# Is "Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub (Random House, 2001) is identified by: Random House trade first printing, an octavo of 625 pages. US Random House and UK HarperCollins editions were published simultaneously in September 2001; the Random House trade issue is the standard collected first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Random House trade first printing, an octavo of 625 pages
- The copyright page states First Trade Edition and carries the Random House number line 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3; per Random House convention a true first printing shows the low even number 2 rather than a 1 in the line
- Issued in publisher's boards in the first-state dust jacket, which is deliberately sparse with the title in silver against black and gray tones and a stylized shoeprint and silhouette of the house; the jacket carries the printed original price at the top of the front flap and should not be price-clipped on a first-state copy
- Sequel to The Talisman
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King and Peter Straub |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 2001 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Random House trade first printing, an octavo of 625 pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Random House trade first printing, an octavo of 625 pages. The copyright page states First Trade Edition and carries the Random House number line 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3; per Random House convention a true first printing shows the low even number 2 rather than a 1 in the line. Issued in publisher's boards in the first-state dust jacket, which is deliberately sparse with the title in silver against black and gray tones and a stylized shoeprint and silhouette of the house; the jacket carries the printed original price at the top of the front flap and should not be price-clipped on a first-state copy. Sequel to The Talisman.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House and UK HarperCollins editions were published simultaneously in September 2001; the Random House trade issue is the standard collected first. A signed limited edition of 1,520 copies in a leather traycase, signed by King, Straub, and artist Rick Berry, was published separately by Donald M. Grant in 2002.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club copies lack the stated First Trade Edition and the number line, are printed on lighter bulked paper, and typically show a blind-stamped dot or maple-leaf to the rear board.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Black House* by Stephen King and Peter Straub a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/black-house
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.