Is My Carrie a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page — the primary criterion — and carries the Doubleday gutter code 'P6' at the foot of the gutter on page 199, the last page of text ('P' = 1974, '6' = the sixth week)
• Bound in maroon cloth, the spine lettered in gilt; dust jacket illustrated by Alex Gotfryd
• The first-issue jacket has the printed price present at the front flap, unclipped
• (Advance/proof copies bear an earlier gutter code and are a distinct pre-publication state, not the trade first.)

How Doubleday marked a first edition

• Mid-1958–early 1959: numerical gutter code (1–52) on the last page of text indicating the WEEK of printing. Early 1959–1987: added a LETTER code before the week code indicating the YEAR.

Full Doubleday first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

US Doubleday (1974) is the true first — King's first novel, published April 5, 1974 in a reported print run of about 30,000 copies. The first British edition (New English Library, London, 1974, purple cloth, gilt-lettered spine, very scarce) followed and does not precede it; the US Doubleday is the true first. First state is established by the 'First Edition' statement plus the single-letter P6 code on page 199 and the priced jacket.P-037275

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions are the common trap. They do NOT state 'First Edition' on the copyright page; they bear a blind-stamp (a small square or 'gull' indentation) on the rear board, use cheaper boards and paper, run smaller and lighter, and the jacket carries no printed price (a code appears instead). Important correction to a widespread method: a gutter code is NOT proof of a trade first — Doubleday stamped gutter codes on book-club printings too (often a double-letter code such as 'MP...'). Identify the trade first by the 'First Edition' statement, the correct single-letter P6 code on page 199, the priced jacket, and the ABSENCE of the rear-board blind-stamp — not by the mere presence of a code.P-037276

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Carrie a first edition?

A first edition of Carrie by Stephen King (Doubleday) is identified by: First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page — the primary criterion — and carries the Doubleday gutter code 'P6' at the foot of the gutter on page 199, the last page of text ('P' = 1974, '6' = the sixth week).

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US Doubleday (1974) is the true first — King's first novel, published April 5, 1974 in a reported print run of about 30,000 copies.

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

Book-club editions are the common trap. They do NOT state 'First Edition' on the copyright page; they bear a blind-stamp (a small square or 'gull' indentation) on the rear board, use cheaper boards and paper, run smaller and lighter, and the jacket carries no printed price (a code appears instead). Important correction to a widespread method: a gutter code is NOT proof of a trade first — Doubleday stamped gutter codes on book-club printings too (often a double-letter code such as 'MP...'). Ident

I have a first edition of Carrie — 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.