Is My The Bachman Books: Four Early Novels a First Edition?

The points of issue

• New American Library, New York, October 1985
• The first printing carries the copyright-page statement 'First (Omnibus) Printing, October, 1985' together with a complete number line in which 1 is present
• NOTE a conflict in the record: dealers report the line variously as ascending '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9' and as a full descending line ending in 1, and one collector source renders the statement as 'First (Omnibus) Edition' rather than 'Printing' — the operative test is that the omnibus statement is present and the number line retains 1
• NAL gutter codes are also present (Q08 recorded on a first printing) and can corroborate
• The hardcover is in dust jacket with the price present at the front flap; spine lettering on the trade hardcover is yellow
• The omnibus collects Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork and The Running Man — the first hardcover appearance of all four — and opens with King's essay 'Why I Was Bachman.' The hardcover run was small beside the simultaneous trade paperback, and first-printing hardcovers are hard to find in any condition

How New American Library, New York marked a first edition

• First printing: the copyright page states 'First Printing' (often as 'First Signet printing, Month Year') with no later-printing lines; later printings stack the printing history. This explicit statement is the most reli…
• Signet/NAL adopted a descending number line; a complete line ending in 1 indicates a first printing. From roughly the 1970s on the 'First Signet printing, Month Year' line plus the number line appear together.

Full New American Library, New York 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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 precedence: NAL New York, October 1985, issued in two simultaneous states — the NAL hardcover and a Plume large-format trade paperback (also stating a First (Omnibus) Printing of October 1985 with a full number line). Both are first-printing states of the true first edition, but the hardcover is by far the scarcer and is the collected state; the Plume trade paperback was issued in a much larger quantity. The UK edition followed in 1986 from New English Library under the variant title The Bachman Books: Four Novels by Stephen King, reportedly in a very small run — it is a collected book in its own right but does not precede. The four constituent novels had appeared earlier as individual paperback originals (NAL/Signet in the US; NEL in the UK, Roadwork in 1980 and the others in 1983); those are the first appearances of the individual texts, and this omnibus is the first appearance only of the 'Why I Was Bachman' essay and of the four novels in hardcover.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A book-club edition was issued and is the commonest trap. Tells: gold/gilt spine lettering in place of the trade hardcover's yellow; a blind stamp (small embossed square) on the rear board; no price at the front jacket flap; and in some copies a 'Book Club Edition' or 'First Book Club Edition' designation on the flap. Book-club copies are also lighter and printed on thinner bulk. A price-clipped trade jacket can imitate the absent-price tell, so check the spine lettering and rear-board blind stamp before accepting a clipped copy as a trade first. The Plume trade paperback, though a first-printing state, is not the hardcover and should never be catalogued as one.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Bachman Books: Four Early Novels a first edition?

A first edition of The Bachman Books: Four Early Novels by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) (New American Library, New York) is identified by: New American Library, New York, October 1985.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US precedence: NAL New York, October 1985, issued in two simultaneous states — the NAL hardcover and a Plume large-format trade paperback (also stating a First (Omnibus) Printing of October 1985 with a full number line).

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

A book-club edition was issued and is the commonest trap. Tells: gold/gilt spine lettering in place of the trade hardcover's yellow; a blind stamp (small embossed square) on the rear board; no price at the front jacket flap; and in some copies a 'Book Club Edition' or 'First Book Club Edition' designation on the flap. Book-club copies are also lighter and printed on thinner bulk. A price-clipped trade jacket can imitate the absent-price tell, so check the spine lettering and rear-board blind sta

I have a first edition of The Bachman Books: Four Early Novels — 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.