Is My Cycle of the Werewolf a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Land of Enchantment (Westland, Michigan), 1983, with twelve Berni Wrightson color plates (plus black-and-white illustrations), issued in three states: a signed, numbered, slipcased limited totaling 350 copies signed by King and Wrightson — 100 'Collector' copies (numbered 1-100), each with an original Wrightson drawing laid in, and 250 'Deluxe' copies (numbered 101-350), each accompanied by a Wrightson portfolio; plus an unsigned trade hardcover of about 7,500 copies in brown leatherette-grain boards with gilt lettering on the front and spine, in a dust jacket (oversize, roughly 9 x 11 in.)
• A small presentation state of about 8 'Artist's Copies' with a handwritten limitation notice, signed by King and Wrightson, also exists
• This was the only hardcover edition of the work

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 1983 Land of Enchantment edition is the true first. The signed and numbered limited (100 Collector + 250 Deluxe = 350) is the scarcest state, with the unsigned 7,500-copy trade hardcover issued alongside as the common first. The 1985 Signet/NAL paperback — and the related 'Silver Bullet' film tie-in edition — is a later, lesser issue, not a first.P-037280

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

There is no standard book-club edition. The common trap is the 1985 Signet paperback (movie-tie-in era): do not take it for the 1983 Land of Enchantment first. Signed states must bear BOTH King's and Wrightson's signatures on the numbered limitation page; the trade issue is unsigned. Note that 'Land of Enchantment' is New Mexico's nickname but the imprint operated out of Westland, Michigan — the publisher name is not evidence of a New Mexico printing.P-037281

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Cycle of the Werewolf a first edition?

A first edition of Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King (Land of Enchantment) is identified by: Land of Enchantment (Westland, Michigan), 1983, with twelve Berni Wrightson color plates (plus black-and-white illustrations), issued in three states: a signed, numbered, slipcased limited totaling 350 copies signed by King and Wrightson — 100 'Collector' copies (numbered 1-100), each with an original Wrightson drawing laid in, and 250 'Deluxe' copies (numbered 101-350), each accompanied by a Wrightson portfolio; plus an unsigned trade hardcover of about 7,500 copies in brown leatherette-grain…

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. The 1983 Land of Enchantment edition is the true first.

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

There is no standard book-club edition. The common trap is the 1985 Signet paperback (movie-tie-in era): do not take it for the 1983 Land of Enchantment first. Signed states must bear BOTH King's and Wrightson's signatures on the numbered limitation page; the trade issue is unsigned. Note that 'Land of Enchantment' is New Mexico's nickname but the imprint operated out of Westland, Michigan — the publisher name is not evidence of a New Mexico printing.

I have a first edition of Cycle of the Werewolf — 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.