Glossary and book collecting commentary #

To keep it true to Dune, it’s best to start with a glossary and these are the basics:

boards: the front and back cover of a hardcover book (typically cardboard covered in cloth, paper, or leather). These need to be in good shape (i.e. not bent or bowed) but they could be bumped (ends are damaged) and definitely attached. If the boards are detached, it significantly devalues the book. In addition, cloth covering the boards can wear over time so always check the bottom of the boards (where it touches the shelf) for any damage. Reattached boards are also going to devalue the book so watch for creases or repairs (ex: new leather or paper that doesn’t match the original).

book club edition or BCE: are specific editions published for book clubs. These are often of lesser value even though they look very similar to the first edition and are often published by the same publisher and even same publication year as the original. You can tell a book is BCE if it says “Book Club Edition” or “BCE” somewhere in the book like the dust jacket and the copyright page.

copyright page: the page that has the full book title, copyright year, publisher information, printing history, ISBN or equivalent, and printer’s key for any modern books (after 1950s and a standard since 1980s). This is the most important page in the book as far as judging its value before looking at all other attributes. If you can’t read the printer’s key properly, you could be paying many times more than you normally would. Even one number difference can mean the value of the book is less than half of what it would be normally. Anytime you’re buying an expensive/collectable book, always ask for a full picture of the entire copyright page. For older books (200+ years), this is generally referred to as the title page (i.e. location of the book title) and you’re looking for the edition (ex: first edition). For even older books (400+), this is often called the frontispiece and you also need to check the colophon (which needs to match the title page) and it’s usually the last page of the book.

dust jacket or DJ: a paper cover for the book. DJ’s are often very collectible and the value of the overall book is always decreased if the DJ is missing or damaged. There are many allowances for DJ damage for the highly desired books but the price will always favor better quality. However, use some common sense because DJ’s can be reprinted. If a book is older (50+ years) and the book itself has some damage while the DJ is like it was printed yesterday then it’s likely it’s a reprint DJ and not the original. All reprinted DJ’s are required to be slightly different from the originals to avoid fraud so make sure you know all points of all books you’re collecting. The part of the DJ that folds inside the book is called the flap. I also highly recommend that you protect your books with an acid-free polyester cover over the DJ and I buy my covers at Brodart (disclosure: I am not affiliated with Brodart).

first edition: the first publication of the book by the original publisher. These tend to be the most valuable editions as opposed to second or subsequent editions which could be printed by the same publisher with the story slightly revised. Revisions could be a small rewrite of text, though it often involves fixing typographical or grammatical errors.

first print: this is the first print run of the first edition and is almost always the most valuable version. The price difference between subsequent runs can more than double the price of the book not only because it’s the original printing but also because subsequent printings often increase in how many are printed for that run, thereby decreasing scarcity and the price. Note that sometimes books are referred to as “first edition” when they really mean first print and vice versa. Many unscrupulous people sell “first edition” books that are really subsequent printings. Technically it is a first edition but if you don’t know the difference, you would be paying more than its actual value if you compare it to a first printing. The word “printing” is sometimes exchanged for “impression” (ex: third impression) or state (ex: second state or mixed state), though book collectors/sellers often use the phrase “first/first” or “f/f” to imply first edition AND first printing.

foxing: age-related marks which decreases the value of the book and it’s a red-brown stain in the books that resembles a fox in color. Another term that you might find in older books (200+ years old) is worming when you had various insects damage your books. Obviously this devalues the book but a lot depends if the foxing or worming affects the text where the value lost is greater if it damages the text. There is also some leeway that relates to the age of the book. A 400-year old book is expected to have some damage due to age. A 100-year old book has a lower tolerance for the same damage.

price-clipped: the part of the DJ that has the price (usually on the flap) has been cut off (usually diagonally). Although this lowers the price of the book, you should note that sometimes the missing piece was intentionally removed to inflate the price of the book. For instance, the Dune DJ could be clipped on top and bottom where the bottom flap says “Book Club Edition” as opposed to a true first edition DJ. If there’s no evidence for any first edition points, you should assume the damage is intentional to drive up the price.

rebacked: this is when the spine or boards are repaired, often extensively. If they’re rebacked with the original spine/boards then this is obviously better than replacement spine or boards. I’ve seen book values drop by over 50% even if they’re rebacked with the original materials. The seller should say this and you can tell if you closely examine the space between the boards and the spine. Look for mismatched colors, paints, or even age of the materials.

signed: when the book is signed by the author, though it could also be signed by the illustrator. I personally frown upon buying signed books because there are many forgeries. However, Frank Herbert has a very specific style: he personally crosses out his printed name in the book and signs it below. Buyer beware.

spine: the actual spine of the book and, like a human spine, it’s a critical component of the book that holds it all together. It needs to not be split or broken and should be one solid piece. It should also be attached to both the boards and the book itself. All of the modern books (within the last 200 years or so) typically have the title on the spine so damage to the spine devalues the book more if it affects the text or illustration on the spine. It’s normal to find damage on the bottom of the spine similar to damage to the boards. The spine is also where you see more of the structural damage since opening the book any more than 120 degrees can damage the spine over time. This book makes me think of this. This is particularly true of any softcover books whose spine can have creases even during your initial reading.

That said, let’s jump into the last three Dune books by Frank Herbert. A quick word on prices for Dune books… the first book – Dune – has the highest price and it’s one of the highest priced science fiction books you can purchase. Its sequel, Dune Messiah, is actually often priced slightly lower than the third book, Children of Dune, due to its relative length and the high accolades associated with Children of Dune (more on that later). The three subsequent books listed below are very reasonably priced with good copies available at or below $100 and prices dropping off even more for the last book. The prices I will be discussing are general prices I’ve seen for first/first books in good condition that are not signed. This means that if you see them are prices below what I’ve listed, it’s possible that it’s a good value but you need to check to verify that all the first edition/printing points are there and check the overall condition of the book. In addition, prices fluctuate and a good condition of Dune first/first tends to go up in value over the decades, so keep that in mind.

Now let’s start from the last Dune book written by Frank Herbert and keep going back in time until we get to the final prize – Dune itself.

Children of Dune and Dune Messiah #

Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) #

Chapterhouse: Dune was the last of the six books written by Frank Herbert before his death in 1986 and published by Putnam Publishing. Putnam published all Frank Herbert’s books except the original Dune which was published by Chilton Books. The cover was designed by John Schoenherr who has worked on many of the Dune books and the illustration represents the no-ship that was invisible to prescience. Like all six books, it has a dust jacket.

The first edition, first printing of the book must be a hardcover with sand-colored boards with a brown spine, the artwork mentioned above, the 1985 copyright year, the ISBN: 0-399-13027-6, and it is the only Dune book with a printer’s key which should be on the bottom and have all numbers starting from 1 through 10 increasing from left to right. The same ISBN is on the back cover of the DJ and on the DJ front flap along with the $17.95 price and number 8504 on the bottom left. If you do not see these elements, it is not a first edition, first printing of the book. This book is one of the most affordable editions considering how new it is compared to the other five books and you can buy this for under $50 in good condition with many listings for $20-30.

Heretics of Dune (1984) #

Heretics of Dune is the 5th book in the series. The cover was designed by Abe Echevarria as opposed to John Schoenherr.

The first edition, first printing must be a hardcover with the same sand/brown color scheme of Chapterhouse: Dune. Just a reminder that this book and all other older Dune books do not have a printer’s key. You’re looking for the ISBN 0-399-12898-0 which is printed on the copyright page and on the back of the DJ. It’s also on the front DJ on the flap along with a $16.95 price and the number 8404 on the bottom and the 1984 copyright year. The above gives you just the first edition points. For the first print point, you’re looking for absence of an impression. The last line on the copyright page should say “Printed in the United States of America”. Anything below that would mean it’s not the first impression/printing and it would only say what printing it is. For instance, it can say “Second Impression” to show that it’s a second printing. If there’s nothing then it’s a first edition, first print. The book is a bit more expensive than Chapterhouse: Dune as far as price and you usually find it priced at around $40-80.

God Emperor of Dune (1981) #

God Emperor of Dune is the fourth book in the Dune series which starts the second trilogy. The cover is of Leto II, the God Emperor, designed by Brad Holland.

The first edition, first printing must be a hardcover with a black spine and dark gray boards. On the DJ, you’re looking for the $12.95 price, the number 8105 on the bottom left and “SBN 399-12593-0” on the bottom right of the front flap. On the copyright page, you’re looking for ISBN 0-399-12593-0, and the 1981 copyright year. For a confirmation of the first printing, any subsequent impressions are going to be listed above the “Copyright (c) 1981 by Frank Herbert” which would otherwise be the first line on the copyright page. If the first line is the copyright then you have the first printing. The price range for this book is similar to Heretics of Dune at about $50-100.

Children of Dune #

Children of Dune, like quite a bit of science fiction in the mid-20th century, was first published as a serial in a science fiction magazine. Children of Dune was published in four parts in a magazine called Analog Science Fiction and Fact (Analog for short) which began its run in 1930 and it continues to this day. Children of Dune ran from January through April, 1976 and was well-received. Due to its popularity in Analog and based on the previous sales of Dune and Dune Messiah, Putnam published the entire story as a hardcover book in 1976. It initially sold over 75,000 copies which made Children of Dune the first ever “best-seller in science fiction” hardcover book on the market. “Best seller” in this case means the volume of books sold in the initial run as opposed to combined books sold over the decades (more on that in another post).

The cover for the book, illustrated by Bruce Pennington, confirms the end of the original trilogy that began with Dune.

First Edition #

The first edition, first printing of the book would have the dust jacket with the $8.95 price, the number 7604 on the bottom left, and “SBN 399-11697-4” on the bottom right of the front flap. Both the boards and spine are red in color. Note that the BCE editions come into play for Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune. A BCE edition would say “Book Club Edition” on the DJ flap without the price or the numbers and the copyright page would not have any ISBN listed. A first edition would have the 1976 copyright. The first printing would not say anything about an impression and it won’t repeat the “SBN 399-11697-4” text on the copyright page. Similar to the sequels, subsequent printings (there were 11 printings total) would usually state the impression and the text would appear between “by Longman Canada Limited, Toronto” and “Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data”. It’s possible that a second printing would not say “second impression” and then you’d match $14.95 price on the DJ and the board color which will be black. There is no special collectors value in this second impression as far as a higher price. The code “SBN 399-11697-4” exists in the 4th through 11th printings below the impression text. Unlike the last three books, Children of Dune is where prices begin to rise and a good price would be in the $250-500 range.

Magazines #

The pre-book Analog magazines are shockingly cheap and you can buy all four magazines for $20-$40 total. However, the magazines are called “pulp magazines” and the quality of the editions are going to be far from ideal. It’s called pulp fiction because it’s using cheap wood pulp which is thin, flimsy, will yellow and the covers will wrinkle, and it won’t hold up if it’s mistreated. However, the spines last better because it’s just stapled together as opposed to sewn/glued for the books.

Dune Messiah #

Like Children of Dune, Dune Messiah was also published first in a pulp fiction magazine. However, unlike Children of Dune which was published by Analog, Dune Messiah was published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine (Galaxy for short) which ran from 1950 to 1980. For those curious about Galaxy, it also published Ray Bradbury’s The Fireman (precursor to Fahrenheit 451) along other famous mid-20th century science fiction writers. Dune Messiah was split into 5 magazine issues between July through November, 1969.

Due to the popularity of Dune, Frank Herbert was able to get Dune Messiah published by Putnam Publishing in 1969. It was the first Dune book they published but it won’t be the last since they published the next four books. Dune Messiah was the smallest book by all measures – it’s the shortest and also the smallest by physical dimensions. The cover was designed by Jack Gaughan while the spine and boards are brown in color. The cover is interesting and shows Paul after he was blinded by the stone burner.

First Edition #

The first edition, first printing would have the $4.95 price tag on top right of the front DJ flap and the number 6910 on the bottom. A BCE edition would explicitly state “Book Club Edition” on the DJ and the book boards and spine are red instead of brown. Note that there is NO difference between a first printing and BCE edition on the copyright page so note the board/spine color. Like Children of Dune, the first printing would not mention an impression. Subsequent printings would say something like “Sixth Impression” below the last line on top that says “1969 by Galaxy Publishing Corporation.” Dune Messiah is priced at about $350-500 which is similar to Children of Dune. I believe the similar pricing is due to the difference in size between the Dune Messiah and Children of Dune – 256 vs. 444 pages respectively – and the record Children of Dune set as the first ever best-seller science fiction hardcover book on the market. These two attributes likely increased the price of Children of Dune to be on par with Dune Messiah.

Dune Messiah had 9 printings of the first edition. Second through ninth printings have printing number as the last line on the copyright page on top (ex: “Second Impression”). The price changes from $4.95 to $14.95 for the second printing, drops to $7.95 for the third printing (which now has brown boards), $17.95 for the sixth printing (which now has black/grey boards), and $18.95 for the eighth printing onward.

Magazines #

The pre-book Galaxy magazines would be priced about $75-150 depending on condition but just a reminder that they’re called “pulp fiction” for a reason – they’re made of cheap wood pulp and need to be handled carefully.

Dune #

Like Children of Dune and Dune Messiah, Dune was originally published in a pulp magazine and, like Children of Dune, Frank Herbert initially published it in Analog. However, Dune had some issues getting developed and this explains why it’s the only one of the Frank Herbert’s six Dune books that has any chapters. The initial run in Analog was a 3-magazine serial called “Dune World” which ran from December, 1963 through February, 1964. This was later reformatted into the first chapter of the Dune novel called just “Dune”. After taking a year to develop the story and to slow it down a bit, the last five-magazine series was published between January through May, 1965. This second run was split into “Muad’dib” and “The Prophet” which correspond to the next two chapters of Dune.

I think many of us know what happened next – Frank Herbert tried to publish this into one novel and was rejected a few dozen times until Chilton Books accepted and published his book in August, 1965. Chilton Books wasn’t known for publishing novels – they mostly published trade magazines and car manuals. The only other science-fiction book they published was The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz in 1966 which wasn’t as successful as Dune by far. Fun fact: Tom Doherty, founder of Tor Books, wanted to publish it but his boss at the time, Simon & Schuster, wasn’t convinced. Tor Books wound up publishing all but the first three of the modern Dune books written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Frank Herbert got his break with a guy named Sterling Lanier at Chilton who wanted to take a chance and the old joke is that Frank thought about renaming Dune to “How to Repair Your Ornithopter”. Unfortunately, the original book release didn’t do so well. $5.95 doesn’t sound like a lot but that’s an equivalent of about $50 today which is a bit steep for an unknown book by a publishing company that usually prints something entirely different. It was written off as a failure and Mr. Lanier was fired. His copy with personal notes just sold for $12,500 last week. The critics didn’t help since everyone was expecting space battles in science fiction and here comes a book that requires some thinking and is passionately against using robots. It was only when the book came out in a much cheaper paperback that it got a following. This is also one of the reasons why Analog refused to publish Dune Messiah – it was worried that the sales would be lagging considering the failure of Dune at the time of publication.

First Edition #

Considering how prized Dune is, there are various points to list and note that Dune has a special first printing DJ which will also be described. In addition, there were only 2,200 copies printed in the initial run so the number of books that survived at all is low and the number of books that are in good condition is even less. The fastest way to tell if the book is a first edition is to look at the color of the boards or the spine. The genuine first edition, first printing will have blue boards while the BCE edition will be red. There’s a disturbing amount of sellers who try to hide the board color in hoping of getting a sale. Both the DJ and the spine will have 5077 and “Chilton” on the bottom. The cover, designed by John Schoenherr, was actually taken from the January, 1965 Analog cover and shows Paul and Jessica escaping the worm in the open desert. The BCE DJ will say “Book Club Edition” on the bottom of the front flap. Also – and this is not obvious – but the book and the cover image is actually slightly resized in the BCE vs. the first edition. The true first edition is 9.06″ x 5.91″ (23cm x 15cm) while BCE is 8.47″ x 5.71″ (21.5cm x 14.5cm). The author’s name, “Frank Herbert” has also been shifted to the left more in the BCE edition.

To continue on with the DJ, there are two DJ’s for the first edition. They will both have the $5.95 price on top of the front flap, however the first printing version of the DJ will have a black line on the back flap between “CHILTON BOOKS” and “A division of Chilton Company”. Subsequent DJ will not have a line and will say “CHILTON BOOK COMPANY” instead, followed by “Philadelphia New York London” on the next line. The fastest way to tell is to look for the line which is black and spans the entire width of “CHILTON BOOKS”.

The first edition, first printing of the Dune book will say “First Edition” below the first line on the copyright page which has the “Copyright (c) 1965 Frank Herbert” while subsequent printings will still say “First Edition” followed by the the list of all printings. For instance, if it’s a third printing, it will list the second printing along with “April, 1968” and then the third printing with “November 1970” underneath. Please note that some sellers mix and match these (likely to defraud you). I sometimes see a first edition, first printing book with a first edition, subsequent printing DJ. The difference in value of the book+DJ is hundreds of dollars so you need to pay attention and mark every point here. Another fun fact about the first edition is that every single printing has a typo in the second chapter name. They all spell it as “Maud’Dib” instead of “Muad’Dib” (second and third letters were transposed). This is fixed in the BCE editions.

So now the big question… how much. I’ve seen several types of listings and sales so I’d like to group them into several categories:

the snobs. These aren’t going to be your typical buyers so the market is a bit costly and prices are steeper. A recent sale was for over $6,000 just for Dune first/first and the signed trilogy just sold for $10k. There are some listings right now that are pricing Dune at $6,000-$7,500 and selling the trilogy – all first/first and signed – for between $9k and $25k.
the low end. It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t know what they’re selling but it does happen. Still, most sellers in this category are often lying to people and successfully selling non-first print DJ’s with first/first books. I’ve also seen some ex-library books being sold for about $500-1,500.
quick note about ex-library books: they’re typically in awful condition because they’ve been handled by hundreds of people. You can quickly tell an ex-library book by two signs: first of all, it’ll have a stamp somewhere with the name of the specific library either on the spine, side of the book somewhere over the pages, and/or on the title page. However, there’s another more subtle sign: you will often see four tape marks on the front and back boards. Libraries often tape DJs to the books so they’re not lost and this tape leaves nasty smudges. It’s very hard to remove and the glue used is often similar to those old computer warranty stickers that are extra sticky and leave residue. Even if you remove it, it’ll leave a mark not to mention discoloration of the book considering it hasn’t been exposed to oxygen and hands for years.
the rest is where you can find a good quality book for more reasonable prices and there you can find Dune first/first starting at $3,000 and I’d say $3k-4k is a good deal but a lot depends on the condition of both the book and the DJ.

Subsequent First Editions #

Here is a list of the various details of the subsequent printings of the first edition. Obviously each printing would result in a lower price but it also depends on the condition.

Second printing (April, 1968): green boards, “Second Printing, April, 1968” stated on the copyright page. ISBN 0-8019-5077-5 now appears on the copyright page. 2,000 copies printed.
Third printing (November, 1970): red boards, “Third Printing, November 1970” stated on the copyright page below “Second Printing, April, 1968” (although it’s not important, note the inconsistent comma between month and year). 3,000 copies printed.
all subsequent printings have red boards and 3,000 copies per printing
Fourth printing (December, 1972): “Fourth Printing, December, 1972” below “Third Printing, November 1970” and “Second Printing, April, 1968” on the copyright page. ISBN 0-8019-5077-5 also on the copyright page.
Fifth through eighth printing: Price changed from $5.95 to $7.95. Publication location changed from “Philadelphia, Ontario” to “Radnor, Pennsylvania” in 5th printing and “Radnor PA, Don Mills” in subsequent printings. ISBN also appears on the front flap. The printer’s key is unusual where you have to pay attention to the first digit and it is as follows:
5th printing: 567890 432109876
6th printing: 67890 43210987
7th printing: 7890 43210987
Eighth printing: 890 43210 and price changed to $10.95
Ninth printing (last of the first edition) has a printer key 9012345 7654321 and price of $12.95

Book Club Edition #

Considering the popularity of the book, I’m going to write out some of the printings of the BCE and some of this was mentioned above. BCE has a slightly resized DJ along with red boards and the DJ would say “Book Club Edition” on the front flap and the rear flap has “Printed in the U.S.A” followed by “1681” on the next line on the bottom. Printings for BCE are marked on the bottom left on the “about the author” page which itself is unnumbered but it’s two pages after the last numbered page, which is page 507. The marking is called a gutter code which has a table of codes. To read the gutter code, first find the letter and match it with the table. Then match the number range to get the month. Here are some editions:

If it shows “47M”, that is the first printing which was in November, 1971 and it’s the most valuable (you can find this at $300+)
39P – September, 1973
18Q – May, 1974
33R – August, 1975
S11 – March, 1977
T16 – April, 1978
W20 – May, 1981
X15 – April, 1982
Y49 – December, 1983 (obviously the least valuable and this is more like $50+)

Magazines #

The pre-book Analog magazines, like the book, also stand out in their high price. There are eight issues total and each issue often sells for $50-150 and I’ve only seen a handful of listings for all the issues together which sell for $300-1,200. I’d like to once again remind everyone that they’re called “pulp fiction” for a reason – they’re made of cheap wood pulp and need to be handled carefully. This also means that you need to check their quality prior to purchase. Quick note that Analog decreased the physical size of their issues so the April and May, 1965 issues are smaller than the rest.

Other Dune editions #

Since Dune is one of the best-selling science fiction books of all time, there are quite a bit of subsequent editions that have come out over the decades. I’ll be focusing on the few key ones that aren’t the first editions. The price ranges are usually lower than the first editions and a lot depends on what you’re looking for as far as quality vs. price.

Softcover. I never recommend for anyone to get softcover books (aka paperbacks) because the paper used is cheaper and will easily yellow over time. In addition, the spine will easily crease (even on your first reading if you’re not careful), and they’re cheap for a reason (lack of value, especially the modern editions). Softcover is good if you want to take the book somewhere outside without worrying too much about damaging it. There is a benefit to the softcover books and that is that you can get the entire original Frank Herbert set without paying much money. It’s difficult to find any other hardcovers of anything other than the first Dune book unless it’s the Book Club Edition. However, if you must get paperback then I have two options:

if you want something authentic from the original illustrator then get the Berkley Publishing set. It’s out of print so you’re looking at Ebay and you often find the individual books and, sometimes, the first trilogy or the second trilogy collectors box sets. Individually, they sell for about $7-15/book and the trilogy is sold for more like $50 since you also get the collectors box. The second trilogy box set is harder to find, especially in good condition.

if you want something new (that also matches the covers better in a more consistent design) then you can get the Ace softcover series. There’s an older set for $60 and a newer one that was released on August 25th for $100, though that price could drop soon.

Dune (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) by Ace. This is the first of the hardcover editions and hardcovers is where I’ll focus most of the recommendations.

This book is the lowest hardcover by quality and it’s available from Barnes & Noble for $25. The leather quality is poor but you can’t tell without a close inspection. It has fake gilt edging and a silk bookmark. It does have the original illustrations by John Schoenherr which is a big plus for those who wanted a more authentic edition.

Dune: Deluxe Edition by Ace

This edition is a higher quality version that’s available on Amazon for $25 which has the cheapest price (it’s $40 otherwise). It has unique illustrations by Matt Griffin which is beautiful but obviously not original to Dune. It has stained edging in a beautiful blue color and a redesigned map of Dune. It also has a gorgeous dust jacket with images on the other side that is indeed beautiful. The spine is gilded (fake) and the front cover has “Fear is the Mind Killer” stamped right on it which is a nice touch. The one thing I don’t like about the book is the map since it’s spread over two pages. This means there’s a nasty crease hiding the center of Dune but this is a minor point.

Folio Society

This edition is something I believe to be the second highest quality of any new edition on the market. Selling for $135 USD, the book also has unique illustrations by Sam Weber. It also has an interesting cover with specs of what I believe to be sand (or stars, or both) speckled on Muad’Dib on the front cover and the spine as well. The cover is made out of buckram which is very stiff cotton which gives you that 3D look. One bonus is it includes a hardcover slipcase to protect it from dust and damage. The map is also on two pages but this is an issue with personal preference and whether it’s an issue for you. There is a $700 edition that’s already sold out (and selling for $1k – $1,800) but considering it has one extra book, an extracted map, a poster, it’s not worth even half the price.

Easton Press

If you want high quality and a long shelf life then I personally recommend getting Easton Press. It’s known for its quality and acid-free pages (which means they’re thicker and won’t yellow over time). It also has a satin bookmark, leather cover, and 22kt gilded pages and gilded stamp on the cover and the spine. The illustrations are the original John Schoenherr images which is a bonus. The book is both gorgeous and meant to last.

There are three editions: one is black and two are red. The red covers are the one that’s more widely listed. This means that the black cover is more expensive because it’s more rare but it’s otherwise the same content. The only difference in the red covers is the extra gold that forms the border but they’re otherwise the same book with the same content and all published in 1987. You can buy the red version for $150-300 but the black version tends to be $400+. Note that Easton Press has been officially sold out of these for over a year and they have no plans on making subsequent publications (I asked). In addition, the red cover without the border is part of a 6-book “Dune Chronicles” set which originally cost $660 but due to scarcity is now at $1,500 – $2,500 for the set. You can often find the other books sold on Ebay but just a reminder that each book originally cost $110 (sealed).

When buying a book, a lot depends on why you’re buying it. Do you want something you can throw into a bag and read on a train or a beach or do you want something that’ll look nice on a bookshelf for a few decades. Are you a fan or a more serious collector? What’s your budget and how will these books look next to everything else. It’s up to you what your preference is and I hope I’ve provided enough information for you to make an educated decision.

Just in case you missed all the image galleries, here they are again: