Crowdsourcing: Dracula: The Swedish Drawings of 1899-1900

Hans Corneel de Roos is a Dracula scholar who, I would hope, needs little introduction. He is a passionate student of the novel and whilst I don’t always agree with his conclusions, they are always insightful and interesting, and he is a scholar worthy of much respect. In short, he always makes you think.

Perhaps one of his most significant discoveries was Makt Myrkranna – or Powers of Darkness the Icelandic adaptation of Dracula. This was wildly different from Stoker’s novel and on the release of the de Roos' translation it lead to the discovery that there was a Swedish version, which the Icelandic version was an incomplete reworking of. If Hans had not translated the Icelandic version the Swedish version might still be languishing on bookshelves rather than being translated for the wider English reading market - a mainstream release due next year.

In the meantime, this new de Roos volume is, in all fairness, one for the collectors. The website suggests: “The... ...book contains a handpicked collection of the first Dracula illustrations ever, taken from the Swedish Dagen serialization (1899-1900). In 2017, I have obtained high-resolution scans of these pen drawings, and over the course of the years painstakingly edited them, to restore the original vigour and flow of the linework in high resolution. Moreover, I have colorized them, adding vivacity, brilliance and atmosphere. The book will be printed in an edition of 200 copies. If the crowdfunding target is reached, it will have a colorful, laminated hardcover binding (sewn, not glued), and 68 pages of heavy quality coated paper: 4 pages frontmatter (title, etc.), 11 pages for an essay I wrote about these drawings, 51 pages of high-end color reproductions with captions explaining the scenes, plus 2 pages endmatter. The book will have A4 size with landscape (horizontal) orientation.”

The goal is “100 contributions of 25 Euros or 30 USD each” to realise the edition as set out. If crowdfunding is not achieved “after 6 months, the edition will be realized and shipped all the same, with the means available, in a somewhat more modest form e.g. with soft cover binding, on somewhat lighter paper, as a set of lose reproductions, etc., saving costs in proportion to the missing funds.” This crowdfunding is being self-run to avoid the costs involved with the formal platforms but funds can be sent via paypal.

As always, a crowdfunding project is brought to you for information and, whether you back the project or not is your own choice and your own risk. The blog with details of the project is here.