# Is "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Salem's Lot by Stephen King (Doubleday, 1975) 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). US Doubleday (1975) is the true first (first American printing about 20,000 copies).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page and carries the Doubleday gutter code 'Q37' on page 439 ('Q' = 1975, '37' = the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Salem's Lot* by Stephen King a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/salems-lot
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.