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Condition Description
Very Good+ / Like New condition. Stated First Edition, First Printing (Viking Press, 1981), verified by the unclipped $13.95 jacket price, 0981 flap code, brown textured boards with silver \"SK\" monogram, and no subsequent printing statements. Dust jacket featuring illustrations by Steven Stroud (design by R. Adelson), housed in clear archival Mylar, showing only very hints of minor wear at the top and bottom of the spine. Black quarter cloth spine with silver lettering; board hinges retain firm structural resistance. Clean text block with minor natural page edge tanning. See full forensic description.
Item Description
Collector Features & Identification
Author: Stephen King
Cover Artist / Illustrator: Steven Stroud (Jacket Design by R. Adelson)
Book Title: Cujo
Publisher & Imprint: The Viking Press (New York)
Publication Date: September 1981
Format: Hardcover with Dust Jacket
Edition & Printing Details: Verified Stated First Edition, First Printing. Copyright page reads \"First published in 1981 by The Viking Press\" with no subsequent printing line or later edition notices. Verified by the unclipped $13.95 price and the 0981 code on the front inner jacket flap, alongside the full ISBN (0-670-45193-2) on the rear panel.
Binding & Design Details: Bound in textured brown paper-covered boards featuring a striking silver-stamped \"SK\" monogram on the front board. Accented by a contrasting black quarter cloth spine with silver foil lettering reading \"Cujo\" and \"Stephen King / Viking\". Clean, crisp white paste-downs and endpapers.
Genre: Psychological Horror, Thriller, Suspense
◦ Stephen King First Edition / First Printing
◦ Castle Rock, Maine Setting
◦ The Trenton Family & Cujo the St. Bernard
◦ Steven Stroud Jacket Illustrations
◦ Viking Press 1981 Original Hardcover
◦ Unclipped $13.95 First State Dust Jacket
◦ Classic 1980s Horror Milestone
Page Count: 319 Pages
About the Story (Synopsis)
Cujo stands as one of Stephen King’s most relentlessly tense and claustrophobic psychological horror masterpieces, tracing the descent of a once-gentle St. Bernard into a raoffer instrument of terror trapped with a mother and child inside a brokendown car under the scorching Maine sun. Abandoning supernatural elements for raw, visceral realism, King delivers a brutal exploration of isolation, fear, and domestic breakdown. A pristine first edition, first printing complete with original Steven Stroud artwork and correct Viking issue points is a foundational cornerstone for any premier Stephen King collection.
Archival Preservation
Archival Sleeve: The dust jacket is protected by a professional-grade, 1.5-mil clear Mylar archival cover. This exact material is used in museums and is officially approved by the Library of Congress for archival document preservation. It is completely chemically inert, meaning there is zero gas off-putting, and it does not damage the dust jacket, the book, the binding, or the boards in any way, shape, or form. It only preserves and protects.
Adhesive-Free Policy: My archival process utilizes zero adhesives, tape, or glues directly on the dust jacket or book, ensuring the integrity and value of the original materials are never compromised.
Archival Backing: The jacket is supported by acid-free, pH-neutral backing paper to preserve paper quality and prevent any toning. Note: The Mylar is fitted naturally with unfinished creases to prevent spine stress and to allow the buyer to make fine visual adjustments to the backing height to their personal preference.
Structural Integrity: Stored upright in a smoke-free, climate-controlled environment.
Condition Report
This volume is in Very Good+ to Like New overall condition—an exceptionally preserved, collector-grade copy of a heavily read modern classic.
Dust Jacket: Like New. Crisp, vibrant artwork by Steven Stroud. Shows only very hints of minor, light shelf wear at the top and bottom of the spine. Original $13.95 price and 0981 code intact on front flap. Protected in archival Mylar.
Binding & Boards: Very Good+ / Like New. Textured brown boards and black quarter cloth spine are square, clean, and rigid. Silver \"SK\" monogram and spine text are bright and untarnished. Hinges retain firm, tight original resistance.
Text Block: Very Good+. Square and tight text block. Pages show only minor, natural age-related tanning along the edges, standard for 1981 Viking paper stock.
Internal: Clean, crisp white paste-downs and endpapers. Completely free of reader inscriptions, owner names, library stamps, or remainder marks.
Why This Listing Has Premium Pricing
This is a preserved collector asset that respects forensic honesty. You are paying for verified quality and professional curation:
◦ Deep Forensic Research: I conduct meticulous research on every book, thoroughly verifying price points ($13.95), flap codes (0981), cover artists (Steven Stroud), publisher history, and printing markers to guarantee exact 1st/1st accuracy.
◦ The Craft of Preservation: Hardcover books arrive protected by high-grade archival sleeves with acid-free backing.
◦ Unmatched Transparency: I provide honest, detailed descriptions of condition, structural integrity, and exact edition markers, ensuring you know precisely what is in your collection.
◦ Transparent & Fair Shipping: I do not inflate shipping costs to pad margins. You pay the true, calculated rate for secure transit.
◦ 360° Video Display & Comprehensive Photography: Please see all pictures and the included video to know exactly what you are getting. I utilize a rotating display platform to provide a full 55-second 360-degree rotation of the actual book. The first half of the video shows the rotation with the dust jacket on, and the second half shows the rotation with the jacket off so you can clearly see the condition of the underlying boards.
Buyer Inquiries
Questions: If you have any questions about this listing or need to see additional details, please reach out. I am always happy to answer any questions you might have.
Shipping & Handling
Service: USPS Media Mail
Combined Shipping: I offer combined shipping if you are looking to acquire multiple items from the archive. Just send me a direct message before checking out so I can sort the rates for you.
