A (Very) Limited Edition Doctor Who Action Figure

This is the story of a very, very limited edition Doctor Who collectable (there is only one of them) which also happens to be The Best Present In The History Of Presents.

As I have mentioned to almost no-one over the years (really, I hardly ever mention it, ever), I WAS IN DOCTOR WHO ONCE!!

Long story short, I worked for one day as an extra on David Tennant's debut adventure, 'The Christmas Invasion', and am visible in the final scene for very nearly 13 and a half seconds. That's me, top right. I wander across screen, and as I look up at the fallout from the exploded Sycorax ship, I stroke my chin thoughtfully. (This was not in the script by the way; it was all my own work.)

If you want to read a very long two-part account of my day on set, you can do so HERE, but this post is about how my amazing wife Sharon took this fleeting moment of Doctor Who fame (which I may have mentioned to her occasionally) and turned it into the Best Present Ever, for my 50th birthday earlier this year. Here it is:

Isn't that something?

As you can well imagine, I was somewhat overcome when I unwrapped this present (during a Zoom call with my far-flung family, who knew what was coming and wanted to see my expression). Sharon had managed to keep the whole thing, months in the making, totally secret from me. It was a complete and wonderful surprise. 

Once Sharon had had the original idea to create a figure of the Chin-Stroking Man, she co-ordinated with a bunch of people to help bring it into existence. My family helped remember exactly what it was I was wearing that day, down to the colour of my shirt, belt and boots, and the tartan scarf — none of this is actually visible on screen of course, but they got it all dead right. My friends and fellow Whovians Mark, Johnny and Dave were on hand for creative input, including the 'backstory' for the Chin-Stroking Man/Temporal Archivist (originally created by the aforementioned Mark in a not-entirely-serious Outpost Gallifrey post just after the episode's transmission as I recall — seeing my rather relaxed pose, he posited that perhaps this mysterious chin-stroker was another Time Lord...).

Sharon made the (utterly perfect) box entirely by herself, but for the figure, after a key introduction by our mate Steve, she turned to the artist and sculptor Phill Hosking. I emailed Phill to say thank you, and he had this to say:

"I feel like I know you in a strange kind of way. Was a total pleasure to make the piece. I love working on things with meaning, and was great to see it through from idea right through to final painted model. All took a bit of working out with the clothes etc, so glad it was all accurate. Scarf was particularly interesting to paint. Really glad you liked it."

Yes Phill, I do like it. I love it! Phill also kindly shared a bunch of process shots, which I will post below. Sharon gave Phill some photo reference of me to help (as the screen grabs weren't much to go on!), and from the initial digital sculpt, through the 3D printing of the various parts, to the assembly and meticulous hand painting, it's fascinating to see it all come together.

You can find Phill on Instagram, where he posts his stunning art, both 2D and 3D, as eclecto2d and eclecto_3d

Thanks again to everyone who helped create The Best Present Ever, but especially to Sharon. I am a very lucky chap.

DISCLAIMER: In case it is not already blindingly obvious, I should probably point out that the Chin Stroking-Man figure is a one-off piece of celebratory 'fan art', is NOT for sale (and never will be!!!) and all copyrights, logos etc remain with their owners.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's Forgotten Tale of a Lovecraftian Witch Cult. A Limited Edition.

***SOLD OUT!***

She began to cry forth again.

"We'll burn his heart in pig's fat at the Sabbat!"...

— from 'Gods of Darkness' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD'S FORGOTTEN TALE OF A LOVECRAFTIAN WITCH CULT, NOT IN ANY EDITION OF HIS COLLECTED WORKS

A STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION OF 250 COPIES

***NOW SOLD OUT***

LIKE MOST OF OUR PREVIOUS LIMITED EDITIONS, GODS OF DARKNESS SOLD OUT QUICKLY. 

Limited copies remain of At the Door of Darkness, a forgotten episode from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, deleted from the published version, and now reconstructed from the original manuscript. Details here.

In the mid-1930s F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, wrote a short story set in medieval France, with a lead character, 'The Count of Darkness', based on the young Ernest Hemingway. It also featured a witch cult, drawn from a research source which greatly inspired the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Fitzgerald's agent, perhaps unsurprisingly, was somewhat nonplussed, but the story was sold for (belated) publication in a magazine. Since then, 'Gods of Darkness' has been forgotten by the reading public, and quietly ignored by Fitzgerald's estate: it has never been included in any collected edition of the author's work. Indeed to my knowledge it has never been reprinted anywhere... until now.

GODS OF DARKNESS

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald's forgotten story of a medieval witch cult, drawn from a source that also inspired H.P. Lovecraft.

The story has never been collected in any edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's works, and is reprinted here for the first time.

With an extended afterword by Adam Newell, detailing the background to the story, and its fascinating links to the work of H.P. Lovecraft, with relevant excerpts from Lovecraft's writings.

A strictly limited, never-to-be-reprinted edition of 250 hand-numbered copies for sale.

Each copy features a tipped-in frontispiece illustration, based on an original linocut by Sharon Newell.

A5 format, 40pp (over 10,000 words in total), printed on uncoated stock, including a cover printed on heavy Tinteretto Gesso paper. With a frontispiece printed on 300gsm silk stock, tipped in by hand.

Our previous limited editions have tended to sell out, so don't miss out on this one...

The Slave Race, featuring Philip K. Dick's first SF tale (not in his Collected Stories), sold out in a matter of days (details here).

Our two Lawrence of Arabia titles (see details here and here), were described by the T. E. Lawrence Society as "a very beautiful publication" and "a valuable piece of ephemera for your collection". 

The Ghost of the Private Theatricals, a newly discovered tale of terror by Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein (details here), was featured in the Times Literary Supplement, and also sold out quickly, with copies going to every continent except Antarctica!

Limited copies remain of At the Door of Darkness, a forgotten episode from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, deleted from the published version, and now reconstructed from the original manuscript. Details here.

TO ORDER GODS OF DARKNESS

There are 250 hand-numbered copies, first come, first-served. There will be no reprint.

NOW SOLD OUT (in less than a fortnight...).

More photos:

The frontispiece is taken from an original linocut by Sharon Newell.
Here it is being carved.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Many thanks as always to Sharon Newell for her superbly atmospheric linocut, which became the basis for the frontispiece, and to Martin Stiff for his mastery of design and layout. Special thanks are also due to Jeff Sypeck, without whom...
I'd also like to make it clear that this edition, published in the UK, was not licenced, prepared or approved by the Estate of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Photograph of Fitzgerald by Carl Van Vechten. Photograph of Lovecraft by Lucius B. Truesdell.

Limited to 100 Copies: A Forgotten Episode from Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Now Reconstructed from the Original Manuscript

"This comedy of light at the door of darkness" — Joseph Conrad, from the text deleted from the published version of Heart of Darkness The frontispiece and title page of this limited edition. See below for more photos. AT THE DOOR OF DARKNESS By Joseph Conrad A forgotten episode from Heart of Darkness, cut from the published version, now reconstructed from the original manuscript A strictly limited, never-to-be-reprinted edition of 100 hand-numbered copies for sale With an original, individually hand-printed linocut frontispiece tipped in to each copy Our previous limited editions have all sold out, so don't miss out on this one... Our two Lawrence of Arabia titles (see details here and here), were described by the T. E. Lawrence Society as "a very beautiful publication" and "a valuable piece of ephemera for your collection". The Ghost of the Private Theatricals, a newly discovered tale of terror by Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein (details here), was featured in the Times Literary Supplement, and also sold out quickly, with copies going to every continent except Antarctica! Heart of Darkness is Joseph Conrad's most celebrated story, both as a work of literature, and as the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's classic film Apocalypse Now. Originally published in 1899, the novella's dark tale of madness in the jungle was based on the author's own experience of travelling up the Congo river a decade before. Conrad’s journey began when he came ashore on 12 June 1890 at Boma, the seat of government of what was then the Congo Free State. He drew on his experiences in Boma to write an extended passage in Heart of Darkness, detailing the true beginning of Marlow's river voyage — but this episode, full of fascinating detail, was deleted from the printed version of the story, and has now become quite literally a footnote, mentioned in a few academic editions, but otherwise forgotten. This limited edition finally brings the full text of this 'deleted scene' into print, reconstructed from the original manuscript. Each copy of the edition features an original, individually hand-printed tipped-in linocut frontispiece by Sharon Newell, inspired by the baobab tree at Boma, as described by Conrad in the text deleted from the published version of Heart of Darkness. A5 format, printed on uncoated 160gsm paper, 20pp plus a cover printed on heavy Rives Shetland paper. Includes both a transcription of the deleted text from the manuscript, and the heavily edited passage as eventually published in the printed version. A detailed Introduction by Adam Newell gives the background to the text, and reveals an intriguing connection between this lost episode and Apocalypse Now... Features photos of the five relevant pages of Conrad's original manuscript, and rare historical images of Boma, identifying the locations described by Conrad. TO ORDER There are 100 hand-numbered copies, first come, first-served. There will be no reprint. Payment via the buy button below. A copy with UK P&P is £15.00 A copy with the unavoidably pricey International Airmail P&P is £23.00 IMPORTANT: Please use the drop down menu below to choose either UK, or International P&P. Darkness: Choose Region From Drop Down Menu Darkness inc UK P&P £15.00 GBP Darkness inc International P&P £23.00 GBP NOTE: IF THERE ARE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS PAYPAL LINK, YOU CAN PLACE AN ORDER DIRECT WITH ME BY EMAILING: withnailbooks@btinternet.com

More photos below:

Each copy comes with a hand-printed linocut by Sharon Newell - here's one with the actual lino to the right.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I have Sharon Newell to thank for her wonderful linocuts, and Martin Stiff of Amazing15 for his brilliant design and layout. Acknowledgment also to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, which holds Conrad's manuscript.

Rediscovered! Philip K. Dick's first published SF story, not in his Collected Works. Limited to 250 copies.

Philip K. Dick's first published science fiction tale — not included in his Collected Short Stories

A limited edition of 250 hand-numbered copies

NOW SOLD OUT!

Each copy features a tipped-in frontispiece illustration, based on an original linocut by Sharon Newell

'The Slave Race' was Philip K. Dick's first published science fiction story. It appeared in his local newspaper in 1944, and has been largely forgotten since — it does not feature in any edition of his Collected Short Stories. Though brief, it is nevertheless an astonishing piece of work, an epic in miniature, dense with ideas and concepts to which Dick would return again and again...

This chapbook is A5 format, 12pp including a cover printed on heavy Rives Shetland paper, and interiors on uncoated paper. The frontispiece illustration is printed on a separate 300gsm silk stock postcard, and tipped in by hand.

More photos below

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Sharon Newell for her wonderfully evocative linocut which became the basis for the frontispiece, and to Martin Stiff for his impeccable design and layout skills. A special tip of the hat to Frank T. Hollander, for his efforts in making sure that Dick's earliest published work has not been completely forgotten. This little edition stands on your shoulders, sir.

DISCLAIMER: This publication, presenting a story which is in the public domain in, and will only be sold to, the USA and other countries which follow the Rule of the Shorter Term, has not been licenced, prepared, or approved by the estate of Philip K. Dick.