Stephen King Proofs

[jon10g]

Gerald Winters has published a photo of a Dark Tower proof on his Twitter that I have not seen before.
https://mobile.twitter.com/GWandSonB...05610138832896

[jhanic]

That looks more like a bound manuscript of the last Dark Tower book. Very neat. I've added it to the UK listing.

John

[jon10g]

Thanks for that information.

[vincent]

Reading through the fantastic catalogue again of proofs & manuscripts that John has put together on the first page of this thread, I just realized that the publisher's manuscript photocopy of NEEDFUL THINGS that I have in my collection isn't in that list. I include some pics of it here.

I would love to find out more about this photocopy. Does anyone else have one like this? Or does anyone have any info on it? I know what it is, but I don't know anything about how many were produced and if any others are in collectors' hands. Thanks!

[herbertwest]

The handwritten notes are great!

[Curly]

Bob has a couple of original manuscripts for this. One I remember was wrapped in the blue publisher's wrappers. Someone else here also had a copy. It may have been Alec. I will need to check my records.

[vincent]

Bob has a couple of original manuscripts for this. One I remember was wrapped in the blue publisher's wrappers. Someone else here also had a copy. It may have been Alec. I will need to check my records.

That would be great, thank you very much! I'll email Bob and ask about his originals. I bought my photocopy from Mike P.

[jhanic]

I try not to include manuscripts in the list unless they are bound. Should this be changed?

John

[vincent]

I try not to include manuscripts in the list unless they are bound. Should this be changed?

John

Many thanks for clarifying this, John. For me, there's no need to change this, since that's a very clear distinction.

I am very curious to know if anyone else has a similar NT photocopy, to determine if, for NEEDFUL THINGS, the publisher distributed all of their photocopies in these blue folders, or if some were bound.

[Curly]

UK Needful Things Manuscript


US Needful Things Manuscript (Gerald Winters)

[vincent]

UK Needful Things Manuscript

US Needful Things Manuscript (Gerald Winters)

Thank you very much for these, Curly!

They are both very cool items, but both different from what I have:

The light blue one is a proof for the UK edition, published by Hodder & Stoughton. That proof was produced by the printer, Rowland, so technically it's not a manuscript because it was already typeset.

The signed one underneath is a photocopy that King made himself (most likely an assistant did the copying) of a printout of his final draft of NT, which he sent to his friend David Morrell. Along with ms photocopies of IT, Misery, Dark Half and Four Past Midnight, and lots of signed first editions, it was auctioned off for charity by Gerald Winters two years or so ago. I actually put in an absentee bid for this NT ms for the first incarnation of the auction, the live auction event that got cancelled last minute.

The photocopy in my collection was made by Viking, and is a copy of the printout that King submitted to them. It was copied when the editing process was already underway: it contains corrections by SK but also comments and queries by his editor, Chuck Verrill. Viking used to produce these publisher's photocopies for inter-office use, if I am not mistaken. Sometimes they were bound (glued, for instance like Desperation, Regulators, comb-bound like IT), but mine came in these two blue ring folders and I'd love to find out if anyone else has a publisher's photocopy of NT, to see if they look alike.

Thanks again, I love all this kind of stuff.

[George at C-Springs]

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this being discussed over in the Intriguing Auctions thread; I've personally never seen one come up for sale before. Just WOW.

1988 STEPHEN KING THE DARK TOWER THE GUNSLINGER ORANGE PROOF 1 OF 8 PRISTINE

BIN $16,500 or Make Offer

THE DARK TOWER THE GUNSLINGER BY STEPHEN KING. ILLUSTRATED BY MICHAEL WHELAN. UNCORRECTED PROOFS. ORANGE PROOF 1 OF 8.
Publication Date: September 30, 1988. First Plume Printing.
Published by the New American Library, A Plume Book, New York, First Printing, September 1988.
Text Page Count: 224 pristine pages, never read, not touched by ungloved hands, no marks, kept sealed.
Trim Size: 6” x 9” (5/8” thick)
Tentative Price: $10.95 US/ $14.95 CAN
ISBN: 0-452-26134-1
5 Illustrations from paintings in color. 10 black & white header & tailpiece illustrations in text.



Just WOW.

Edit: The "1 of 8" hasn't been noted before; I asked Alec if this might be his copy, and if so how did he get that number ... it's not, and he is curious as well. If this is someone's here and you have the data to verify the 1 of 8, please drop me a PM; I'd like to update the print run entry on the Manuscripts, Proofs and ARCs page. Thx -- George

2nd Edit: Added Photo

[webstar1000]

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this being discussed over in the Intriguing Auctions thread; I've personally never seen one come up for sale before. Just WOW.

1988 STEPHEN KING THE DARK TOWER THE GUNSLINGER ORANGE PROOF 1 OF 8 PRISTINE

BIN $16,500 or Make Offer

THE DARK TOWER THE GUNSLINGER BY STEPHEN KING. ILLUSTRATED BY MICHAEL WHELAN. UNCORRECTED PROOFS. ORANGE PROOF 1 OF 8.
Publication Date: September 30, 1988. First Plume Printing.
Published by the New American Library, A Plume Book, New York, First Printing, September 1988.
Text Page Count: 224 pristine pages, never read, not touched by ungloved hands, no marks, kept sealed.
Trim Size: 6” x 9” (5/8” thick)
Tentative Price: $10.95 US/ $14.95 CAN
ISBN: 0-452-26134-1
5 Illustrations from paintings in color. 10 black & white header & tailpiece illustrations in text.



Just WOW.

Edit: The "1 of 8" hasn't been noted before; I asked Alec if this might be his copy, and if so how did he get that number ... it's not, and he is curious as well. If this is someone's here and you have the data to verify the 1 of 8, please drop me a PM; I'd like to update the print run entry on the Manuscripts, Proofs and ARCs page. Thx -- George

2nd Edit: Added Photo

It sold. AND for about $14200 is what I heard.

[George at C-Springs]

It sold. AND for about $14200 is what I heard.

I would have been stunned if it hadn't sold; this is a cornerstone for DT proofs, and the opportunity to buy just doesn't happen very often. Congrats to the buyer on a great add to his/her collection.

[Lauterer]

Can someone tell me what the latest price for a Talisman uc Proof yellow is? Any ideas, i have no clue. Unsigned, but in vg condition. Thanks

[vincent]

Can someone tell me what the latest price for a Talisman uc Proof yellow is? Any ideas, i have no clue. Unsigned, but in vg condition. Thanks

I have seen them up for sale in the region of US $ 250 to 400, depending on condition and the motivation of the buyer.

[Lauterer]

Thanks.

[George at C-Springs]

Now that I have your attention! With the recent The Gunslinger Orange Plume Proof discussions, what caught my attention was the "1 of 8" claim attached to the eBay sale. I know it's scarce, but I actually thought the number was much lower than 8. I of course then dutifully went straight to the catalog, only to read "Print Run: Unknown" not just for the Orange Plume Proof, but for the Sphere, Viking, and Plume Variant as well. "How can this be so!" I thought, as the gears spun ... "We need to fix this!".

With a bit of sleuthing, the number of copies for the Orange Plume Proof would appear to be either 4 or 5 (Bob Jackson, Alec, David, Mike, and now possibly the fifth that was just up for sale unless it was one of these four); for the Sphere it would appear to be 3 (Bob, David, and Alec). For the Viking I found 2 for sure (John & Jeff). For the Plume Variant I've no idea. To be honest, the threads and collections are far too voluminous for me to search, and with the photobucket fiasco awhile back there are many photos no longer available ... this is where all of YOU come in. Help me correct the catalog and save me from having to browse thousands of threads.

If you've got a copy, know where one resides (or perhaps resided previously) please drop me a PM. If you'd like confidentiality that's not a problem, just say the word. If you've got a photo please include it; the one presented here of side-by-side Plume & Sphere Gunslingers is courtesy of Alec!

Let me know ... let's correct the catalog!

[OneFathom]

Now that I have your attention! With the recent The Gunslinger Orange Plume Proof discussions, what caught my attention was the "1 of 8" claim attached to the eBay sale. I know it's scarce, but I actually thought the number was much lower than 8. I of course then dutifully went straight to the catalog, only to read "Print Run: Unknown" not just for the Orange Plume Proof, but for the Sphere, Viking, and Plume Variant as well. "How can this be so!" I thought, as the gears spun ... "We need to fix this!".

With a bit of sleuthing, the number of copies for the Orange Plume Proof would appear to be either 4 or 5 (Bob Jackson, Alec, David, Mike, and now possibly the fifth that was just up for sale unless it was one of these four); for the Sphere it would appear to be 3 (Bob, David, and Alec). For the Viking I found 2 for sure (John & Jeff). For the Plume Variant I've no idea. To be honest, the threads and collections are far too voluminous for me to search, and with the photobucket fiasco awhile back there are many photos no longer available ... this is where all of YOU come in. Help me correct the catalog and save me from having to browse thousands of threads.

If you've got a copy, know where one resides (or perhaps resided previously) please drop me a PM. If you'd like confidentiality that's not a problem, just say the word. If you've got a photo please include it; the one presented here of side-by-side Plume & Sphere Gunslingers is courtesy of Alec!

Let me know ... let's correct the catalog!

I swooped on it. It was a no-brainer.

[OneFathom]

This appears to be a new copy that recently surfaced. According to Joel of JJ Fine Books, who sold the proof on ebay last week, the back story is: "We purchased it as a result of an auction of the entire estate of a well known physician and researcher and his wife approached me after the auction and wanted to know if I would like to buy all of the remaining books in her house still on the shelves in her huge library."

That's all I know. I was curious as to the provenance myself.

[HorrorfanTom]

This appears to be a new copy that recently surfaced. According to Joel of JJ Fine Books, who sold the proof on ebay last week, the back story is: "We purchased it as a result of an auction of the entire estate of a well known physician and researcher and his wife approached me after the auction and wanted to know if I would like to buy all of the remaining books in her house still on the shelves in her huge library."

That's all I know. I was curious as to the provenance myself.

These little nuggets of history are cool as hell!

[webstar1000]

Now that I have your attention! With the recent The Gunslinger Orange Plume Proof discussions, what caught my attention was the "1 of 8" claim attached to the eBay sale. I know it's scarce, but I actually thought the number was much lower than 8. I of course then dutifully went straight to the catalog, only to read "Print Run: Unknown" not just for the Orange Plume Proof, but for the Sphere, Viking, and Plume Variant as well. "How can this be so!" I thought, as the gears spun ... "We need to fix this!".

With a bit of sleuthing, the number of copies for the Orange Plume Proof would appear to be either 4 or 5 (Bob Jackson, Alec, David, Mike, and now possibly the fifth that was just up for sale unless it was one of these four); for the Sphere it would appear to be 3 (Bob, David, and Alec). For the Viking I found 2 for sure (John & Jeff). For the Plume Variant I've no idea. To be honest, the threads and collections are far too voluminous for me to search, and with the photobucket fiasco awhile back there are many photos no longer available ... this is where all of YOU come in. Help me correct the catalog and save me from having to browse thousands of threads.

If you've got a copy, know where one resides (or perhaps resided previously) please drop me a PM. If you'd like confidentiality that's not a problem, just say the word. If you've got a photo please include it; the one presented here of side-by-side Plume & Sphere Gunslingers is courtesy of Alec!

Let me know ... let's correct the catalog!

I swooped on it. It was a no-brainer.

You got it Colin?

[George at C-Springs]

I swooped on it. It was a no-brainer.

Congratulations, that's awesome.

[OneFathom]

Now that I have your attention! With the recent The Gunslinger Orange Plume Proof discussions, what caught my attention was the "1 of 8" claim attached to the eBay sale. I know it's scarce, but I actually thought the number was much lower than 8. I of course then dutifully went straight to the catalog, only to read "Print Run: Unknown" not just for the Orange Plume Proof, but for the Sphere, Viking, and Plume Variant as well. "How can this be so!" I thought, as the gears spun ... "We need to fix this!".

With a bit of sleuthing, the number of copies for the Orange Plume Proof would appear to be either 4 or 5 (Bob Jackson, Alec, David, Mike, and now possibly the fifth that was just up for sale unless it was one of these four); for the Sphere it would appear to be 3 (Bob, David, and Alec). For the Viking I found 2 for sure (John & Jeff). For the Plume Variant I've no idea. To be honest, the threads and collections are far too voluminous for me to search, and with the photobucket fiasco awhile back there are many photos no longer available ... this is where all of YOU come in. Help me correct the catalog and save me from having to browse thousands of threads.

If you've got a copy, know where one resides (or perhaps resided previously) please drop me a PM. If you'd like confidentiality that's not a problem, just say the word. If you've got a photo please include it; the one presented here of side-by-side Plume & Sphere Gunslingers is courtesy of Alec!

Let me know ... let's correct the catalog!

I swooped on it. It was a no-brainer.

You got it Colin?

I did! I missed out on a Sphere Gunslinger proof several years ago by the slimmest of margins and knew this might be my only shot to get the one piece I really wanted for myself. Very pleased with the piece.

[vincent]

I did! I missed out on a Sphere Gunslinger proof several years ago by the slimmest of margins and knew this might be my only shot to get the one piece I really wanted for myself. Very pleased with the piece.

wow, congrats on finding & getting a personal grail! nothing quite like it.