Throughout the centuries, man has been both fascinated and terrified by the mysteries of death. An inevitable part of life, it is also the ultimate unknown, “the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns,” as Shakespeare's Hamlet calls it.

This fascination has provided fertile ground for folklore and mythology throughout the ages. Tales of zombies, ghouls, living corpses and, of course, vampires have been told around the campfire since the dawn of time, and such stories still thrill and chill audiences worldwide.

Of all the devilish undead, none have proven more intriguing and durable than the Prince of Vampires, the Lord of Transylvania, Count Dracula himself. Created in 1897 by Irish author Bram Stoker, Dracula has achieved true literary immortality.

“Dracula was first published in 1897,” said Tom Slater, Director of Americana Auctions for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries in a recent press release, “after eight years of research. Although it was not the first vampire novel - that honor goes to The Vampyre, written by John Polidori in 1819, which in turn was inspired by Lord Byron's poem, The Giaour, published in 1813 - he certainly has proven the most popular and influential, serving as the basis for countless plays, movies, TV shows, books, toys, merchandise and more.”

“Stoker drew from several sources in creating his undead protagonist,” Slater said. “Count Dracula's appearance and mannerisms were based on Henry Irving, manager and star of the Lyceum Theater where Stoker was working as business manager. Stoker hoped that, by building the character around Irving that the popular actor would agree to produce Dracula as a play. Although the novel eventually did make it to the stage, Irving was not involved and never played the role.”

“Stoker also drew on Romanian history in preparing his manuscript,” Slater said, “although to what extent this material was used remains the subject of some controversy. Many scholars believe that Stoker took the name, and some of the characteristics, of his title character, from Vlad Tepes III, also called Vlad Dracul - 'Dracul' meaning 'dragon' in archaic Romanian - better known to us today as Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was the ruler of Wallachia during the 15^th century and is revered today as a staunch protector of his people against the invading Turks. He is also known as a sadistic monster who delighted in torturing and impaling anyone who displeased him, and whose bloodthirstiness has become the stuff of legend.”

Although the book was seen as little more than another Victorian-era potboiler at the time it was published, due at least in part to its old-fashioned - even at the time - epistolary style, it served to inspire many adaptations into other media, including several classics of early cinema.

“The first adaptation of Dracula,” Slater said, “was almost lost to us. In 1922, FW Murnau made Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens (A Symphony of Terror), a fairly faithful rendering of Stoker's novel starring Max Schreck. So faithful, in fact, that Stoker's widow - the author died in 1912 - successfully sued the production company on the grounds of copyright infringement. The court decreed that all prints of the film were to be destroyed, but, fortunately, a few survived.”

“Of course, the most famous film featuring the Count, and the one that has had the most influence on popular culture, was the 1931 Universal production starring Bela Lugosi,” Slater said. “Lugosi had starred in the popular 1927 stage version, and so was a natural to take the role when the film was made. Lugosi's commanding presence and unique Hungarian accent have made him a horror icon, and, in fact, his is the face most people see when they think of Count Dracula.”

“Dracula has become a part of our modern culture,” Slater said, “as indelibly imprinted on the public's mind as Frankenstein's Monster, Superman, Tarzan and Mickey Mouse. As important as the movies and the appearances in other media have been, the book was where the legend truly started.”

“We're very proud to offer an extremely desirable first edition of this classic work,” Slater said, “signed and inscribed by the author. This is a first printing, third issue, distinguished by the Shoulder of Shasta ad following the text on page 392. On the front free endpaper, we find inscribed, 'To J.J. Thomson, With Best Wishes Bram Stoker 18. Nov 1899.' It's very possible that the recipient is none other than the renowned English physicist, Honorary Professor of Physics at London's Cambridge and Royal Institution, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906. The book is housed in a beautiful and unique hand-made leather slipcase and box, crafted by the legendary bookbinders Sangorski & Sutcliffe, with their anthemion located on the bottom of the back cover. The distinguished binding firm, established in 1901 and famed for their elaborate and original bindings worked with gilt fittings and precious stones, is perhaps best known as the creator of a magnificent, jewel-encrusted binding of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyait which, having taken two years to complete, was lost in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic.”

“If you've ever dreamed of owning a copy of this classic novel,” Slater added, “you could hardly ask for a better copy. Signed, inscribed, in beautiful condition and contained in a lovely presentation case, it doesn't get any better than this. If fine collectibles get your blood boiling, you'll certainly want to sink your teeth into this immortal classic. Not doing so would be a grave mistake!”

the book is just one exciting part of the Heritage Grand Format Autograph Auction to be held on October 12, 2006 at Heritage headquarters in Dallas, TX. Details on the event are available by visiting http://americana.heritageauctions.com.