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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