Stephen King Proofs

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

That's the only signing I have been to but I have heard that King basically signs pretty much anything put in front of him. The bookstore employees generally move up and down the signing line telling people a bunch of rules (or so I've heard) but when you finally get to King he is usually pretty accommodating.

That's how I've found signings with King. He has signed some obscure items for me witout question. Apart from "Twice the Power". He said, "What the f*ck's this?" and then signed it when he realised what it was.

[jhanic]

I stand corrected. I must have gotten King messed up in my head with some other author. I've never been able to attend any of his signings.

John

[carlosdetweiller]

At the Betts signing in 1998 King signed some girl's leg. She was going to get the sig tatooed later that evening. I always thought if he would sign legs he would probably sign anything.

[Sir_Boomme]

Question to the ARC/proof collectors here. Do you also collect signed copies of these?. I'm sure they are a lot harder to find than Signed trade 1st. How rare is it to find signed ARC/proofs?.

i have a few signed proofs... but they are much rarer than signed firsts.... i pretty much only collect signed limiteds now if i am going for a signed book.

this... appropriately....was my first signed book, and my first purchase of many to come from stu at betts. when i graduated with my engineering degree in 1999, this is the first thing i saved up to buy with my new found "wealth".
if you want to see my other signed proofs... just click the boommes bucket of books link below and go to the proof section of my collection.

[jhanic]

At the Betts signing in 1998 King signed some girl's leg. She was going to get the sig tatooed later that evening. I always thought if he would sign legs he would probably sign anything.

You mean to say you didn't tan that hide and keep it for your collection??

John

[Sir_Boomme]

john, i'm surprised too,... bob's always got a leg up on everyone else.

[Darkthoughts]

That was terrible!

[carlosdetweiller]

At the Betts signing in 1998 King signed some girl's leg. She was going to get the sig tatooed later that evening. I always thought if he would sign legs he would probably sign anything.

You mean to say you didn't tan that hide and keep it for your collection??

John

Well, my wife was with me......

[Sir_Boomme]

At the Betts signing in 1998 King signed some girl's leg. She was going to get the sig tatooed later that evening. I always thought if he would sign legs he would probably sign anything.

You mean to say you didn't tan that hide and keep it for your collection??

John

Well, my wife was with me......

and what was wrong with her legs...? i personally would have chosen a different body part if it were my gal.

[jhanic]

Updated to add the signed contest manuscript proof of Green Mile #1 and the UK Dead Zone proof. (Thanks, Hutch!)

See 02-17-08 for updated listing.

John

[Fsmdr]

That list of John's makes my head spin!. So does the signed Carrie by Sir Boomme.

I just won a Bag of Bones, UK ARC with King's sig on it. It was signed at a launch party held at the Royal College of Art. The scan of the sig from the seller looks good to me. We'll see when I gets it. That makes my total number of ARC I own to a grand total of 1

[Randall Flagg]

That makes my total number of ARC I own to a grand total of 1

Every obsession..er, uh collection starts with the first.

[Hutch]

That makes my total number of ARC I own to a grand total of 1

Every obsession..er, uh collection starts with the first.

What.. no UK dead Zone? John is the list a list of proofs you own?

[Brice]

I believe the list is of ones he knows of.

[Sir_Boomme]

ok... i know i should remember this....
on the carrie arc in the proof list above...

i know the 1st edition hardback has a code p6... but
i've never seen a P6 ARC for sale.... anyone have one? bob?
(mine's a code 050)

was the code p6 version or the 050 version issued first?

[Randall Flagg]

If my theory on Doubleday gutter codes is correct, the O50 means the book was printed the 50th week of 1973. P6 means the 6th week of 1974.

[carlosdetweiller]

ok... i know i should remember this....
on the carrie arc in the proof list above...

i know the 1st edition hardback has a code p6... but
i've never seen a P6 ARC for sale.... anyone have one? bob?
(mine's a code 050)

was the code p6 version or the 050 version issued first?

The O50 is supposed to be the first. I've never seen a P6 ARC and have often wondered where that info (rumor?) got started.

BTW, Jerome, I love your deciphering of the Doubleday date codes. It makes perfect sense and I've never seen it give a date that wasn't plausible.

[Brice]

Has it been posted at this site? I remember it from .net.

[Sir_Boomme]

ok... i know i should remember this....
on the carrie arc in the proof list above...

i know the 1st edition hardback has a code p6... but
i've never seen a P6 ARC for sale.... anyone have one? bob?
(mine's a code 050)

was the code p6 version or the 050 version issued first?

The O50 is supposed to be the first. I've never seen a P6 ARC and have often wondered where that info (rumor?) got started.
.

i've never seen one either and was wondering the rumor thing myself.
could it be that the P6 code info. in the gutter of the US 1st edition hardback ....actually somehow got mixed up with the gutter code info. for the arc along the way?

hutch? john?, wiz? anyone? ever seen a P6 coded carrie arc?

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

If my theory on Doubleday gutter codes is correct, the O50 means the book was printed the 50th week of 1973. P6 means the 6th week of 1974.

Something else new I've learned today. Thanks RF.

[Sir_Boomme]

If my theory on Doubleday gutter codes is correct, the O50 means the book was printed the 50th week of 1973. P6 means the 6th week of 1974.

Something else new I've learned today. Thanks RF.

this kinda fits/makes sense...
the ARC comes out the 50th week of 1973.... and the 1st edition hardback comes out the 6th week of 1974

but why would a second printing of the ARC come out the same week as the 1st edition 1st printing of the hardback edition...?

that doesn't make sense. carrie ARC- code P6... i'll believe it when i see it.

[carlosdetweiller]

That makes my total number of ARC I own to a grand total of 1

Every obsession..er, uh collection starts with the first.

What.. no UK dead Zone? John is the list a list of proofs you own?

And no updated Black House entries?

[jhanic]

This is from Barry R. Levin's Biblio Notes (http://www.raresf.com/bnotes.html):

KING, STEPHEN. CARRIE.
James Strand has made a major bibliographic discovery concerning the nature of the true first edition of Stephen King's first book, CARRIE. It has long been known that the true first edition of CARRIE was the "Special Edition" in wrappers published by Doubleday as an advance readers copy to promote the sale of the first book by a then-unknown author by the name of Stephen King. Mr. Strand has discovered that there are two separate printings of this advance "Special Edition." One is marked with the code "O50" in the gutter margin of page 199, with the book itself measuring 5 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches. The other printing has the code "P6" in the gutter margin of page 199, with the book measuring 5 ½ x 8 ¼ inches. The text is positioned a little differently on the back cover, and the covers are of a somewhat different paper stock but otherwise the two printings look very much alike. If Doubleday had not broken their own rule at that time concerning the use of code numbers, the "O50" copies are the true first edition, first printing, followed by the later "P6" printing. "P6" is the code used in the first trade hardcover edition published by Doubleday.

By the way, the listing is all the ones that I know of, not, unfortunately, the ones I own. Any additions and/or corrections will be gladly incorporated. (I also added the UK Dead Zone proof--I don't know how I missed it in the first place, but thanks, Hutch!)

John

[Sir_Boomme]

This is from Barry R. Levin's Biblio Notes (http://www.raresf.com/bnotes.html):

KING, STEPHEN. CARRIE.
James Strand has made a major bibliographic discovery concerning the nature of the true first edition of Stephen King's first book, CARRIE. It has long been known that the true first edition of CARRIE was the "Special Edition" in wrappers published by Doubleday as an advance readers copy to promote the sale of the first book by a then-unknown author by the name of Stephen King. Mr. Strand has discovered that there are two separate printings of this advance "Special Edition." One is marked with the code "O50" in the gutter margin of page 199, with the book itself measuring 5 ¼ x 8 ¼ inches. The other printing has the code "P6" in the gutter margin of page 199, with the book measuring 5 ½ x 8 ¼ inches. The text is positioned a little differently on the back cover, and the covers are of a somewhat different paper stock but otherwise the two printings look very much alike. If Doubleday had not broken their own rule at that time concerning the use of code numbers, the "O50" copies are the true first edition, first printing, followed by the later "P6" printing. "P6" is the code used in the first trade hardcover edition published by Doubleday.

By the way, the listing is all the ones that I know of, not, unfortunately, the ones I own. Any additions and/or corrections will be gladly incorporated.

John

my question is... where did Mr Strand get his info.? did he see the book....or did he hear about the book? BTW... who is James Strand anyway?
has levin ever seen the book....or did he just take strand's word fo it?
does strand have any documentation ...an actual copy of the book, publisher notes, personally know a collector that has this P6 ARC? what is the basis of strand's discovery...
or is it a he said-she said-he heard conclusive discovery?

i'm not saying no way... but when bob ain't seen one in all his years...
and in 20 years of collecting, i've never seen/heard of one....
and out of the biggest congregation/ most knowledgable king collecting society around...us.... no one seems to have actually seen or know of someone with one....
...and if indeed the gutter code does reflect when the book came out.... it doesn't make sense to release a Advance copy at the same time as the 1st edition....

i'm still somewhat skeptical it exists.

[Nerak]

At the Betts signing in 1998 King signed some girl's leg. She was going to get the sig tatooed later that evening. I always thought if he would sign legs he would probably sign anything.

Now, that, I would do....hmmmmm.....