Is My Salem's Lot a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page and carries the Doubleday gutter code 'Q37' on page 439 ('Q' = 1975, '37' = the 37th week)
• Three dust-jacket states exist; the book block is identical in all three, only the jacket changes
• First state: the front-flap blurb reads 'Father Cody' (an error — the priest is Father Callahan
• Jimmy Cody is the doctor), with the original, higher price unclipped at the top-right of the front flap
• Second state: the same 'Father Cody' error but the price reduced (the original clipped and the lower price reprinted beside it)
• Third state: price unclipped at the corrected lower figure and the flap text corrected to 'Father Callahan.' The first-state jacket is the earliest and scarcest

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 (1975) is the true first (first American printing about 20,000 copies). King's manuscript title 'Jerusalem's Lot' was shortened by the publisher to 'Salem's Lot.' The first British edition (New English Library, London, 1976, black cloth, (viii)+439 pp, well under 1,000 copies) followed and does not precede it; the US Doubleday is the true first. First state is fixed by the 'First Edition' statement, the Q37 code on page 439, and the first-state ('Father Cody', higher unclipped price) jacket.P-037288

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions do NOT state 'First Edition,' carry a rear-board blind-stamp, use cheaper boards and paper, run smaller, and have no printed price on the jacket. Correction to a common misstatement: a gutter code is NOT itself proof of a trade first — Doubleday used gutter codes on book-club printings as well (often a double-letter code). Distinguish the trade first by the 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page, the correct single-letter 'Q37' code on page 439, the priced first-state jacket, and the ABSENCE of the rear-board blind-stamp.P-037289

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Salem's Lot a first edition?

A first edition of Salem's Lot by Stephen King (Doubleday) is identified by: First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page and carries the Doubleday gutter code 'Q37' on page 439 ('Q' = 1975, '37' = the 37th 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 (1975) is the true first (first American printing about 20,000 copies).

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

Book-club editions do NOT state 'First Edition,' carry a rear-board blind-stamp, use cheaper boards and paper, run smaller, and have no printed price on the jacket. Correction to a common misstatement: a gutter code is NOT itself proof of a trade first — Doubleday used gutter codes on book-club printings as well (often a double-letter code). Distinguish the trade first by the 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page, the correct single-letter 'Q37' code on page 439, the priced first-state

I have a first edition of Salem's Lot — 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.