11 Scribes · All titles · The Dark Tower (Donald M. Grant)

The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three Collectible

1987 · Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. (West Kingston, Rhode Island)

First-edition cover of The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three — First-edition jacket (first (Wikipedia infobox)) · source

What it’s about

Gunslinger Roland Deschain wakes on a desolate beach at the edge of his dying world, gravely wounded and still bound to his quest for the Dark Tower. Along the shore he finds a series of freestanding doors, each opening onto 1980s New York City and into the mind of a stranger he is fated to draw into his world. To reach the Tower, Roland must enter these lives and pull three companions across the threshold — beginning with a heroin-addicted addict in the throes of his habit.

Significance The second volume of King's career-spanning Dark Tower saga (1987), it first knits the series into his wider canon by drawing its characters from "our" New York; the Donald M. Grant first edition with Phil Hale illustrations is a prized collector's run.

Is this the true first?Yes — this title is a hardcover small-press first from Donald M. Grant; there is no preceding trade-publisher hardcover. Grant issued it in two simultaneous 1987 hardcover formats: a signed/numbered slipcased limited (850 copies total, 800 numbered for sale) and a much larger trade hardcover (30,000 copies). Both are hardcover; there was no earlier paperback or other-publisher edition. (The NAL/Plume trade paperback and the later mass-market are reprints that followed.) IMPORTANT BINDING CORRECTION (vs draft): the two issues do NOT share a binding — the trade is black cloth stamped in gilt on the spine; the limited is publisher's WHITE cloth stamped in CRIMSON, housed in a slipcase.
The TRUE first edition is the Donald M. Grant SIGNED LIMITED — 850 copies total, of which 800 are NUMBERED copies offered for sale (plus ~40 'Author's Copy', ~10 'Artist's Copy', 12 'Publisher's Copy', and an undetermined number of 'Presentation Copy'). It is slipcased and signed by Stephen King AND illustrator Phil Hale, issued simultaneously in 1987 with — and bibliographically superior to — the 30,000-copy Grant trade hardcover. Both issues are dated 1987 and both state 'FIRST EDITION,' but the limited is the premium true first; the trade is the first TRADE edition (a legitimate first edition/first printing in its own right, just not the rarest issue). Collectors treat the limited as a keystone of the matched Dark Tower limited set. Note: unlike Dark Tower I (The Gunslinger, where the 1982 Grant limited preceded a later trade), here both Grant issues are 1987 and concurrent. CORRECTION vs draft: the limited is '850 numbered copies' only loosely — precisely it is 850 TOTAL with 800 NUMBERED for sale.

I own a copy of this title

My notes — condition, state, price intact, is it a book-club copy?

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statementCopyright page reads 'FIRST EDITION' (both the limited and the trade carry this statement). Grant trade firsts of this title are identified by the 'FIRST EDITION' statement on the copyright page plus the $35.00 jacket price; there is no descending number line. Later trade printings drop or alter the statement and were not slipcased. (Dealers phrase it 'Stated First Edition' / 'FIRST EDITION as stated on the copyright page.')

Number lineNo number line. Grant trade and limited firsts identify by the printed 'FIRST EDITION' statement on the copyright page rather than a descending 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 row. Presence of any 'Second Printing' or similar later statement = not a first.

Gutter / printer codeN/A — Donald M. Grant did not use Doubleday-style gutter/printer codes. Identify by the 'FIRST EDITION' statement and jacket price instead.

First printing — copies30,000 copies (trade first edition). Issued simultaneously with a deluxe signed/numbered LIMITED edition of 850 slipcased copies (800 offered for sale, 50 retained), signed by Stephen King and illustrator Phil Hale. accepted figure

First jacket price$35.00 (trade hardcover, first-state jacket). The signed/numbered limited edition was issued at $100.00 (per draft; the limited's dust jacket is conventionally unclipped — the exact printed limited-jacket price is less consistently quoted by dealers than the $35 trade price). (Front dust-jacket flap, upper area — dealers describe it as 'the correct $35 trade price on the front flap' and 'on the upper dust-jacket corner (not price clipped).' A price-clipped flap hides this and reduces value; first-state copies are un-clipped.)

Board (panel) colorTRADE: black cloth / black paper-covered boards (full cloth). LIMITED: publisher's WHITE cloth (a different binding entirely — correction vs draft, which wrongly stated the limited shares the trade's black binding).

Spine / center bindingTRADE: black cloth spine stamped/lettered in GILT (gold). Dealer descriptions of the trade spine stamping vary — most say 'gilt'/'gold,' some say 'copper' or 'bronze gilt' — so the draft's flat 'bronze (copper-gold)' is one of several dealer phrasings, not the canonical one; gilt/gold is the dominant description. Full-cloth binding, not quarter-bound. LIMITED: white cloth spine stamped in CRIMSON. NOTE: the trade's spine lettering and the jacket spine are prone to fading on this title — faded spines are common and not, by themselves, evidence of a later printing.

Binding styleTRADE: full black cloth over boards, sewn (Grant hardcover production), no slipcase as issued. LIMITED: full WHITE cloth over boards, sewn, housed in a publisher's slipcase. The two issues are bound in different cloth/stamping colors (black/gilt vs white/crimson) — they are NOT the same binding as the draft claimed.

Topstain / endpapersPictorial (illustrated) endpapers, both issues. Topstain: UNVERIFIED (no distinctive topstain noted across dealer/collector sources).

Where to buy marker-checked

Live AbeBooks listings, checked against the seller's own photos. ✓ confirmed = a photo shows the decisive first-printing marker; cover only = ask the seller for the copyright-page shot before buying.

✓ 1st/1st confirmed$295Aesthetes Eye Booksunclipped — front flap reads 'Trade Edition $35.00' (and 'Deluxe Edition $100.00'); price flap fully present. Confirmed Donald M. Grant TRADE first ed ✓ 1st/1st confirmed$325Peryton Booksjacket price intact (not clipped); seller states 'Fine with price intact'. Confirmed GRANT TRADE FIRST (1st edition / 1st printing), 1987, black cloth ✓ 1st/1st confirmed$395ivy mountain booksjacket price present and unclipped — '$35.00' trade price legible on back-panel block (img 2); no clipping visible. Genuine Grant trade first edition,cover only — verify$300Capitol Hill BooksJacket flap NOT photographed; seller TEXT says 'unclipped dust jacket' but the $35.00 trade-flap price is not visible in any image (cannot confirm unc

Dust jacket

Dust jacket reproduces Phil Hale cover art (Roland / Dark Tower imagery) with title and author lettering; the book contains 10 full-page color plates by Hale plus pictorial endpapers. Glossy/laminated dustwrapper noted by some dealers. Exact front/back-panel art layout and any author photo: described generally across dealer listings; precise back-panel/flap copy UNVERIFIED in detail.

Art / design: Phil Hale (illustrator; 10 full-page color illustrations and jacket art). Jacket designer/typography credit UNVERIFIED.

https://www.burnsiderarebooks.com/pages/books/140942067/stephen-king/the-dark-tower-ii-the-drawing-of-the-three

https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-dark-tower-2-drawing-of-three-first-edition-first-printing-fine-fine/

https://secure.grantbooks.com/product/dark-tower-ii-drawing-of-three/

Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyNo Book-of-the-Month / Doubleday-style book-club edition of this Grant title is documented. The relevant 'cheaper issue' confusion is instead with later reprints: the NAL/Plume trade paperback and the NAL mass-market paperback (smaller trim, glued/perfect-bound, no slipcase, no Grant 'FIRST EDITION' copyright page, paperback covers). Any copy lacking the black cloth + gilt spine, the 'FIRST EDITION' statement, and the Phil Hale color plates is not the Grant trade first; the limited additionally must show WHITE cloth + crimson stamping, slipcase, dual King+Hale signatures, and a number (1–800). Watch for the limited's slipcase married to a trade copy — easy to spot because the trade book is black-bound while the genuine limited book is white-bound, so a black-cloth book in a 'limited' slipcase is a tell of a married/fake limited.

Also watch for: (1) Married editions — most notably a BLACK-cloth trade book placed in a limited-edition slipcase (the genuine limited book is WHITE cloth, so a black book in a limited slipcase is an immediate red flag); also a limited book sold without its slipcase. Verify the white cloth/crimson stamping, the number (1–800), and BOTH signatures (King + Hale). (2) Price-clipped jackets — hide the $35 point and lower value. (3) Spine-faded jackets sold as 'later printing' — fading is normal here, not a printing tell. (4) Reprint paperbacks (Plume/NAL) misrepresented as the 'first.' (5) Ex-library copies (stamps, pockets, spine labels) and remainder marks — sharply reduce value. (6) Restored/recased copies and facsimile/reproduction jackets — confirm the jacket is original first-state with correct flap price. (7) A Hale-only signed TRADE copy (Grant signed leftover stock) misrepresented as the King+Hale signed/numbered LIMITED — the trade is black-bound, unnumbered, and lacks King's signature. (8) Forged King or Hale signatures on trade copies.

Print run & scarcity

Figures are consistently cited across Grant-trade dealer descriptions and King-collector references: 30,000 trade hardcovers (black cloth, gilt titling, $35 jacket) plus 850 limited (white cloth, crimson stamping, slipcase + wrapper, signed by King + Hale). Within the 850 limited, copies #1–500 carry a premium because Dark Tower I (The Gunslinger) had a 500-copy limited, so collectors chase matched number sets. The 30,000 trade figure is the documented first-printing count; no separate sub-figure for first-vs-later trade printings is published, but later trade printings exist (lack the stated "FIRST EDITION" / altered number line) and are worth a fraction.

First-state points & errata

No widely catalogued textual erratum or state-change point separates first-state first printings of this title (unlike some Doubleday Kings). The principal first-issue points are presentation, not text: the 'FIRST EDITION' statement on the copyright page and the correct, un-clipped jacket price ($35.00 trade; limited issued unclipped). The 10 full-page Phil Hale color plates and pictorial endpapers are present in both issues. UNVERIFIED whether any printer's typo distinguishes states.

Limited & signed editions

Donald M. Grant signed limited, 1987: 850 copies TOTAL, of which 800 are NUMBERED copies offered for sale; binding is publisher's WHITE cloth stamped in CRIMSON, slipcased, SIGNED by Stephen King AND Phil Hale. Within the 850: ~40 marked 'Author's Copy,' ~10 'Artist's Copy,' 12 'Publisher's Copy,' and an undetermined number of 'Presentation Copy.' This is the premium true first. (Trade hardcover 30,000 copies, $35, black cloth/gilt, not signed as issued — though Grant later signed some remaining trade copies with Phil Hale ONLY, so a Hale-only signed TRADE copy exists and should not be confused with the King+Hale signed/numbered LIMITED.) No traycased/lettered Grant variant of this individual volume is documented in sources; lettered/super-limited matched-set programs exist for the Dark Tower run generally — UNVERIFIED for vol. II specifically.

Market value estimate

~$250–$500

Assumes a genuine first edition / first printing in near-fine to fine condition (clean copy, unclipped jacket). Lesser condition is worth less.

No confirmed sale found, so this is rated at no less than its original jacket price — a true first/first should hold at least retail in near-fine/fine condition. Soft estimate from dealer listings (treat as approximate): $250–500 (genuine trade first, fine/fine, $35 jacket UNCLIPPED, full number line). Add-on context: the SIGNED/NUMBERED LIMITED (of 850) is the high-value object at ~$1,200–3,000+.

Book-club edition (the trap): No true Book-of-the-Month/book-club edition exists for the 1987 Grant first — this title was NOT a BOMC selection the way King's Viking/Doubleday trade novels were, so the classic blind-stamp BCE trap is largely absent. The real "trap" cheap copies are: the 1989 NAL/Plume TRADE PAPERBACK (~$10–25), the 2003 revised Viking/Penguin hardcover (~$15–40), later Grant printings, and ex-library/price-clipped jacket copies (~$40–100). Treat anything under ~$150 claiming "1987 first" as one of these. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

CONDITION: This is a 1987 book in glossy pictorial boards/jacket, so a true FINE/FINE unclipped copy is genuinely common (large 30k run, often bought-to-keep by collectors) — which CAPS the trade-first value at a few hundred dollars even pristine; reading copies/foxed-jacket/sunned-spine copies drop to $80–150. SIGNED/INSCRIBED: a King signature on a TRADE first is a meaningful premium (~$600–1,200+) but watch for forgeries and for signatures lifted onto the wrong (later) printing. The SINGLE BIGGEST DIFFERENTIATOR for THIS title: do NOT look for a Doubleday gutter code — that points the appraiser at the WRONG book. The Drawing of the Three was published by Grant ALONE (no Doubleday trade tie; that gutter-code point belongs to Dark Tower I / The Gunslinger). The genuine 1987 Grant trade first is confirmed by THREE points together: (1) "FIRST EDITION" stated on the copyright page, (2) the full number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2", and (3) the original $35.00 price intact (UNCLIPPED) on the front jacket flap. Price-clipped or facsimile/married-jacket copies, and copies missing the stated-first/number-line, are the mislisted "firsts" flooding AbeBooks/eBay asking listings — discount them hard.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: CORRECTIONS vs draft (sources preferred): (1) BINDING — draft claimed the limited shares the trade's 'black cloth + bronze spine' / 'same binding.' WRONG. Independent sources (AbeBooks dealer aggregate, HobbyLark, ABAA, Heritage) consistently describe the LIMITED as 'publisher's white cloth stamped in crimson,' distinct from the trade's black cloth. Corrected boardColor/spineColor/bindingStyle and added a married-edition tell (black book in a limited slipcase = fake). (2) SPINE STAMP COLOR — draft asserted 'bronze (copper-gold)' as definitive for the trade; dealers actually split between 'gilt'/'gold' (dominant), 'copper,' and 'bronze gilt.' Reframed as gilt/gold-dominant with variance noted. (3) LIMITED COUNT — draft said '850 numbered copies'; precisely it is 850 TOTAL, 800 NUMBERED for sale (plus author/artist/publisher/presentation copies). Corrected in trueFirstEdition/limitedEditions. (4) Added that Grant signed some leftover TRADE copies with Phil Hale ONLY (per grantbooks.com), creating a Hale-signed trade that must not be confused with the King+Hale signed/numbered limited — new fake-caution. CONFIRMED unchanged: $35 trade jacket price + front-flap location + 'FIRST EDITION' statement (Burnside, VeryFineBooks, AbeBooks, Biblio, HobbyLark); no Grant gutter code and no number line; black cloth/gilt trade spine; 10 Phil Hale plates; pictorial endpapers; ~30,000 trade run; ISBN 0-937986-91-7. NEW independent sources added beyond the draft set: Biblio (biblio.com/9780937986912), HobbyLark King-first-editions guide, ABAA listing, Heritage Auctions deluxe-edition lot, and a second Burnside listing for the 'Publisher's Copy' limited.

confidence: High on: publisher, 1987, 'FIRST EDITION' statement with no number line, $35 trade jacket price on the front flap, trade = black cloth with gilt spine, limited = WHITE cloth stamped in CRIMSON / slipcased / signed by King + Hale, 850 total with 800 numbered for sale, ~30,000 trade run, 10 Phil Hale color plates, pictorial endpapers, ISBN 0-937986-91-7 — each cross-confirmed across two or more independent dealer/collector/auction sources. Medium: exact trade spine-stamp color word (gilt/gold vs copper/bronze — dealers disagree). Lower confidence (UNVERIFIED): topstain color, exact jacket back-panel layout, any textual erratum, the printed limited-jacket price ($100 per draft, not consistently quoted), and whether a lettered/traycased super-limited exists for this specific volume.← Back to all titles