This is a Centipede Press Collector's Limited Edition copy of The Complete Slayers by Paul Cain. This copy is signed and numbered by the relevant contributors as pictured. This copy is in very good condition with minor light edge-wear to the DJ as pictured. 300 pages

The high price for the edition of The Complete Slayers by Paul Cain published by Centipede Press is due to several factors related to its limited nature, high-end production, and collector demand. Here’s a breakdown of why it’s expensive:

- Key reasons

1. **Limited edition**

The book was published in a very small print run — from the publisher’s site: “Limited to 500 copies, each signed by Max Allan Collins, Lynn F. Myers Jr., and Ron Lesser (cover artist).”

When supply is low like that, the price naturally goes up among collectors.

2. **Collector/“special” features**

Some of the enhancements that increase cost and value:

* It includes the complete fiction of Paul Cain (novel *Fast One* + the 13 “slayers” short stories) — including for six of the stories this is their first appearance in book form. ([centipedepress.com][1])

* Signed by the editors and cover artist. ([centipedepress.com][1])

* High-quality binding and production: “three-piece cloth construction, dust jacket, ribbon marker, head & tail bands.” ([centipedepress.com][1])

* A cover gallery of old magazine and paperback covers. ([The Washington Post][2])

3. **Publisher reputation & niche market**

Centipede Press is known for producing deluxe limited editions aimed at collectors rather than mass market. Their editions often command higher prices because they are high quality, limited, and aimed at niche audiences. ([Harper Wilde & Co][3])

4. **Out of print / scarce availability**

The listing notes “SOLD OUT” for the edition. ([centipedepress.com][1])

When a limited edition is sold out and there’s demand, secondary market prices rise.

5. **Author / work significance**

Paul Cain is considered a near-forgotten master of hard-boiled crime fiction. The essay “The Incomplete Cain” notes that this collection brings together his complete fiction for the first time. ([Los Angeles Review of Books][4])

For fans of noir/crime pulp fiction, this makes the book.

Because the book is a **signed, limited edition deluxe hardcover**, includes **the complete works** of a significant pulp novelist, is **out of print**, and comes from a publisher with a collector-focus, it commands a high price.

This collection features the novel Fast One and the complete short fiction written by Paul Cain for Black Mask and other pulps. This is the first time that many of them have been collected in book format. Lynn Myers and Max Alan Collins have written an outstanding introduction with new research into Cain's life. 300 pages