With the holiday shopping season upon us, I thought it might be worth drawing attention to the signed leather bound edition of The Alienist currently available through Easton Press for the book collectors amongst us. This edition forms part of the Easton Press “Signed Modern Classics” collection. Unfortunately, I have only been able to find one image of the binding for this edition online, and I’m not sure what year it was released. While most catalogues indicate that it was released in 2007 or 2008, an Easton Press collector stated on a forum post dated early 2011 that it had not, in fact, been released in either of those years. Combined with Easton Press’ usage of the most recent publicity photo of Caleb Carr from 2012, this seems to hint that the release date may have been considerably later than those indicated on catalogues — perhaps even 2012 or 2013? Mysterious release date aside, this edition is advertised as being personally signed by Caleb Carr and can be purchased directly from Easton Press. Reasonably priced at $89, what better surprise could you get for a fan of The Alienist this Christmas?
Alternatively, you can still find copies of the signed leather bound first edition of The Alienist that was produced by The Franklin Library in 1994 on eBay and through specialist book dealers. These typically sell for between $150 and $350 at the present time, depending on the condition of the individual copy. A signed leather bound first edition of The Angel of Darkness was also produced by The Franklin Library in 1997, and typically sells for a slightly lower price than its more sought-after predecessor. Both contain special introductions written by Caleb Carr that are exclusive to the these editions, and both have beautifully illustrated frontispieces. These editions can be seen in the image to the left (The Alienist is on top and The Angel of Darkness is underneath), and more images of these beautiful editions can be found on the 17th Street community forums.