl Laemmle, Jr.

Hard boards, original publisher's red cloth [vertical bumped along the middle of the spine, cloth wear]; 5.1/8" x 7.1/8"; former owner's name is stamped on the front endpaper, 354 pages + publisher's ad, some staining and wear, c.20 pages have pencil and ink marks [see photos]; several page corner folds. Page 43, line 14: "and beat her breast" is bared out with a black ink [see photo]; good+ condition.

"Dracula" is a 1897 Gothic horror novel. Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

Between 1879 and 1898, Stoker was a business manager for the world-famous Lyceum Theatre in London, where he supplemented his income by writing a large number of sensational novels, his most famous being the vampire tale 'Dracula' published on 26 May 1897. Before writing 'Dracula', Stoker spent seven years researching European folklore and stories of vampires, being most influenced by Emily Gerard's 1885 essay, "Transylvania Superstitions".

"The Dead Un-Dead" was one of Stoker's original titles for "Dracula", and up until a few weeks before publication, the manuscript was titled simply "The Un-Dead". While doing research, Stoker became intrigued by the name "Dracula", after reading William Wilkinson's book "Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia with Political Observations Relative to Them" (London 1820), which he found in the Whitby Library, and consulted a number of times during visits to Whitby in the 1890s. The name "Dracula" was the patronym (Draculea) of the descendants of Vlad II of Wallachia, who took the name "Dracul" after being invested in the Order of the Dragon in 1431.

US: Priority (c.2-8 days) ------------ $18.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-6 weeks) ---- $42.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ----- $54.50