Is My Bag of Bones a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Copyright page states 'First Scribner edition 1998' with a full number line ending in 1 (1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2)
• 529 pages
• Bound in orange paper-covered boards with a quarter cream cloth spine lettered in gilt
• First-state dust jacket by John Fontana shows the profile of a screaming woman with a lakeside cabin in the background, repeats the cabin-and-lake vignette on the rear panel, and carries the author photograph by Virginia Sherwood on the back flap; the printed cover price should be present and unclipped

How Scribner marked a first edition

• After 1973 the letter code was abandoned in favor of a descending number line ending in 1.

Full Scribner first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The US Scribner 1998 edition is the true first. The UK Hodder and Stoughton 1998 edition is a separate edition, and the signed limited editions issued separately are distinct collectible states.P-029618

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The book-club edition is smaller and lighter, blind-stamped on the rear board, with a jacket bearing no printed price, and it lacks the full number line ending in 1. The price-present unclipped jacket together with the 1 in the number line confirms the trade first.P-029619

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Bag of Bones a first edition?

A first edition of Bag of Bones by Stephen King (Scribner) is identified by: Copyright page states 'First Scribner edition 1998' with a full number line ending in 1 (1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2); 529 pages.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The US Scribner 1998 edition is the true first.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The book-club edition is smaller and lighter, blind-stamped on the rear board, with a jacket bearing no printed price, and it lacks the full number line ending in 1. The price-present unclipped jacket together with the 1 in the number line confirms the trade first.

I have a first edition of Bag of Bones — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.