1st Editions

Many thanks to Johnny Rocco for this...

Though I am sure there are other King editions extant, I am not aware of them. However, if you know of any, or see any mistakes in the following list, let me know at modcon@ionet.net and I will update/correct this list.

It also contains some numbers on the limited edition of which I am not sure. These are indicated by question marks (?). If you can verify or supply the correct numbers, I would be most appreciative.

Special thanks to The Horror Collector web site for additional information!

Ciao,
John

How to ID First Editions...

It can be difficult telling the first editions of some of his earlier works. That changed with Firestarter. Following is a synopsis.

Published by Doubleday:

Carrie
`1974' on title page (TP). `First Edition' on copyright (CP) page. Date code `P6' on inner margin of page 199.
Salem's Lot
`First Edition' on CP. Date code `Q37' on page 439. This book has two dust wrappers - first with a $8.95 price (most of these have had their price clipped and stamped with the $7.95 price!) the second with a $7.95 price. Both have `Father Cody' reference on DW. A third state dust wrapper with `Father Cody' corrected to `Father Calahan' and priced at $7.95 was also done and is reported to be the most common of the three.
The Shining
`First Edition' on CP. Date Code R49 on page 447.
Night Shift
`1978' on TP. `First Edition' on CP. Date code S52 on page 336.
The Stand
`First Edition' on CP. Date Code T39 on page 823.
Pet Sematary
`1983' on TP. `First Edition' on CP, no other `edition' numbers. On back of first issue DW, Tabitha King's `Caretakers' listed as 1982. Changed to 1983 on second state.

Published by Viking:

The Dead Zone
No date on TP. `First published in 1979 by the Viking Press' on CP.
Different Seasons
No date on CP. `First Published in 1982' on CP, no other "edition" numbers.
IT
No date on TP. `First Published in 1986 by Viking Penguin Inc.' on CP. No other numbering.
The Eyes of the Dragon
No date on TP. `First Published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc.' on CP. No other numbering.
Misery
No date on TP. `First Published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc.' on CP. No other numbering.
The Dark Half
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1989 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.' and numbered `1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' on CP.
Four Past Midnight
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1990 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.' and numbered `10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on CP.
Needful Things
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1991 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc' and numbered `1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' on CP.
Gerald's Game
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1992 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc' and numbered `1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' on CP.
Delores Claiborne
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1993 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.' and numbered `1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' on CP.
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1993 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.' and numbered `1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' on CP.
Rose Madder
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1995 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.' and numbered `1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' on CP.
Desperation
No Date on TP. `First Published in 1996 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.' and numbered `10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on CP.

Published by Putnam:

The Tommyknockers
No date on TP. `Copyright 1987 by Stephen King, Tabitha King and Arthur B. Greene, Trustee', numbers `1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' above `Permissions to come' on CP. Red or Gold foil title lettering on front of dust wrapper. Some copies did not have `permissions to come' on the CP.

Published by New American Library (NAL):

Thinner
(Richard Bachman) - `First printing, November 1984'on CP numbers `1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9' below.

Published by Dutton:

The Regulators
(Richard Bachman) - `First Trade Printing, October 1996' on CP numbers `10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' below.
The following are signed/numbered limited firsts - easy to spot. There are several variations on these books. Some are marked `Presentation' copies; Some are marked `Publisher's' copies. There are extra books printed to make up books lost in the mail. I have tried to give the best information I can, but am still open to any additions to this list which I can verify. Be that as it may, here we are:

Firestarter
Phantasia Press - 1980, 26 copies signed and lettered A-Z with asbestos board covers, dated July 8,1980. 725 copies signed and numbered and dated either July 5,6,7,8,1980.
Cujo
Mysterious Press - 1981, limited to 750 copies signed and numbered. (??) copies signed and lettered.
Christine
Donald M. Grant - 1983, limited to 1000 copies signed and numbered. 26 (?) copies signed and lettered. 20 (?) publisher's copies.
The Talisman
Donald M. Grant - 1984, 2 Volume set in presentation box, limited to copies 1200 copies signed and numbered. 1200 copies unsigned. 70 copies numbered and signed by King, Straub and all 10 illustrators. 30 Author's copies. 52 (??) lettered copies - lettered A-ZZ(??) - signed by both authors and all artitsts. These have the same limitation page as the 70 copy edition. (?) unsigned publisher's copies.
Cycle of the Werewolf
The Land of Enchantment - 1983, limited to 100 copies signed by King and Bernie Wrightson and numbered 1-100, with tipped in original drawing by Bernie Wrightson; 250 copies signed by King and Wrightson and numbered 101-350, with no sketch. 8 (?) publisher's copies. 7500 unsigned.
Eyes of the Dragon
Philtrum Press - 1984, 26 copies signed and lettered A-Z in red ink, 26 copies signed and lettered A-Z in black ink, 10 artists copies - signed. 250 copies signed and number 1-250 in red ink. 1000 copies signed and numbered 1-1000 in black ink. (This edition predates and differs textually from the Viking Edition).
Skeleton Crew
Scream Press - 1985, limited to 1000 copies signed and numbered. (this edition includes the story `The Revelations of Becka Paulson') 52 copies signed and lettered A-ZZ in a leather zippered case. Also, 17 presentation copies and one (1)(?) publishers copy bound entirely differently.
Dolan's Cadillac
Lord John Press - 1989, limited to 26 copies signed and lettered A-Z, "specially bound" and slip-cased, 250 copies signed and numbered 1-250, quarter bound in leather, 100 copies signed with a colophon imprinted `Presentation Copy' 1000 copies signed and numbered 1-1000. Also, presentation copies (qty?)
My Pretty Pony
Whitney Museum of American Art - 1988, Metal cover front and back with front clock designed to stop functioning after one year (though battery is replaceable). Limited to 35 copies signed and numbered I - XXXV. 250 copies copies signed and numbered 1 - 250, of which only 150 were for sale. 50 copies signed and unnumbered(??) (It is reported that ONLY the 35 authors copies are numbered, but I haven't been able to confirm either the numbering OR the lack thereof of the remaining 300 copies.)
The Stand - Complete and Uncut
Doubleday - 1990, packaged in a black wooden box with a metal plate on the cover. Limited to 1250 copies signed and numbered 1-1250 and 52 copies signed and lettered A-ZZ. It has been reported that a few copies with a different metal plate on the box exist. I have been informed by someone associated with the preparation of this edition that no copies were released with a different plate.
Insomnia
Mark V. Ziesing Books - 1994, 1250 copies signed and numbered 1-1250 leather bound, 6 (?) artist's copies. 3750 copies unsigned.
Desperation
Donald M Grant Publisher, Inc. - 1996, 2000 copies signed and numbered 1-2000, 4000 copies unsigned.
The Regulators
Dutton - 1996, 500 copies signed and numbered, via check, 1-500 30 Publisher's copies identical to the S&N copies (of a planned 50 PC copies) 5 of which were used to replace S&N copies that were damaged in shipping. The remaining 25 have signed checks (62) that were done for the planned 50 PC copies and are simply lettered "PC". (Not sure which of the 62 made it into the books.) 52 copies signed and lettered, via check,(A-ZZ?)
Six Stories
Philtrum Press, 1997, 900 copies, wraps, signed and numbered 1-900. 200 copies, signed and numbered with roman numerals. This is a paperback and is included as a curiosity only.
Now, The Dark Tower series:

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
Donald M. Grant - 1982, 12 Publishers copies, 35 signed lettered copies (A-Z and AA-II??), 500 copies signed and numbered 1-500. 10,000 copies unsigned. 10,000 copies unsigned, second printing.
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
Donald M. Grant - 1987, 50 Publisher's copies - signed (?). 50 (?) Author's copies - signed (?). 35 signed and lettered copies (A-Z and AA-II??), 850 copies signed and numbered 1-850, of which only 800 were for sale (Were the publisher copies the first 50 in this run?), 30,000 copies unsigned.
The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands
Donald M. Grant - 1991, 1250 copies signed and numbered 1-1250 of which only 1200 were for sale (were the first 50 once again the publisher's copies?), 40,000 copies unsigned. Since there were 35 lettered copies of the first two, I feel certain that there are 35 lettered copies of this book also.
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Donald M. Grant - 1997, 1200 copies signed and numbered 1-1200 of which only 1200 were for sale (No word on publisher copies or if the total run was greater than 1200 - as with the last book in the series), 40,000 copies unsigned. Ditto to the 35 lettered copies as I noted in the entry for DTIII. THis is not for sure, though.
There have been some other "publications" of King's works over the years.

Danse Macbre
1981 ... was issued in 3 versions of the first printing - 15 copies lettered A-O signed `First Edition' on CP, 35 copies unsigned, with a tissue DW `First Edition' on CP, 250 copies signed and numbered with `First Edition' on the CP. (The first trade edition has `RRD281' - the `1' looks like a capital `I' - on the CP)
Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus
By Mary W. Shelley - 1983 4 page intro by King. Illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. 26 lettered and signed copies, 500 numbered and signed copies (both Wrightson and King) a few `out of series' signed copies (no numbers or letters).
Also, there were four stories published under the Bachman Pseudonym. These were paperbacks. They were collected under the NAL label in "The Bachman Books. Four Early Novels by Stephen King" - The first Edition of this combined work says `First (Omnibus) Printing, October, 1985' and has the numbers `1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9' below this.

The Paperbacks were published by Signet and had `First Printing (pub. date) 123456789' at the bottom of the CP.

Also, The Green Mile is being published in PB. It is a 6 part serialized novel. The first printings are from Signet and have `First Printing (pub. date) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the CP.

These are (in most cases) world wide first editions. However, there are others that have been released prior to the American editions. Examples are:

ES (IT)
a German language edition in a full leather cover which was published several weeks prior to the American edition. Unsigned. One of the rarest editions of SK's work - this book was recalled at the "request" of SK and his publisher and only a few were ever sold.
Rose Madder
Which has been published in a 200 copy limited edition in Great Britain. Signed and numbered via bookplate.
Insomnia
Published in Great Britain in a 200 copy limited edition signed and numbered via book plate. WW first edition??.
The Regulators
Published in the UK as a 250 copy limited edition. Unsigned.
Desperation
Published (along with The Regulators) as a 250 copy limited edition signed and numbered(??) via book plate.
And finally, while not a frist edition, this book bears speacial note as the first DT book published as a limited by anyone other than DMG. (Are there ANY other hard cover versions in any language?)

"Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass" Published in the UK as a 500 copy limited edition signed and numbered via book plate.

I am sure there are others, but I will limit this list to the American editions with mention of World Wide editions of note for comparison.

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