The Wastelands- Stephen King
Well, its here. One I have worked on now for over 3 years. It’s shocking how long it takes for these to come together for me, and I so respect any book maker that has the patience because that in itself, is truly an artform. THE WASTELANDS is among my top King books of all time and my favorite Dark Tower novel. I knew right away what I wanted to do with this. That took me a year to find and to see a prototype that I was truly happy with. This is something I am beyond proud of!! Please read on about the construction of this Fine Press edition of: THE WASTELANDS.
This Solander Box contains the latest Indy Edition binding of the latest Dark Tower book in the series. The book is bound in camel coloured cowhide and gilded silver on three edges; the front board is inset with a length of ‘oo’ gauge flexible train track on top of which sits a 3D printed model of Blaine The Mono. There are so many components to this story I wanted to hit BUT sadly there was not a way to properly include them. For instance, Shardik was one of my favorite characters from the book, but I could not come up with the proper way to include him as the cover to me is so iconic… that I felt it had to be included above all. Blaine was another fav of mine and I felt the book itself needed to have the feel of him and the journey riding him. We have included bits of rusty machinery to complete the landscape along with hand foiled depictions of Organ pipe cactus, Saguaro cactus and Prickly Pear. The back board is blocked with the silver cross presented to Roland by the citizens of River Crossing. To the left-hand side, is an ornate, multi-layered and intricate wooden panel of the Dutch Hill Mansion Demon, created by world renown artist: Martin Tomsky. Martin, at first, was very apprehensive of taking on this project due to the depth I required and demanded. That particular ‘depth’ was extremely important for me to get that cover artwork to come alive.
After many (I think 6 or 7) porotypes I finally smiled. He did it. He pulled it off. This is not 3D printed and is made from real wood just as the Plaster Man was. If you look carefully, you will find the number 19 hidden somewhere within each of these works of art. Remember, every one of these books will have this little ‘Easter Egg’. The wooden panels are held in place by a magnetic frame to give you the option of displaying the artwork on your wall or shelf, should you wish to do so. I felt this was just such a showpiece that when Emma (who is a design master ON ALL accounts, and I could not do this without her) mentioned why not make it removable I was ALL IN. Giving my customers this option was a no brainer and to remove the panel, lift the magnetic frame using the black ribbon tab, then hold the box over a pillow, or similar soft surface, turn the box upside down and with a bit of gentle jiggling, the panel will drop out. On the back of the panel is an indented rectangular area which will allow you to hang it on a wall hook. The Solander Box is the same style and look as the previous two that you all have in hand. Making them the same is the ONLY way to go. I want this to match on a shelf in terms of design, size and look. You can see the subtle changes on the box, and you can see I did eventually find a place for my little bear friend
Please enjoy the pictures and videos of: THE WASTELANDS BY STEPHEN KING.
The Wastelands
