Stephen King Collecting Questions

[super sam]

Thanks for the info.
If someone wants to buy it,just send me a PM

[Citizen of Lud]

I have seen two different versions That have the 625 Madison Avenue on the CP on Ebay. One with gold lettering on the spine of the book and one with red, is this a first and second state I have only seen these in pictures not first hand. Thanks

[KingKorn]

Forgive me if this is the wrong thread to post this question. Still learning my way around.

But, the title of the thread seems about right so here goes: Does anyone know of an online resource (website) available to lookup how many copies were published of various editions of books? Also, is there a tool (might be the same one) that can provide a definitive list of how many total editions of a given book have been published, the year of each and by what publisher?

[sharki69]

Forgive me if this is the wrong thread to post this question. Still learning my way around.

But, the title of the thread seems about right so here goes: Does anyone know of an online resource (website) available to lookup how many copies were published of various editions of books? Also, is there a tool (might be the same one) that can provide a definitive list of how many total editions of a given book have been published, the year of each and by what publisher?

Try this website for most info (except the number of copies)

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ch.cgi?70

[jhanic]

That's a NEAT website!

John

[KingKorn]

That's a NEAT website!

John

Yeah, no kidding! Thanks, Sharki. Amazing response time, and a very helpful tool.

Now, if only someone could somehow combine that site's wealth of detail around editions with a magical collection of all the various publishers' data around # of copies per printing, I'd have the utopian collector's panacea I've been dreaming of.

[Citizen of Lud]

I should have posted this here instead of making a new thread sorry.

I have seen two different versions That have the 625 Madison Avenue on the CP on Ebay. One with gold lettering on the spine of the book and one with red, is this a first and second state or BCE and trade. I have only seen these in pictures not first hand. Thanks

[Merlin1958]

Mine is in gold

[stroppygoblin]

Mine is also gold

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

how many copies were published of various editions of books?

This is sensitive commercial business information and is not to be in the public domain. (Same for any business)

P.S. A good guide is the NYT Best sellers list.

[Citizen of Lud]

I should have posted this here instead of making a new thread sorry.

I have seen two different versions That have the 625 Madison Avenue on the CP on Ebay. One with gold lettering on the spine of the book and one with red, is this a first and second state or BCE and trade. I have only seen these in pictures not first hand. Thanks

I believe the Red Lettering is the BCE one of the postings in Ebay either posted the wrong pics or is pulling some funny business please correct me if I am wrong

[M-O-O-N]

I checked my 1st edition and the lettering on the spine is gold.

[Merlin1958]

I should have posted this here instead of making a new thread sorry.

I have seen two different versions That have the 625 Madison Avenue on the CP on Ebay. One with gold lettering on the spine of the book and one with red, is this a first and second state or BCE and trade. I have only seen these in pictures not first hand. Thanks

I believe the Red Lettering is the BCE one of the postings in Ebay either posted the wrong pics or is pulling some funny business please correct me if I am wrong

I checked my 1st edition and the lettering on the spine is gold.

Yeah, I think "Citizen" got it right, the "red" is a BCE. IMHO

[biomieg]

Regarding the Dead Zone and other early Viking titles:

I copied and saved the following regarding identifying the Dead Zone first edition vs. the Book Club edition back in September 2006. I WISH I had noted from where and whom I copied it. My sincerest apologies to whomever first penned this!

Viking moved in the early 80's. Not sure exactly when, but it was between the publishing of Different Seasons and Christine, so either 1982 or 1983. The earlier address was 625 Madison Avenue, they moved to 40 West 23rd Street (both in N.Y). This is of crucial importance because most of the books published around that date are fairly hard to identify as firsts.

So how do you identify, say, a first edition of The Dead Zone? We'll look at the book and the DJ separately. First, the book. First Published in 1979 by The Viking Press is useless, they all say it. Absence of a number line? Usefull in differentiating between a 1st printing and a later printing, but useless in differentiating between a BCE and a 1st printing, because neither has number lines. What about size, you say. Some King BCE's are virtually the exact same size as the 1st editions. (The Dead Zone is one of these, It is another, not sure about others but unless you know for SURE that they NEVER made a BCE that size (and how can you really be sure?), then size wont help either (not all the time anyway). What's left? Quarter bound in black cloth with black boards? They're all like that. So now what's left? According to all the FAQ's I've seen, nothing. So there is NO surefire way to identify The Dead Zone as a first edition.

So basically people are identifying the dust jacket, not the book itself. Well, that's fine, right? If you've got a first edition DJ then it must be a first edition book, why the hell would someone put a first edition DJ on a book club? Where'd the first edition book go? DJ's almost always show wear before the book itself, so if you've got a real nice 1st edition DJ it'd be silly to think it contained a BCE book, right? The other way might happen, a First edition book with a shredded or absent DJ might have a BCE DJ, but you'd avoid that anyway assuming the book was also BCE.

Here's the problem. Later printing DJ's are, in at least some cases, identical to first edition DJ's. Christine is one of em, I own a 1st edition and a 3rd edition and the DJ's are completely identical. Date code is the same, price is the same, ISBN is the same, they're completely identical. The Dead Zone is the same way, at least up to the 6th printing (IIRC). So if you can't tell the difference between a 1st printing DJ and a 5th printing DJ, and you can't tell the difference between a BCE book and first edition book, then couldn't your "verified" first edition be a BCE with a later printing DJ? It sure as hell could, and I've seen several copies of the The Dead Zone in just such a manner sell for 75 dollars and up on eBay (as much as a real first edition, in other words. It's not like seeing a BCE Carrie sell for 75 dollars).

So here's where the little tidbit about Viking moving comes in. All the book clubs I've seen that are the correct size were printed AFTER 1983. The Dead Zone was, of course, printed in 1979. Which means the addresses should be different, and they are. The BCE's have the 40 West 23rd Street address, the real Firsts have the 625 Madison Avenue address. The nice thing here is that Viking printed the address on the CP AND the DJ. The later printings were still at 625 Madison, so when you see a BCE with a later printing DJ, not only is the address on the CP wrong, but the address on the CP and the DJ don't match.

Now, this doesn't mean that there couldn't be some BCE's out there that are the correct size printed before 1983. In which case I don't know what to tell ya.

John

[biomieg]

Reading the above, it seems that my copy of The Dead Zone is 'off' - it has a DJ with the title in gold and the author name in red on the spine and the correct price of $11.95 and the 625 Madison Avenue address on the inner back flap. All pointing to a 1st printing. The copyright page states 40 West 23d Street, however. According to the above the book should then be a BCE. But it seems to be the correct size for a trade edition, which should be impossible (unless BCE and trade differ no more than a few millimeters in size, I did not look that closely).

Does anyone have a copy of the true 1st printing for me? My other early Vikings seem to be good.

[webstar1000]

Guys I have a question out there for you all... I have on hold through Bett's all matching numbers in the Whalen signed DT prints. They match my numbered DT set as well... I am wondering if you all would get them (think they are a couple hundred each)... or not bother. I am really into real art and I run a print company and know the cost on these would be a few bucks each... so I basically paying all that money for a number and a signature. Looking for some input from all of you. As some know I recently bought a house that has sucked all my monies away for the time being...

[carlosdetweiller]

Reading the above, it seems that my copy of The Dead Zone is 'off' - it has a DJ with the title in gold and the author name in red on the spine and the correct price of $11.95 and the 625 Madison Avenue address on the inner back flap. All pointing to a 1st printing. The copyright page states 40 West 23d Street, however. According to the above the book should then be a BCE. But it seems to be the correct size for a trade edition, which should be impossible (unless BCE and trade differ no more than a few millimeters in size, I did not look that closely).

Does anyone have a copy of the true 1st printing for me? My other early Vikings seem to be good.

Michaël, My first edition copies all state 625 Madison Ave. on the copyright page as well as on the rear dj flap.

[skyofcrack]

Regarding the Dead Zone and other early Viking titles:

So how do you identify, say, a first edition of The Dead Zone? We'll look at the book and the DJ separately. First, the book. First Published in 1979 by The Viking Press is useless, they all say it. Absence of a number line? Usefull in differentiating between a 1st printing and a later printing, but useless in differentiating between a BCE and a 1st printing, because neither has number lines. What about size, you say. Some King BCE's are virtually the exact same size as the 1st editions. (The Dead Zone is one of these, It is another, not sure about others but unless you know for SURE that they NEVER made a BCE that size (and how can you really be sure?), then size wont help either (not all the time anyway). What's left? Quarter bound in black cloth with black boards? They're all like that. So now what's left? According to all the FAQ's I've seen, nothing. So there is NO surefire way to identify The Dead Zone as a first edition.

Here's the problem. Later printing DJ's are, in at least some cases, identical to first edition DJ's. Christine is one of em, I own a 1st edition and a 3rd edition and the DJ's are completely identical. Date code is the same, price is the same, ISBN is the same, they're completely identical. The Dead Zone is the same way, at least up to the 6th printing (IIRC). So if you can't tell the difference between a 1st printing DJ and a 5th printing DJ, and you can't tell the difference between a BCE book and first edition book, then couldn't your "verified" first edition be a BCE with a later printing DJ? It sure as hell could, and I've seen several copies of the The Dead Zone in just such a manner sell for 75 dollars and up on eBay (as much as a real first edition, in other words. It's not like seeing a BCE Carrie sell for 75 dollars).

So here's where the little tidbit about Viking moving comes in. All the book clubs I've seen that are the correct size were printed AFTER 1983. The Dead Zone was, of course, printed in 1979. Which means the addresses should be different, and they are. The BCE's have the 40 West 23rd Street address, the real Firsts have the 625 Madison Avenue address. The nice thing here is that Viking printed the address on the CP AND the DJ. The later printings were still at 625 Madison, so when you see a BCE with a later printing DJ, not only is the address on the CP wrong, but the address on the CP and the DJ don't match.

Now, this doesn't mean that there couldn't be some BCE's out there that are the correct size printed before 1983. In which case I don't know what to tell ya.

John

My BCE DZ is smaller than my 1st DZ. It's the same size as my Shining BCE.



Also, the boards are grey on my BCE while they're black on my 1st.

1st and BCE DZ:


There's also more space between SK's name and the top of the book and the tag line and the bottom of the book on the 1st. It's more cramped on the BCE.

I'll get some better pics up later as I have to get them from storage.

[stroppygoblin]

heres some additional pictures of the first that matches all the relevant points:

[Kingfan24]

Guys I have a question out there for you all... I have on hold through Bett's all matching numbers in the Whalen signed DT prints. They match my numbered DT set as well... I am wondering if you all would get them (think they are a couple hundred each)... or not bother. I am really into real art and I run a print company and know the cost on these would be a few bucks each... so I basically paying all that money for a number and a signature. Looking for some input from all of you. As some know I recently bought a house that has sucked all my monies away for the time being...

Although they are nice looking they are still just prints signed by whelan and honestly I do t think they will hold that value - unless you sell them with your s/l set... Then maybe...

[DoctorZaius]

Guys I have a question out there for you all... I have on hold through Bett's all matching numbers in the Whalen signed DT prints. They match my numbered DT set as well... I am wondering if you all would get them (think they are a couple hundred each)... or not bother. I am really into real art and I run a print company and know the cost on these would be a few bucks each... so I basically paying all that money for a number and a signature. Looking for some input from all of you. As some know I recently bought a house that has sucked all my monies away for the time being...

Although they are nice looking they are still just prints signed by whelan and honestly I do t think they will hold that value - unless you sell them with your s/l set... Then maybe...

I would get them. They will hold their value, and you will never get another chance to match your numbers! Maybe Dave will let you do layaway and pay for them in installments. You've been a good customer in the past.

[webstar1000]

Thanks for the good advice guys... on hold

[SirFolio16]

How can you tell if a copy of The Eyes of the Dragon is a first edition, first printing? And what is a good price?

For example is this a first edition first printing?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380963265799...84.m1423.l2649

[jhanic]

It appears to be a first printing, third "state" or printer. Check out:

http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/...The+-+Trade+HC

John

[webstar1000]

Who made those SWEET Gunslinger metal cases? I seen them on here (think RF had it) and I grabbed the one Bett's had as I have never seen them for sale... what is the story on them? Limited edition? Thanks guys for the info!