Is My Thinner a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the NAL hardcover, jacketed and bylined Richard Bachman, with the copyright page stating First Printing, November, 1984 and a number line reading 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, the printed jacket price present
• Black quarter cloth over red boards with red-stamped spine
• Published before the Bachman-equals-King identity was made public in early 1985
• The rear-flap author photo, credited to Claudia Bachman, is actually of Richard Manuel, a friend of King's literary agent Kirby McCauley

How NAL Books 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 NAL Books 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. 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.
5. 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 first state is the pre-revelation Bachman-bylined NAL hardcover. Thinner was the only original Bachman title first issued in hardcover; the earlier Bachman novels were paperback originals.P-029938

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings and editions add the Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman tie-in wording and are not the first; a book club issue lacks the jacket price.P-029939

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Thinner a first edition?

A first edition of Thinner by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) (NAL Books) is identified by: True first is the NAL hardcover, jacketed and bylined Richard Bachman, with the copyright page stating First Printing, November, 1984 and a number line reading 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, the printed jacket price present.

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). The first state is the pre-revelation Bachman-bylined NAL hardcover.

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

Later printings and editions add the Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman tie-in wording and are not the first; a book club issue lacks the jacket price.

I have a first edition of Thinner — 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.