It.

First edition of this "landmark in American literature” (Chicago Sun-Times). Thick octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by actor Tim Curry in red on the half-title page, who famously played Pennywise the clown in the acclaimed movie. By 1990, Tim Curry had already established himself as one of the most distinctive character actors of his generation, having built a career on theatrical, often flamboyant performances that ranged from Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show< to the sinister Wadsworth. When director Tommy Lee Wallace began casting the ABC television adaptation of King's It, he needed an actor capable of embodying a character who was, by design, two things at once: a figure of childlike delight and an ancient, shapeshifting evil wearing that delight as a disguise. Curry emerged as what the production's own crew would later describe as the missing piece of the puzzle, and his casting as Pennywise the Dancing Clown proved to be the defining decision of the miniseries. Curry approached the role with a theatrical actor's command of voice and physicality, constructing a performance built on abrupt tonal shifts, from wheedling, singsong charm to sudden, guttural menace, that left cast and crew alike unsettled during production. He would later recall a scene with child actor Tony Dakota, who broke character mid-take to tell him, "Mr. Curry, you're scaring me." That quality of genuine, transmissible dread became the miniseries' signature achievement. Curry's performance has been consistently, and almost universally, singled out as the work that redeemed the production and gave it its lasting cultural life.The influence of that performance extended well beyond its original broadcast. Curry's Pennywise became the template against which subsequent interpretations of the character were measured, including Bill Skarsgård's portrayal in Andy Muschietti's 2017 film and its 2019 sequel, It Chapter Two, both of which quietly acknowledged Curry's legacy through visual and narrative homages. A 2021 feature-length documentary, Pennywise: The Story of It, was devoted entirely to the making of the 1990 miniseries and Curry's contribution to it, underscoring the degree to which his performance has come to be regarded as a defining moment in the history of horror on screen. For an entire generation of viewers, Curry's Pennywise remains the first and most enduring image conjured by King's novel, making signed material connecting the actor to the text a natural and significant point of intersection for collectors of horror literature and of film and television history. The novel remains among the defining works of King's career and helped cement his reputation as the preeminent horror novelist of his generation. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Neil Stuart. Jacket illustration by Bob Giusti. Title lettering by Amy Hill.