Stephen King Proofs

[Lot guy]

Congratulations! Even though you outbid me!

Me too!

[neo_trinity]

I won it. Pretty happy!!

Well done. Don't see these very often.

[sharki69]

Congrats Mike !

[zelig]

Congratulations! Even though you outbid me!

Me too!

And you outbid me Matt! I definitely wasn't packing enough heat for this one!

[Lot guy]

It went to a good home!!!!

[Pasiuk57]

I've searched a long time for it.

[zelig]

Enjoy it my friend! And thanks for saving me some money.

[jonp]

Well done Mike. I only bid up to £210. It went up very quickly at the end! It will fit very well in your collection.

[biomieg]

I had a snipe in place but didn't expect it to go nearly as high. I'm pretty pissed off that I missed out on it.

But I have no right to complain since I was stupid enough to sell all my UK proofs in the past. I used to own all of the ones I am now looking for again (Cujo, Christine, Thinner, Skeleton Crew, Talisman, IT and EOTD), except the UK Dead Zone.

What makes it even worse is that all of them except the UK Thinner ended up with one collector in the UK. This individual owes me lots of $$ (not for the proofs I sold him but for some other items I purchased from him but never received) but it's like he vanished in thin air. If he sends me back my proofs I'd gladly call it even but I can't reach him anymore....

Dammit!

[dnemec]

I'm thinking perhaps this website needs to form an enforcer squad...

[neo_trinity]

I got a pretty good deal on a "Twice the Power" proof this week (thanks Rusty), and in doing some homework on it was trying to determine how many copies were produced. If you search on-line, go back through the forums, and ask fellow proof collectors, the general answer you get is "Ummmm ...". Okay, that's not unusual for proofs, sometimes the numbers just aren't known. For this particular one I heard 1 to 25, read "Up to 40" and was told "nobody knows exactly".

So, what I'd like to do is just get a tally of the known proofs in collector's hands, as well as their state and if there's anything special about them (PC, signed, numbered, etc.). It's also mentioned on Barry Levin's site (www.raresf.com) that "Another state of this "presentation proof" is reported to contain yet another story from FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT"; if your's does, please let us know.

To try and reach as many as proof collectors as possible, I'm also putting this up in Cara Laughs and over at StephenKingCollector and then we'll see what kind of numbers we get. While I realize it won't be definitive, at least it'll give the collecting community a little bit better idea of what's out there.

To start it off, I have one copy (well, will when it arrives in the mail next week sometime anyway), I know Jhanic and Mr Rabbit Trick have at least one apiece, and there are two copies currently up for sale on various websites (more listings, but all for the same two copies). That makes 5 known so far. Everybody, please tell me what you've got!

George

Hi. I would like to add my four copies of "Twice the Power" proof to your tally. Three of them contain "Secret Window, Secret Garden" and one contains "The Langoliers".

I have a memo from Gaby Naher (Hodder press secretary) outlining the marketing plan of producing four unique editions, each one containing a different story from Four Past Midnight. When the publisher realized that there was a potential copyright violation in creating a new Stephen King title, the entire advertising campaign was scrapped. Whether or not further editions were printed, and how many survived is unknown. While it is a safe bet to conclude that there is no further stories, I always like to leave the porch light on and give hope a chance. Never say never. That being said, I have yet to find either "The Sun Dog" or "The Library Policeman" in this proof.

My copy of "The Langoliers" was obtained from George Locke of Ferret Fantasy publishers in London. George was a very large Stephen King fan and amassed a rare collection of unique items. His personal friendship with Gaby secured this copy, and his documentation shows that none of his peers were given a copy of the first story.

I hope you Enjoy. Gerald

[herbertwest]

As always, stunning inside items and informations. Thanks for sharing !

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

Thanks for this Gerald. I have never seen proof of the existence of Twice the Power with "The Langoliers". Now we know for sure.

[jonp]

Thanks for this Gerald. I have never seen proof of the existence of Twice the Power with "The Langoliers". Now we know for sure.

I just thought there was only one version with Secret Window.

[carlosdetweiller]

That is so cool, Gerald. I never knew there were variations of Twice The Power. Now I can't wait to get home and check my copies (although I am pretty sure they are all the same).

[neo_trinity]

That is so cool, Gerald. I never knew there were variations of Twice The Power. Now I can't wait to get home and check my copies (although I am pretty sure they are all the same).

Hi Bob. I hope you have a different story, as that would add more intrigue. The easiest sign of a variation is the wording on the outside spine of the book. The First Story has the 4 word groupings (Author, Title, Stories, Publisher) evenly spaced across the entire spine. The Second Story has the top 3 more closely grouped towards the top with Hodder & Stoughton at the base. I think the even spacing looks better as it clearly shows the title and the stories.

Word of advice: open up your books when you receive them, especially older ones. I have found signed event cards, photos with Stephen, signatures, inscriptions, ultrasound photos, and even cash inside the pages. That may be a safe place to keep them when you own them, but some people forget to check when they sell them.

[zelig]

Just checked my copy and it has "Secret Window, Secret Garden". Interesting to see "The Langoliers" copy.

[jon10g]

Amazing stuff!

[jhanic]

Thanks very much for the update on Twice the Power. I had always heard that a different story than Secret Windows, Secret Garden was done, but yours is the first verification that it actually exists. I'm updating the listing in the first post to reflect this.

John

[sentinel]

Very cool. I always thought that was a myth! Thanks Gerald!

[neo_trinity]

Thanks very much for the update on Twice the Power. I had always heard that a different story than Secret Windows, Secret Garden was done, but yours is the first verification that it actually exists. I'm updating the listing in the first post to reflect this.

John

Thank you John. On a side note, I have never spoken to anyone about this proof before today. I generally don't confirm nor deny the existence of rare items, for very good reasons. I have read Barry Levin's bibliography notes from raresf.com, and I can only assume that he has either viewed, or sold, a different copy in the past. My provenance proves that he never handled this copy. It is possible he heard it from a source at Hodder, but I have no way of knowing. It would be nice to know for certain how he came about his information, and which story he heard about.

[herbertwest]

I've just noticed that Justin Brooks' bibliography lists it, so there may be another copy out there if you never talked about it before.

[George at C-Springs]

Wow Gerald ... just wow. I don't remember, but I think the count was 25 copies when I did that survey a few years back, so your four would bring it up to 29. Checked my copy, which I'd never opened ... no such luck, plain boring old Secret Window.

[zelig]

Wow Gerald ... just wow. I don't remember, but I think the count was 25 copies when I did that survey a few years back, so your four would bring it up to 29. Checked my copy, which I'd never opened ... no such luck, plain boring old Secret Window.

Yeah, join the club. So far it looks like 'The Langoliers' club has one member by the name of Gerald!

[carlosdetweiller]

Both of my copies are "Secret Window."