Stephen King & Richard Bachman

How to read this guide — the collector’s glossary

First edition vs. first printing

The edition is the typesetting; the printing (or impression) is one press run of it. A “true first” is the first printing of the first edition. The points below tell those apart from later printings and reprints.

Number line

The row of digits on the copyright page, e.g. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. The lowest number present is the printing. If the 1 is gone, it is not a first printing. Modern Scribner first printings show 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 and state “First Edition.”

Stated “First Edition”

Some publishers print the words; some don’t. Viking says “First published… by The Viking Press.” Doubleday (1974–83) usually printed no statement — you identify those by a code.

Gutter / printer code (Doubleday)

A small alphanumeric code (e.g. an “R49”) at the foot of the last text page or copyright page on the early Doubleday firsts. Book-club copies lack it — its presence is the key trade-first tell.

Jacket price

The price printed on the upper corner of the front flap. A first printing has the correct original price. A price-clipped jacket has that corner cut off (often to hide a club edition or a wrong price) and is worth less.

Book Club Edition (BCE / BOMC)

A cheaper club reprint. Tells: a blind-stamp (small indented circle, square, dot, or maple-leaf, usually lower-right of the rear board); “Book Club Edition” on the lower front flap; no price; thinner/lighter paper; smaller trim; glued not sewn; and (Doubleday) the missing gutter code. These are common and worth a fraction of a trade first.

Small-press-precedes-trade

For several titles the true first is a limited small-press edition that came out before the trade hardcover — e.g. Donald M. Grant for the early Dark Tower, Philtrum Press for The Eyes of the Dragon (1984), Land of Enchantment for Cycle of the Werewolf. Each book’s page flags this.

Married / facsimile jacket

A jacket from a later printing put on a first-printing book (“married”), or a reproduction jacket. Both are common traps; match the jacket’s price and printing tells to the book.

Other red flags

Remainder mark (spray/marker on the page edges), ex-library stamps/pockets, and restoration all cut value. Condition is graded for book and jacket (e.g. “fine/fine”).

Print run — “confirmed” vs “accepted”

Publishers rarely disclose first-printing quantities. Confirmed = a hard documented figure. Accepted figure = no single official source, but multiple reputable references agree on the number (the collector consensus) — we use it and label it so. Not publicly disclosed = no reliable figure exists (common for modern titles).

Value — “confirmed” vs “retail floor”

All values assume a genuine first in near-fine to fine condition. Confirmed sales = backed by actual sold comps (auction / completed sales). When nothing confirms, we rate the copy at no less than its original jacket price — a true first should hold at least retail — labelled estimate · retail floor. Book-club and price-clipped copies are worth far less.

What every King collector must check

• DOUBLEDAY GUTTER CODE IS THE ARBITER, NOT THE 'FIRST EDITION' SLUG. For the early Doubleday titles (Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, Pet Sematary), the words 'First Edition' stayed printed on the copyright page through MANY later printings. The true first printing is identified by the gutter code stamped in the binding gutter of one of the last text pages: Carrie = P6, 'Salem's Lot = Q37, The Shining = R49, Pet Sematary = Y38 (letter = year, number = week). 'First Edition'-stated copies turn up that are actually 10th, 11th, even 13th printings — the gutter code is trapped deep in the binding and routinely overlooked. ALWAYS read the gutter code.
• SCRIBNER-ERA RULE (modern titles, ~Bag of Bones 1998 onward): a true first printing needs the FULL NUMBER LINE ENDING IN 1. Scribner often uses an interleaved line like '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2'; the presence of the '1' (lowest digit) confirms first printing. Missing the 1 = later printing. (Viking/Putnam titles in between: look for the descending 10-to-1 line.)
• SMALL-PRESS / LIMITED PRECEDES TRADE — the trade hardcover is NOT the true first for several key titles: The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (true first = Donald M. Grant, 1982 limited — the 1988 Plume trade paperback is a later, separate edition); The Eyes of the Dragon (true first = Philtrum Press, 1984 limited slipcased — Viking 1987 is a different, trade collectible); Cycle of the Werewolf (true first = Land of Enchantment, 1983 limited). Don't call a Plume/Viking/NAL copy 'the first edition' without noting the small-press precedence.
• BOOK-CLUB EDITION (BCE / BOMC) DETECTION. Book-of-the-Month-Club / Doubleday Book Club copies mimic trade firsts but are NOT collectible firsts. Tells: a blind-stamp (small blind-embossed dot, square, maple-leaf, or circle) on the lower-right rear board; NO price on the front jacket flap (a printed jacket with no price, rather than a clipped one); thinner/cheaper paper and boards; smaller trim; gutter code on club stock. A BCE Carrie or Stand is worth a fraction of the trade first.
• PRICE-CLIPPING. A first-edition jacket with the price corner cut off ('price-clipped', often to hide the price on a gift) takes a real value/grade hit. The original printed price must be present and correct. A clipped jacket can also mask a club edition — verify the gutter code / blind-stamp independently.
• MARRIED / FACSIMILE / RESTORED JACKETS. A book and a jacket from different copies sold together is a 'married' set; a reproduction is a 'facsimile.' Both are common on high-value King (the Carrie / 'Salem's Lot / Shining jackets are worth more than the books). Check that jacket wear matches board wear, that it's the correct first-state jacket, and that it isn't glossy / too-white (a facsimile tell). Disclose facsimile jackets explicitly.
• REMAINDER MARKS. A spray, stamp, or marker stripe/dot on the text-block edge marks a remaindered copy (overstock sold off cheap). It doesn't change the printing but lowers collectible value and grade — note it.
• EX-LIBRARY. Stamps, spine labels, card pockets, Mylar, and glue/tape residue make a copy ex-library — heavily devalued regardless of printing. Look for ghosting where pockets/labels were removed.
• CONFIRM THE TITLE-SPECIFIC FIRST-STATE POINT, not just the generic edition statement — many titles have a first-state jacket or text point (jacket art, price, a specific typo) beyond the copyright-page test.
• PUBLISHER MIGRATION CHANGES THE RULE-SET. King moved Doubleday (1974–early '80s: gutter codes) → NAL / Viking / Putnam (mid-'80s–'90s: number lines / 'First Edition' statements) → Scribner (1998–present: full number line ending in 1). Apply the regime for the era — a habit learned on Doubleday will mislead you on Scribner and vice-versa.
• SIGNED / LIMITED vs TRADE CONFLATION. Many modern titles ship a publisher trade first AND a small-press signed/limited (Cemetery Dance, Grant, PS Publishing, Subterranean) — sometimes the limited is the true first by date, sometimes simultaneous, sometimes later. Confirm precedence by publication date and colophon; never assume a signed limited automatically outranks (or is) the trade first.
• BACHMAN-ERA QUIRKS. The original Bachman novels (Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man) were Signet PAPERBACK ORIGINALS — there is no contemporaneous hardcover first; the first hardcover appearance is the 1985 omnibus The Bachman Books (whose first state still includes 'Rage' — later printings drop it). Thinner (1984, NAL) was a Bachman hardcover. Treat 'first hardcover' carefully here.

Outside this guide

Every in-scope title is covered (all 85). The titles below are deliberately out of scope.

• Deliberately out of scope (chapbooks, comics, picture books, e-only serials, or not King-authored): The Plant (e-serial), Creepshow (graphic novel), Charlie the Choo-Choo (picture book), The Dark Man (illustrated poem), and the Joe Hill collaborations Throttle and In the Tall Grass.