Limited Editions of Noctuary and Grimscribe?

[Chymist]

I recently purchased online the hardcover firsts (Carroll & Graf) of _Grimscribe_ and _Noctuary_, which were advertised as being signed by Ligotti. When I received the books, I found the autographs were on laid-in, illustrated sheets. [_Grimscribe_ has a scene of cowled figures dancing around flames (?), whereas the _Noctuary_ sheet has a Virgil Finlay illustration of ghoulish creatures surrounded by bubbles (again, ?)].

Does anyone know the history of these sheets -- were they issued by the publisher, by Ligotti, by some fans? They're nice to have, but almost as mysterious as the stories themselves...

Mike

[Dr. Bantham]

Unless I am mistaken, I believe there are no limited editions of NOCTURARY and GRIMSCRIBE. While I am not sure of the number of printings and quantities of each, they may well be the most easily obtainable of hard cover Ligotti collections.

As for the inlay sheets, they may have actually been dropped in at a later date. The only book to have been released with a a similar method was MWINYD, which features a signed bookplate. Apparently Tom has periodically made these available to limited parties over the years, to be presented with various books. I am making several assumptions herein based exclusively on market observations. If anyone out there can enlighten us further, please do so.

True signed copies of these two books seem have been available in surprising quantities since publication, certainly when compared to limited editions. I am not certain if this was performed directly upon release, or later through Tom's cooperation with booksellers. In any event, I would certainly not undervalue these books. The unique flavor of the inlay sheets alone makes them quite desirable, in my opinion. Give us a scan, if you can. There is an online gallery being constructed at the moment, and these scans would certainly warrant inclusion therein. Are they full sized sheets or card sized?

	MWINYD My Work Is Not Yet Done

[The Silent One]

What?! Amazing! And still, envy!

[Forrest Jackson]

I've observed the signed bookplate with the Virgil Finlay illustration. If I recall correctly, it measured approx. 5.5 X 4.25 inches. It was for sale about 8 years ago at Larry McMurtry's Booked Up in Archer City, TX.

Speaking of book selling, is it permissible for me to advertise in the forum? I have duplicates of some autographed titles...

FJ

[Ascrobius]

The signed bookplate in Grimscribe was, to Tom's best recollection, designed by Harry O. Morris. Tom had sent out a fairly large quantity of the HC variations of those books and the signed bookplates to an online vendor who shall remain nameless, not because they did anything they shouldn't have done, just because it's not necessary to name the entity. Then, over time, they began being bought through said vendor and, hence, being sold by other people, vendors and on Ebay, as "signed" by virtue of the fact that they came with the signed bookplate laid in. Even though it's clearly not a "signed" variant of either book, it's worth owning a) for the great book and what's contained within, and b), for the cool bookplate(s) with Tom's signature on it and the nifty graphics on them. Personally, I like the Grimscribe illustration best. It looks like demons being conjured from the darkest reaches of the abyss...how appropriate.

(sorry for the crummy pictures. I just snapped them quickly with my pocket digital)
Here they both are;

[gveranon]

Project for an obsessive. Someone who has access to a number of samples of Ligotti autographs over the years could write a detailed monograph on the gradual evolution of Ligotti's signature from what was still essentially a scrawled name (with stylized flourishes) to the perfected line-art logogram of recent years. Scholarly fame is yours for the taking!

[Ascrobius]

I have on the order of 90 to 100 signatures and probably 50 to 60 inscriptions. Most of those inscriptions are to me, but a whole lot are books or other items that were originally inscribed to others that I ended up acquiring. I also have a good deal of handwriting samples in general as I have a lot of notes or other various things Tom has scrawled for one reason or another. I have thought about cataloging them some day just for the purposes you've stated, and I have images or scans of many or most of them . The look of his signature has changed considerably over time, something he and I have discussed. Sometimes, it's just about where in the order a signature was made, such as at the end of a string of them, when they tend to get sloppy or you see economy of motion becoming a factor and the signature becomes less defined, or more poorly articulated as the hand gets tired. Over time, his signature has changed quite alot for other reasons as well. In fact, I have examples of signatures that almost look like they were signed by someone else. I know they were his because I had some questionable ones verified by him, and a long discussion about signing things ensued. In essence, and needless to say, his state of mind also affected the qualities of his signatures.

[gveranon]

Quote Originally Posted by Ascrobius

The look of his signature has changed considerably over time, something he and I have discussed. Sometimes, it's just about where in the order a signature was made, such as at the end of a string of them, when they tend to get sloppy or you see economy of motion becoming a factor and the signature becomes less defined, or more poorly articulated as the hand gets tired. Over time, his signature has changed quite alot for other reasons as well. In fact, I have examples of signatures that almost look like they were signed by someone else. I know they were his because I had some questionable ones verified by him, and a long discussion about signing things ensued. In essence, and needless to say, his state of mind also affected the qualities of his signatures.

There you go, messing up my theory with facts! In truth I haven't seen very many examples of Ligotti's signature, and I first got the half-baked idea about its gradual evolution based on only two instances of it in books that I own: the first in TAROVFAOGT and the second on a bookplate in MWINYD. I was taken with the almost abstract character and careful rendering of the latter autograph, which seemed like a distillation of characteristics already present in the former, more normally-scrawled autograph . A few other examples posted here on TLO seemed to confirm my "gradual evolution" theory, so naturally I couldn't help but share it with the world. Whatever the facts about how the signature in my copy of MWINYD came about, I do find it to be quite striking. I don't remember seeing another writer's autograph that looked like that. It looks more like the signature of a visual artist -- an abstract logographic design such as you might see in the corner of a painting or drawing.

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE

	TAROVFAOGT The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein and Other Gothic Tales

	MWINYD My Work Is Not Yet Done

[Ascrobius]

Just for ha-ha's, here's the most recent exemplar of Tom's signature and a rather interesting and very, well, Ligottian inscription as well.

[Cyril Tourneur]

be afraid, Tim.....in a year Im living in the states and once I get your address