11 Scribes · All titles · Doubleday Era (1974-1983)

Night Shift Crown jewel

1978 · Doubleday & Company, Inc. (Garden City, NY)
First-edition cover of Night Shift
First-edition jacket (first (Wikipedia infobox)) · source

What it’s about

Night Shift is Stephen King's first short story collection, gathering twenty tales of dread that find horror lurking in the ordinary: a rust-belt textile mill with something monstrous in its basement, a small town gone wrong, killer machines, restless dead, and human cruelty that needs no supernatural help. Spanning gut-level scares and slow creeping unease, it is the early King in concentrated form — lean, mean, and built to be read with the lights on.

Significance King's debut story collection (Doubleday, 1978), published under his own name; several entries became films — "Children of the Corn," "The Lawnmower Man," "Trucks" (basis for King's own "Maximum Overdrive"), and "Graveyard Shift" — and stories like "Jerusalem's Lot" and "One for the Road" tie directly into the 'Salem's Lot mythos.

Is this the true first?Yes. The Doubleday trade hardcover (1978) is the true first edition of King's FIRST short-story collection. ISBN 0-385-12991-2 (9780385129916). No paperback original or small-press limited precedes it; the Doubleday hardcover is the first appearance. Confirmed independently by the official stephenking.com "Identifying first editions (updated 2024)" guide (Bev Vincent), which lists Night Shift / 1978 / Doubleday / trim 5¾ x 8½ x 1" / $8.95 DJ / "First Edition" on CP + S52 on page 336.
The Doubleday 1978 trade hardcover IS the true first. Unlike The Dark Tower (Grant), Eyes of the Dragon (Philtrum), or Cycle of the Werewolf (Land of Enchantment), Night Shift had no preceding small-press or paperback-original issue. The Doubleday Book Club Edition / SFBC / BOMC issue is NOT a first (see BCE tells). The UK first (New English Library, 1978) is a separate, later printing and not the true first. Modern signed/limited reissues (Suntup Editions; PS Publishing "New Cover Series No.15," Glenn Chadbourne art; Cemetery Dance deluxe) are decades-later collectibles, not the first. NOTE: Doubleday trade firsts are themselves "book-club sized" (the guide gives trim BECAUSE club editions are often smaller, but here trade and club are close in size), and the official guide warns that club dust jackets are "occasionally found on first editions to replace lost or damaged jackets" — so board color (RED) + the S52 gutter code, NOT the jacket alone, are the deciding tests.

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statementThe copyright page explicitly states "First Edition." This is one of the early Doubleday King titles that DOES print the "First Edition" wording — but the words ALONE are insufficient: the true first ALSO requires the printer's gutter code "S52" at the foot of page 336 (the last page of text). Both must be present. The official stephenking.com 2024 guide lists Night Shift's identifiers verbatim as: trim 5¾ x 8½ x 1", DJ price $8.95, '"First Edition" on CP', and "S52 on page 336." Confirmed independently by Very Fine Books and an AbeBooks/Magnum Opus dealer listing.
Number lineNo conventional descending number line. Doubleday of this era identified the first printing by the gutter printer's code (S52 on p.336) combined with the stated "First Edition" on the copyright page — NOT by a "10 9 8 ... 1" row. (The official guide notes Doubleday's early King titles "all say 'First Edition' explicitly on the copyright page"; the number-line rule it gives — presence of the numeral 1 — applies to OTHER publishers' King titles, not the Doubleday-era ones.) Club/later printings carry a different gutter code ("mp"-prefixed) and/or lack the "First Edition" statement.
Gutter / printer codeS52 — at the foot/gutter of page 336 (the last text page). This is the Doubleday-era printer's code that confirms the first printing (per the official stephenking.com guide; in the Doubleday system the letter encodes the year and the number the week). It is ABSENT on club issues, which instead carry "mp"-prefixed Book-of-the-Month codes (documented examples: mp6aa, mp6z, mp2y) typically printed on the bottom-right of a BLANK end page (not on the last text page) rather than on p.336.
First printing — copiesNot publicly disclosed
First jacket price$8.95 (Front (inside) dust-jacket flap, upper corner; ISBN 0-385-12991-2 also appears on the jacket flap. Confirmed by the official stephenking.com guide ("$8.95" DJ price), Very Fine Books, and an AbeBooks/Magnum Opus listing. The Book Club / SFBC / BOMC issue carries NO printed price on the flap; the BOMC ("mp"-code) variant has the original cover art but no inside price. A boxed code "2228" is reported at the bottom of the REAR jacket flap on club copies. CAVEAT: a $8.95 price STICKER (not printed) appears on some jackets where Doubleday substituted club stock — still a first if S52 + "First Edition" present, but lower value.)
Board (panel) colorRed paper/cloth-covered boards (panels). (Club edition boards are 2-tone GRAY — a key non-jacket discriminator, independently confirmed.)
Spine / center bindingBlack cloth spine with gilt/gold-stamped titles — quarter-bound (black spine cloth + red boards = two-tone). Confirmed by Very Fine Books and the AbeBooks/Magnum Opus dealer listing ("bound in the original publisher's black cloth spine with red boards").
Binding styleQuarter-bound hardcover: black cloth spine over red paper/cloth-covered boards, sewn. Gilt spine lettering. Trim 5¾ x 8½ x 1" (per the official stephenking.com guide). Octavo (over 7¾"-9¾" tall, per Very Fine Books). The club edition is described as cheaper "mid-sized" construction with gray boards.
Topstain / endpapersUNVERIFIED — no authoritative source consulted specifies a topstain color or distinctive endpaper for the first. One dealer notes light foxing on page edges (condition, not a state point). Treat topstain/endpaper as NOT a documented first-state point.

Where to buy marker-checked

Live AbeBooks listings, checked against the seller's own photos. ✓ confirmed = a photo shows the decisive first-printing marker; cover only = ask the seller for the copyright-page shot before buying.

cover only — verify$1500NorWesterPrice-clipped jacket per seller ('Price clipped dust jacket'); the $8.95 flap price is NOT visible in any photo and was physically removed by the clipcover only — verify$2000Between the Covers Rare BooksFlap price NOT shown in any photo (front cover only); cannot confirm $8.95 or whether the jacket is price-clipped. Seller text does not explicitly sta

1 listing flagged wrong-edition / later printing and hidden.

Dust jacket

Tan/buff-ground jacket. Front-panel art (credited to Jim Phiesen) shows a bandage-wrapped human hand with eyes peering/growing out of the flesh — imagery from the story "I Am the Doorway." Title and author in bold lettering. Front flap carries the $8.95 price and ISBN 0-385-12991-2; rear panel/flaps carry blurbs. King wrote the book's FOREWORD himself and John D. MacDonald supplied the INTRODUCTION (corrected from a "foreword" framing — Very Fine Books and AbeBooks confirm MacDonald = introduction, King = his first-ever foreword). The draft's "die-cut holes revealing eyes" claim is NOT corroborated by any source consulted — the standard 1978 Doubleday jacket is a printed illustration; flagged as unverified/possibly conflated with another edition.

Art / design: Jim Phiesen (spelling as printed/credited by multiple independent dealers — Etsy listing 1521992511, Rare Book Cellar 172149). The draft's alternative attribution to "Fred Marcellino" is unsupported by any source consulted. NOTE: "Phiesen" is the longstanding bookseller spelling and is not authoritatively confirmed beyond dealer credits; treat as documented dealer consensus, not a verified primary credit. (The 1979 Signet paperback cover — a different image — is by Don Brautigam; the modern PS Publishing New-Cover-Series / Glenn Chadbourne art is a separate later edition. Neither applies to the 1978 hardcover.)

reference photohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Shift_(short_story_collection)reference photohttps://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-night-shift-first-edition-first-printing-S52-code-1978/reference photohttps://www.rarebookcellar.com/pages/books/172149/stephen-king/night-shift-jim-phiesen-cover-dust-jacket
Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copySee above (field value carries the full tell list).

Also watch for: Cautions: (1) "Married" jackets — a price-clipped or club jacket placed on a first, or a first jacket on a club body; verify board color (RED boards + black quarter cloth = first; GRAY = club) AND the S52 gutter code together. The official guide warns club jackets were occasionally placed on firsts, so the jacket alone is never decisive. (2) $8.95 price STICKER (not printed) — applied by Doubleday on substituted jacket stock; still a first if S52 + "First Edition" CP present, but lower value. (3) Altered copyright pages / facsimile jackets — confirm BOTH "First Edition" wording and the S52 gutter code on p.336; one without the other = altered/club/later. (4) Price-clipped jackets (corner cut to hide $8.95) lower value and can mask a club jacket. (5) Remainder marks on the bottom edge are common (still a first, reduced value). (6) Ex-library copies heavily devalued. (7) Don't confuse with the NEL UK 1978 first, the BOMC "mp"-code variant, or modern Suntup/PS New-Cover/Cemetery Dance reissues. (8) Beware seller jacket-artist attributions — dealers credit "Jim Phiesen"; "Fred Marcellino" attributions are unsupported.

Print run & scarcity

Doubleday did not disclose Night Shift's first-printing quantity; the ~12,000-copy figure originates from collector consensus (stephenkingcollector.com forum and dealers describing it as "one of the scarcest King firsts"). It is plausible — King was still mid-tier in 1978 and Doubleday print runs of that era for his titles were modest — but treat it as an estimate, not a verified press figure. Note this is a SHORT-STORY-COLLECTION first; the demand/price tier sits below 'Salem's Lot and well below Carrie, consistent with a low-but-not-tiny run.

First-state points & errata

Two-point test for a first-state first printing: (1) "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, AND (2) the alphanumeric printer's gutter code "S52" at the foot of page 336 (the last text page). Both required; cross-confirmed by the official stephenking.com 2024 guide plus dealers (Very Fine Books, AbeBooks/Magnum Opus). If the copyright page does NOT read "First Edition," or the gutter code is anything other than S52 (club issues carry "mp"-prefixed codes such as mp6aa/mp6z/mp2y), the copy is a club/later printing or has been altered. No widely documented internal typo/text-state variant is required beyond these two points (unlike 'Salem's Lot's Father Cody/Callahan jacket states). REMAINDER MARKS (sprayed/marker on the bottom edge) are common — a remainder-marked copy is still a first but worth less. $8.95 STICKER SUB-STATE: Doubleday is reported to have run out of first-edition jackets and applied a printed $8.95 price STICKER over some jackets (including some on club bodies); a sticker-priced copy with the S52 code + "First Edition" CP is still a first printing but is valued below a copy with the price printed directly on the flap.

Limited & signed editions

No 1978 signed/numbered/traycased limited was issued by Doubleday at publication. Author-signed/inscribed first-edition copies exist and command strong premiums (Bauman Rare Books, Second Story Books, Sotheby's, First and Fine). Later collector limiteds are reissues, NOT firsts: Suntup Editions Night Shift (Artist/Numbered/Lettered, signed); PS Publishing "Stephen King New Cover Series No.15 — Night Shift" (Glenn Chadbourne art, 1/500, signed); Cemetery Dance "Night Shift: The Deluxe Special Edition." A signed Book Club Edition has been offered traycased with COA (Very Fine Books) but remains a club copy.

Market value estimate

~$700–$1.5k

Assumes a genuine first edition / first printing in near-fine to fine condition (clean copy, unclipped jacket). Lesser condition is worth less.

No confirmed sale found, so this is rated at no less than its original jacket price — a true first/first should hold at least retail in near-fine/fine condition. Soft estimate from dealer listings (treat as approximate): $700–1,500 (genuine first, fine/fine, unclipped $8.95 jacket, S52 gutter code, unsigned)

Book-club edition (the trap): $10–25. Doubleday/BOMC book-club edition is "virtually worthless" — still sells $9.99 routinely. Signed BCEs in tray-cases with COA are the only ones that fetch real money (a few hundred), and that's for the signature, not the book. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

Condition is everything: the tan Marcellino jacket chips/tones, and a price-CLIPPED jacket cuts value ~40–60% (the 2019 clipped comp shows this). Ex-library, remainder-marked, or stained copies fall to ~$150–$400. SIGNED/INSCRIBED is a major multiplier — an authentic King signature takes a fine/fine first to roughly $2,500–$6,000+. SINGLE BIGGEST DISCRIMINATOR for Night Shift: the Doubleday gutter code "S52" in the gutter of page 336 (final leaf) MUST be present AND the rear board must have NO book-club blind-stamp (the indented dot near the spine tail). BCEs carry NO gutter code and ARE blind-stamped — so S52-present + no-blind-stamp + unclipped $8.95 flap + "First Edition" on the copyright page is the exact combination separating a ~$1,000 true first from the flood of ~$15 BCEs mislisted as "1978 first edition." Watch for married/facsimile jackets and clipped flaps re-priced by hand.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: SECOND ADVERSARIAL PASS. INDEPENDENT SOURCES NEWLY CONFIRMED/ADDED (not relied on in the draft's confirmed points): (a) the OFFICIAL stephenking.com "Identifying first editions (updated 2024)" guide (Bev Vincent) read directly as the RENDERED PDF TABLE this pass — the Night Shift row reads verbatim: 1978 / Doubleday / trim 5¾ x 8½ x 1" / DJ $8.95 / '"First Edition" on CP' + "S52 on page 336." This authoritatively confirms the two load-bearing points, the price, and the trim. The same guide's preamble states the Doubleday-era King titles "all say 'First Edition' explicitly on the copyright page," that club DJs are identifiable because "they do not have a price marked inside the front cover," and that "Book Club edition dust jackets are occasionally found on first editions to replace lost or damaged jackets." (b) stephenkingcollector forum thread t2226 ("gutter code mp6aa") + Etsy BCE listing 1045220238 — independently establish that CLUB issues carry "mp"-prefixed codes (mp6aa, mp6z, mp2y) on a blank end page, NOT "S52," and NOT "T7." (c) Bookshop Apocalypse BCE listing independently confirms 2-tone GRAY boards on the club edition. (d) Bauman, Sotheby's, First and Fine independently confirm signed-first premiums.

CORRECTIONS where draft disagreed with sources / over-corrected: (1) BCE GUTTER CODE — draft asserted "T7 (= Feb 1978)"; NO source supports T7. Documented club codes are "mp"-prefixed (mp6aa/mp6z/mp2y). Corrected. (2) "BOOK CLUB EDITION" PRINTED TEXT — the draft "corrected" the original to say club jackets DO print "Book Club Edition"; this is itself too strong. It VARIES: many SFBC copies are marked, but the BOMC ("mp"-code) variant has original cover art, no inside price, and does NOT say "Book Club Edition." Recorded the nuance; the reliable tells are no-printed-price + 2228 rear-flap code + gray boards. (3) JACKET ARTIST — confirmed "Jim Phiesen" (Etsy 1521992511, Rare Book Cellar 172149); "Fred Marcellino" remains unsupported. Kept the caveat that "Phiesen" is a bookseller spelling, not a verified primary credit. (4) MacDONALD = INTRODUCTION, KING = FOREWORD — re-confirmed (Very Fine Books, AbeBooks). (5) PRINT RUN — DISCREPANCY recorded, not resolved: "~1,500" (widely repeated, likely myth) vs "~12,000" (more commonly cited estimate). (6) NEW FIRST-STATE NUANCE added: the $8.95 price STICKER sub-state — Doubleday substituted some club/jacket stock and applied a printed price sticker; sticker-priced copies are still firsts (if S52 + "First Edition") but valued below printed-price copies. UNVERIFIED / FLAGGED (unchanged): draft's "die-cut holes revealing eyes" jacket description is NOT corroborated — standard 1978 jacket is a printed illustration; topstain/endpaper remain UNVERIFIED. Forum thread t721 and the stephenking.com PDF text-extraction returned 429/garbled via WebFetch, but t721 was readable via WebFetch (red boards/black quarter binding/tan DJ/MacDonald intro confirmed) and the PDF was read as a rendered image (table confirmed) — both load-bearing confirmations stand on rendered/primary reads, not on the failed text extractions.

confidence: High — the two load-bearing points ("First Edition" on copyright page + "S52" gutter code on p.336), the $8.95 price, and the 5¾ x 8½ x 1" trim are confirmed by the OFFICIAL stephenking.com "Identifying first editions (updated 2024)" guide (Bev Vincent), read directly as the rendered PDF table this pass, AND cross-confirmed by Very Fine Books, an AbeBooks/Magnum Opus dealer listing, and Wikipedia. Binding (red boards / black quarter cloth / gilt spine), MacDonald = introduction / King = foreword, and the "I Am the Doorway" eyes/bandaged-hand art are corroborated. CORRECTIONS vs draft: BCE gutter code is "mp"-prefixed (mp6aa/mp6z/mp2y), NOT "T7" (T7 unsupported); "Book Club Edition" printed text VARIES by club variant (draft over-corrected — the BOMC variant genuinely does NOT say it); jacket artist confirmed "Jim Phiesen" (Marcellino unsupported); print run is a recorded discrepancy (1,500 vs ~12,000). Lowered confidence only on: topstain/endpaper (UNVERIFIED), the draft's "die-cut holes" jacket claim (NOT corroborated — flagged), and exact first-print quantity (DISCREPANT).← Back to all titles