Another quick straw poll...
The P & J thread has had some conversations recently about what members need to 'complete' their collection of 1st editions, but 'complete' means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?
All US 1st editions that were printed in Hardback
All UK 1st editions that were printed in Hardback
Both US and UK 1st editions that were printed in Hardback
All US 1st editions that were printed in Hardback plus US Bachman PB's
All UK 1st editions that were printed in Hardback plus UK Bachman PB's
Both US and UK 1st editions that were printed in Hardback plus US and UK Bachman PB's
Everything that is listed on TDT first edition catalogue page
All the Hardbacks, all the softcover releases and all the Omnibus editions.
other (please specify)
Another quick straw poll...
The P & J thread has had some conversations recently about what members need to 'complete' their collection of 1st editions, but 'complete' means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
As this site is called, The Dark Tower, my complete collection of firsts is:
All Grant "The Dark Tower First Trade Editions".
All UK (Sphere & H&S) "The Dark Tower First Trade Editions".
I also have US and UK "The Dark Tower" Signed/Limited and Artist Editions". But I don't count them.
I voted "All the Hardbacks, all the softcover releases and all the Omnibus editions", which I interpret as being the 1st/1st trade editions for any given title, not as "every state of every book". This option allows for inclusion of the UK 1st printings of DTI-DTIV, for example. It does not include any mass-market paperbacks other than the Bachman ones.
Note: I consider the unsigned LOE Cycle of the Werewolf hardcover edition and the Gunslinger 1st edition to be trade editions. How do people feel about this? I know a 7,500 or 10,000 copy print run is small, but is it really that much smaller than the print runs of the other early King titles? The main difference with other trade editions is the amount of exposure/publicity generated by the publisher, IMO.
Up for debate: does a complete collection of 1st editions need to include the hardcover editions of The Breathing Method (UK) and Shawshank Redemption (US)?
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
I'm not a collector per se, so I'm Option 1 all the way. To me my collection is complete when I have every King title in its first US hardcover edition. Only missing Cycle of the Werewolf now.
all US first editions, first printings whether they were issued in hardback and/or paperback. Ie Bachman books and Colorado Kid and Joyland (i could be mistaken on Colorado kid, but i thought it was issued as a paperback first).
UK, proofs, first appearance, paperback first editions are just the icing on the cake.
S/L or more icing.
First edition books?
First published edition?
First US edition?
First UK edition?
First trade edition?
First hardback edition?
The first published book is the true first edition regardless of binding, country of origin, limitation, etc..
I collect the true first edition, the US first trade edition, the UK first trade edition if an English author (or first published in UK), the first hardback edition, and if there is no hardback the first Turtleback edition.
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
All US 1st editions that were printed in Hardback plus US Bachman PB's + Joyland
Or just
All US 1st editions
The Man With a Belly
UR...
oh forget it. I will be here all night.
I have two methods...
method 1
If it came out in hardback first... all these in UK and US...
if it came out in paperback first...those plus the hardback 1st release
(this would include the bachman paperbacks plus the bachman hardback collection and any other paperbacks as such)
also... if it came out in a different country before the US first (first world edition) I have to include that edition.
method 2:
all the above... plus the first printings of any short stories in magazine or other format... including omnibuses and stories in collections.
I guess, in my mind... I actually have four seperate first edition collections -
US firsts (currently completed)
UK firsts (currently completed)
world first (I believe to be completed)
short story first prints (not complete, but probably 75+% there... need the garbage truck series, the other drum, and some odds and ends)
when talking about 1st editions....I only consider the stories... not interviews , or movie reviews... those are a totally different category.
I don't consider paperbacks collectible. Not even the Bachmans. Paperbacks are awful books. I collect only hardcovers so for me I only need The Bachman Books, the 2000 edition of The Gree Mile, the BOMC edition of Storm of the Century, and so on.
Then you're very lucky to be living in the US - here in the Netherlands most books (especially popular fiction) are only released in trade paperback format. If there is a hardcover edition it usually has printed boards instead of a dust jacket. I hate Dutch books. I don't hate paperbacks though - we have shelves full of mass-market US/UK paperbacks at home that are perfect for taking with us when we go camping. Cheap, lightweight, they don't need to stay in collectible condition and most importantly, they contain the stories - and when I'm away from home that's all I care about.
so, with regard to these two books... What is preventing these from being added to the Catalog 1st edition page? Is it just a case of no-one has got round to it, or should we agree as a community what is regarded as being a 'first edition' of a book/story? I love the catalog (look I even use the US spelling ) and it contains a vast wealth of information for new collectors and visitors (and sometimes a surprise for those who have been collecting for a while..) and I believe it should be the 'defacto' list for any King collector.
I might include these 2 books as not many people are aware of them (The only pictures I have seen are from Bruce), but they are Large print books and that seems to be a different category all together. I wouldn't include 'ES' but I would include it (no pun intended) if we had a separate list of "World 1st editions" however. I also wouldn't include Omnibus editions either (or rather I would include All or None), but thats just me.
How was the original list decided? or did it just grow over time?
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
I guess the reason is that they're not true 1st printings of the stories and generally only of interest to completists. They're pretty scarce and most of them ended up in libraries. If you find copies that are not ex-lib they're worth a pretty penny! I bought and sold a perfect copy of The Breathing Method for $300! Haven't seen one for sale ever since. I own a couple of ex-lib copies of Shawshank but haven't seen perfect copies other than those of Bob and Bruce.
For me personally, a reason to put them in the Catalog would be that they are hard-to-find standalone hardcover editions of short stories. I don't think there are any other comparable editions.