Misery Collectible
What it’s about
Bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon, famous for his Victorian romance heroine Misery Chastain, crashes his car on a snowy Colorado road and is pulled from the wreckage by Annie Wilkes, a former nurse who claims to be his "number one fan." Bedridden with shattered legs in her isolated farmhouse, Paul slowly realizes that his rescuer has no intention of letting him leave — and that her devotion curdles into something far more dangerous when she learns what he did to her beloved Misery in his latest book. A claustrophobic two-hander about obsession, captivity, and the brutal bargain between a writer and his audience.
Significance Adapted into the 1990 film for which Kathy Bates won the Best Actress Oscar (the only Academy Award acting win from a King adaptation); widely read as King's allegory for fame, addiction, and the writer-fan relationship.
How to spot a true first 30-second check
A true 1st/1st needs BOTH the book and the jacket verified. A first-state jacket on a later or book-club book — or the reverse — is a married copy, not a first.
⚠ High married-copy risk. The book block can’t independently confirm a first here — the jacket is effectively the only separator, so be doubly sure the priced first-state jacket is genuine AND original to this book.
The verification ledgerevery marker, graded — verified · asserted · unverified
Verified seen on a confirmed copy Asserted sourced, not yet photographed Unverified thin / contested
A true 1st/1st must show
- Verified Copyright statement book — Copyright page reads "First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin, Inc." with no later-printing wording. This is the sole copyright-page tell — and it is SHARED with the BCE, so it cannot stand alone.
- Verified Number line book — None. Misery's first is statement-only (the official King guide lists no number line for Misery, unlike The Tommyknockers' '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10'). The BCE also has none, so absence proves nothing.
- Verified Binding / boards book — Quarter-bound: black cloth spine over GREY paper boards, sewn; the SPINE lettered in red, and the FRONT board carrying a red-foil “SK” monogram (in the jacket’s dripping-title font) at its LOWER OUTER CORNER — an original Viking first-edition binding point, not an aftermarket mark; ORANGE endpapers and pastedowns (white also occurs; both are legitimate firsts); ~6.25 x 9.5 in, 1.1 in thick; ISBN 0-670-81364-8 (9780670813643). NO book-club blind-stamp on the boards.
- Verified Jacket flap price jacket — $18.95 printed in the upper corner of the FRONT FLAP, unclipped. The BCE jacket has no printed flap price — the decisive jacket discriminator.
- Verified Jacket code / art jacket — Bob Giusti front-panel illustration with a printer's date code '06182587' on the lower jacket flap; facsimile/clipped jackets lack the code or the price.
Disqualifies it — book-club or later
- Asserted Book-club blind-stamp — A small geometric blind-stamp (dot/circle/square) debossed at the tail of the lower-rear board near the spine = Book Club Edition, not a Viking first.
- Asserted No flap price — A jacket with no printed price in the upper front flap corner is the BCE jacket (or a clipped jacket — verify by examining the clip vs an intact flap).
- Asserted Later-printing wording — Any number line, a print-line above 'First published in 1987', or 'Printed in...' later-printing wording on the copyright page disqualifies it as a first printing.
- Asserted Wrong trim / glued block — Noticeably smaller/thinner trim than ~6.25 x 9.5 x 1.1 in, or a stiff glued (non-sewn) block, points to a book-club copy.
Proves nothing — shared traps
- Shared Copyright line — 'First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin, Inc.' appears on BOTH the first AND the BCE — it confirms edition, never first-vs-club. Proves nothing on its own.
- Shared Absent number line — NEITHER the first NOR the BCE has a number line, so its absence is shared and not a tell (do not treat 'no number line' as evidence of a first).
- Shared R.R. Donnelley vs Arcata Graphics — Two first-printing printer variants exist (R.R. Donnelley/Harrisonburg and Arcata Graphics/Fairfield, the latter often with the orange-endpaper variant). Both are legitimate firsts — neither is a later state.
- Shared R.R. Donnelley page gutter codes (e.g. RD12V / RD8W) — Some firsts show an R.R. Donnelley printer code (RD + signature) at the foot of a text page. This is a Viking/Donnelley printing artifact, NOT the Doubleday trade-vs-BCE gutter-code logic, and is not a clean first-vs-club discriminator for Misery — the flap price is. Do not promote it to a decisive tell.
- Shared Married jackets — A first ($18.95) jacket on a BCE block, or a price-less BCE jacket on a first block, is a married copy. Both tells (grey blind-stamp-free book + priced jacket) must agree on the same copy.
What to look for
- Confirm the $18.95 price unclipped on the front flap — clipped or inked-over flaps hide a non-first price and cut value.
- Copyright page must read "First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin, Inc." with no later-printing wording added.
- Book-block fingerprint of a first: GREY paper boards (with the red-foil 'SK' monogram at the lower outer corner) + ORANGE endpapers + NO blind-stamp, sewn — positive proof, not a betrayal.
- Do NOT rely on a number line — the true first has none (unlike Tommyknockers); the BCE lacks one too.
- BCE trap: same 1987 copyright line + no number line, but NO flap price and a blind-stamp (dot/circle/square) on the lower-rear board.
- Watch for married jackets (BCE/later book in a $18.95 jacket) and facsimile jackets lacking the "06182587" lower-flap code.
- Both R.R. Donnelley and Arcata Graphics printings, and orange or white endpapers, are all legitimate firsts.
Verified listings marker-checked
Each copy screened against the seller's own photos. ✓ confirmed = a photo shows the decisive marker; ⚠ not pictured = the shot to ask for before buying. Condition grades are as-pictured.
Buyer beware — verify before you buy. These are our screening opinions, read from each seller’s own photographs; we can misjudge a copy or misread an image. A listing marked “1st/1st confirmed” is not a guarantee — independently confirm the decisive book and jacket markers with the seller before any purchase. Authentication and the buying decision remain the buyer’s responsibility.
Genuine 1987 first, both decisive tells legibly shown — unclipped $18.95 flap and clean copyright; at $35.97 a remarkable buy.
- Jacket price — Decisive tell pictured (photos 3-4): unclipped first-state '0-670-81364-8 FPT $18.95' on the front flap — the clean separator from the price-less BCE.
- Copyright — Copyright page (photo 6) reads 'First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin, Inc.', no later-printing wording, no number line — the sole Viking first statement.
- Binding — Correct two-tone boards (photo 3): black spine cloth, grey boards, red title down spine, red-foil 'SK' at the front board's lower outer corner (original first-edition point); Viking colophon.
- Endpapers / edges — Orange endpapers pictured (photo 4) — a documented legitimate first-printing variant; Arcata Graphics, Fairfield PA printer (benign).
- Endpapers / edges — Fore-edge and corner close-ups not provided — ask for edge shots to rule out a remainder mark, light foxing, or a corner bump.
A Viking 1987 first/first with both decisive tells photographed on the one copy — the grey, blind-stamp-free binding and the unclipped $18.95 flap with its date code — and both boards shown bare, so nothing material is outstanding.
- Binding (decisive book tell) — Photo 13 shows the front board flat — grey paper board over a black cloth spine with the red-foil "SK" at its lower outer corner — and photo 17 the opposite board flat and entirely plain, including the tail beside the spine where a book-club blind-stamp would be debossed; this binding, not the copyright line, is Misery's decisive book tell, and it is fully pictured.
- Jacket price (decisive jacket tell) — Photo 9 is a close read of the front flap head — "ISBN 0-670-81364-8 FPT>$18.95" — printed, intact and unclipped with the top edge straight, against a book-club jacket that carries no printed flap price at all.
- Dust jacket — Photo 18 lays the jacket out flat and shows "06182587" printed at the foot of the front flap (the code facsimile jackets lack), with the rear flap carrying the Neil Stuart / Bob Giusti / Tony DiSpigna credits over the Viking Penguin colophon.
- Copyright — Photo 11 shows the copyright page reading "First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc. / Published simultaneously in Canada" with no later-printing wording, alongside ISBN 0-670-81364-8, LCCN 86-40504 and the Arcata Graphics (Fairfield, PA) printer line — one of the two accepted first-printing printers — though this statement is SHARED with the book-club edition and corroborates the setting rather than proving a first.
- Number line — Photo 11 carries the copyright page down through the printer and designer block with no printing-number row anywhere on it — neutral rather than probative, since Misery's first has no number line and neither does the BCE.
- Endpapers / edges — The orange pastedown shows beside the turned front flap in photo 9 and again behind the text block in photo 20 — the orange variant, one of the two legitimate first-printing states (plain is the other).
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
A Viking 1987 first/first with both decisive tells and both bare boards photographed — a self-contained set of frames that rules out a married copy.
- Binding (decisive book tell) — Photos 6 and 7 show the front board — grey paper over a black cloth spine, red MISERY / STEPHEN KING / VIKING lettering and the red-foil "SK" at the lower outer corner — and photo 8 the opposite board bare and plain grey down to the tail beside the spine, with no book-club blind-stamp; this is Misery's decisive book tell, fully pictured.
- Jacket price (decisive jacket tell) — Photo 3 reads the front flap head straight on — "ISBN 0-670-81364-8 FPT>$18.95" — printed and unclipped with the top edge uncut, against a book-club jacket that carries no printed flap price.
- Dust jacket — That same frame, photo 3, shows "06182587" printed at the foot of the front flap, and photo 4 shows the rear flap with the Neil Stuart / Bob Giusti / Tony DiSpigna credits over the Viking Penguin colophon.
- Copyright — Photo 5 shows the entire copyright page in one frame — "First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc. / Published simultaneously in Canada" with no later-printing wording, ISBN 0-670-81364-8, LCCN 86-40504 and the R. R. Donnelley (Harrisonburg, VA) printer line, the other accepted first-printing printer — a statement shared with the BCE, so it corroborates rather than proves.
- Number line — Photo 5 runs the page top to bottom, through the printer block and on to the reproduction notice, with no printing-number row present — neutral, as the row is absent on the first and the book club alike.
- Endpapers / edges — Photos 3 and 4 show the orange endpapers and orange pastedowns flanking the text block — the orange first-printing variant, plain being the other legitimate state.
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
A Viking 1987 first on the evidence shown — the unclipped $18.95 flap and a grey, SK-stamped board are both photographed — but only one board was shown bare and the lower-flap date code never came into frame, so the book tell is not completed on camera.
- Jacket price (decisive jacket tell) — Photo 2 is a close read of the front flap head — "ISBN 0-670-81364-8 FPT>$18.95" — printed, intact and unclipped with the top edge straight, against a book-club jacket that carries no printed flap price.
- Binding — Photo 3 shows the book with the jacket off — grey paper boards over a black cloth spine, red MISERY down the spine with VIKING at its foot, and the red-foil "SK" at the board's lower outer corner, the front-board monogram original to a Viking first.
- Copyright — Photo 1 reads "First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc. / Published simultaneously in Canada" with the acknowledgments running on directly beneath it and no printing line interposed — legible despite soft focus, but shared with the BCE, and the foot of the page (LC block and printer line) sits outside the frame.
- Dust jacket — Photo 4 shows the rear panel with the author photograph and the printed barcode 9 780670 813643 / ISBN 0-670-81364-8 with its 90000 code — jacket-issue detail only, as the barcode is not a documented first-vs-club discriminator on this title.
- Endpapers / edges — The orange endpaper shows beside the turned front flap in photo 2 — the orange variant, either orange or plain being a legitimate first.
- Binding — The rear board was never shown bare, and Misery's book-club copy betrays itself with a small blind-stamp debossed at the tail of the LOWER-REAR board near the spine — ask for a jacket-off shot of that board laid flat, and of that corner in particular.
- Dust jacket — The "06182587" date code appears in no frame — ask for a close-up of the FOOT of the front jacket flap, below the last line of blurb, since facsimile jackets lack the code.
A Viking 1987 first/first shot end to end — both bare boards, plus the unclipped $18.95 flap and its date code in the same frame — with nothing material left to ask for.
- Binding (decisive book tell) — Photo 10 shows the front board — grey paper over a black cloth spine, red MISERY / STEPHEN KING / VIKING, red-foil "SK" at the lower outer corner — and photo 11 the opposite board bare and plain to the tail beside the spine with no book-club blind-stamp; Misery's decisive book tell, fully pictured.
- Jacket price (decisive jacket tell) — Photo 6 reads the front flap head as "ISBN 0-670-81364-8 FPT>$18.95", printed and unclipped through the mylar, and photo 9 shows the jacket off the book with that same top edge straight and uncut.
- Dust jacket — Photo 6 also carries "06182587" at the foot of the front flap, and photo 8 shows the rear flap's Neil Stuart / Bob Giusti / Tony DiSpigna credits over the Viking Penguin colophon beside the rear-panel barcode 9 780670 813643 / 90000 (the barcode being descriptive only, not a first-vs-club tell here).
- Copyright — Photo 7 shows the full copyright page — "First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc. / Published simultaneously in Canada" with no later-printing wording, ISBN 0-670-81364-8, LCCN 86-40504 and the Arcata Graphics (Fairfield, PA) printer line — a statement shared with the BCE, so corroboration rather than proof.
- Number line — Photo 7 runs the page from the Viking address block down through the reproduction notice with no printing-number row present — neutral, since neither the first nor the book club carries one.
- Endpapers / edges — Photo 6 shows the orange endpaper and pastedown open beside the jacket flap — the orange first-printing variant.
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
Unusually well-documented Fine/Fine first — copyright plate and unclipped $18.95 flap both photographed; nothing material left to ask for.
- Jacket price — Decisive tell pictured (photo 3): front flap reads 'ISBN 0-670-81364-8 FPT > $18.95' — $18.95 intact and unclipped, the key BCE separator.
- Copyright — Copyright page (photo 5) reads 'First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin, Inc.', no number line, no later-printing line; Arcata Graphics, Fairfield PA printer (benign).
- Binding — Correct binding (photo 2): black cloth over grey boards, red MISERY spine lettering, VIKING at foot, red-foil 'SK' at the front board's lower outer corner (original first-edition point); Viking ship device on title page (photo 4).
- Endpapers / edges — Orange-toned interior consistent with the legitimate orange-endpaper first variant; rear-flap date code '06182587' present, Fine in a Fine jacket.
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
Copyright plate proves the first, but the decisive priced flap is unphotographed — get the $18.95 flap shot, then it's a steal at $52.99.
- Copyright — Copyright page legibly photographed: 'First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin, Inc.', no later-printing wording, no number line — the sole Viking first statement.
- Number line — Correctly absent on the copyright page; R.R. Donnelley, Harrisonburg VA printer line — a documented benign first-printing variant.
- Dust jacket — Correct first-edition art (chrome KING, red MISERY, wheelchair/window), full trade barcode 0-670-81364-8 on rear panel, Viking colophon.
- Jacket price — DECISIVE tell unphotographed: the priced front flap was not shown — $18.95/unclipped is seller-asserted only. Ask for a flap shot of the FPT $18.95.
- Binding — Boards and endpapers not photographed — request shots of the two-tone boards and the orange/white endpaper variant.
- Endpapers / edges — Page block, corners, and spine head/tail not shown — ask for edge close-ups to check foxing, a remainder mark, or end bumps.
Genuine first by the plate and an uncut flap, but the decisive $18.95 isn't legible — get a sharp flap crop; at $75 still a bargain.
- Copyright — Copyright page (photos 2 & 4) reads 'First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin, Inc.', no added printing line, no number line — the canonical Viking first statement.
- Binding — Correct trade-first binding (photos 11-13): black quarter-binding, grey/charcoal boards, red-foil 'SK' at the front board's lower outer corner (original first-edition point), copper MISERY/KING spine, VIKING at foot.
- Dust jacket — Full trade jacket with rear-panel barcode intact; front flap top edge straight and uncut (macro photos 8 & 10) — not a clipped or BCE jacket.
- Jacket price — DECISIVE tell not legible: flap is uncut/unclipped but the printed $18.95 is not crisply readable under the mylar — ask for a sharp flap crop to read the price.
- Dust jacket — Mylar ripples and glare mask the true jacket surface and any spine fade — request a sleeve-off shot to judge sunning and rubbing.
Your verified copy ✓ markers verified
Verified Viking 1987 TRUE first edition, first printing — the shop’s own copy (owned-conversion #4), won at $58.18 on 2026-07-15 and verified against the owner’s own ten plates on 2026-07-24. BOOK tell (decisive): with the jacket off the binding is the proof. Quarter-bound in black cloth over GREY paper-covered boards, with a red-foil “SK” monogram in the jacket’s drip lettering at the lower outer corner of the FRONT board — an original Viking first-edition binding point, not an aftermarket mark; ORANGE endpapers and pastedowns; and the rear board PLAIN, carrying no book-club blind-stamp. That last absence is what separates this from the club edition, because Misery’s copyright statement does not: the Book Club Edition shares the identical “First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc.” line and, like the first, has no number line at all. Copyright page: “Copyright © Stephen King, Tabitha King, and Arthur B. Greene, Trustee, 1987” over “First published in 1987 by Viking Penguin Inc. / Published simultaneously in Canada”, clean, with no later-printing wording beneath it; ISBN 0-670-81364-8, LC 86-40504; “Printed in the United States of America by Arcata Graphics, Fairfield, Pennsylvania” — one of the two plants that ran the first printing (R.R. Donnelley ran the other, and both are legitimate firsts); “Set in Garamond No. 3 / Designed by Amy Hill”. The “40 West 23rd Street” copyright address is correct for a 1987 Viking title (the 625 Madison cutoff flags only the pre-1983 Vikings). JACKET tell (decisive): the front flap is UNCLIPPED and reads “ISBN 0-670-81364-8 FPT>$18.95” at the head, with the printer’s date code “06182587” at the foot — the book-club jacket carries no printed flap price, and facsimile jackets lack the code. Jacket art is Bob Giusti’s illustration of Paul Sheldon in the wheelchair beneath Annie’s shadow (design Neil Stuart, hand-lettering Terry DiSpigna), with the Andrew Unangst author photograph on the rear panel and the matching rear barcode 9 780670 813643. Both decisive tells sit on this one copy, so it is neither married nor book-club — which matters here more than most: Misery is one of the five titles we flag high married-risk, because the copyright page alone cannot separate a first from a club copy. Book Fine / jacket Near Fine (bright and complete under a removable protective sleeve, with light surface handling to the rear panel). A genuine bargain at $58.18 against a $200–450 fine/fine range. Footnote worth keeping: a 2026-07-03 screening of this very listing flagged the front-board “SK” as a non-original, added stamp. The owner overturned that, four independent confirmed firsts carried the identical mark, and the copy in hand now settles it — the SK is original.
Full identification detail & sourcescopyright · jacket · binding · book-club traps · print run · value · references
The Viking trade hardcover is the true first. No Donald M. Grant, Philtrum, or Land of Enchantment limited precedes it; no paperback original. A near-simultaneous UK first was issued by Hodder & Stoughton (London, 1987) — a separate true UK first, but as King is American the US Viking printing is the collected true first. The only "limited" of note is the much later Suntup Editions signed limited (2018), a separate, later collectible and NOT a precedence point. Note: the 1987 first run was produced by TWO printers simultaneously — R.R. Donnelley (Harrisonburg, VA) and Arcata Graphics (Fairfield, PA) — and endpapers appear in both orange and white; all are legitimate firsts (StephenKingCollector forum, multiple owners).
First-printing points at a glance
Dust jacket
Front: title/author lettering (DiSpigna lettering) over Bob Giusti illustration evoking the captive-novelist theme. Spine lettering present (red). Front flap carries the $18.95 price at the upper corner, with the date/print code "06182587" on the lower jacket flap; rear flap carries the standard Viking author treatment. Precise front/back imagery wording beyond the Stuart-design / Giusti-illustration / DiSpigna-lettering credits is not reproduced verbatim by the cross-checked dealer listings.
Art / design: Jacket design by Neil Stuart; jacket illustration by Bob Giusti; lettering by Tony DiSpigna
Also watch for: (1) Price-clipped or ink-blacked-out flaps — sellers obscure a non-$18.95 price; one cross-checked dealer "first" (Edwards Rare Books) had the $18.95 INKED OVER, which lowers confidence/value. (2) Married jackets — a later-printing or BCE book in a first-state ($18.95) jacket, or a price-less BCE jacket on a first block; Book Club jackets are also placed on firsts to replace damaged ones (per stephenking.com guide). Both tells must agree on the same copy: a grey-boarded, blind-stamp-free book block married to a priced jacket. (3) Facsimile/reproduction jackets (lack the "06182587" lower-flap code; flat/modern paper stock). (4) Ex-library copies (stamps, pockets, spine labels). (5) Remainder marks on the bottom text-block edge. (6) BCE sold as "first" — because the copyright line AND the no-number-line trait both match the trade first, verify via the JACKET PRICE and the boards/blind-stamp, never the number line. (7) Bookseller "custom matching slipcase" presented as if publisher-issued.
Print run & scarcity
Collector/dealer consensus figure (publisher never disclosed an audited count). StephenKingCollector.com's Misery first-edition identification page states "First Edition: 1,000,000" and "A first edition of 1,000,000 copies." This is the single recurring source for the figure; it is repeated/echoed by dealer listings and search summaries (single-source — treat as approximate).
First-state points & errata
No textual erratum separates states; identification is the copyright statement + $18.95 unclipped jacket. Benign first-printing variants (both true firsts, no priority): printer (R.R. Donnelley vs Arcata Graphics, stated below ISBN) and endpaper color (orange or white). The bound block carries a red-foil 'SK' monogram at the lower outer corner of the front grey board — a standard Viking trade-first binding feature present on every confirmed first, so a grey-boarded copy LACKING it warrants scrutiny (facsimile/rebind/odd copy).
Limited & signed editions
No signed/limited/traycased edition was issued at original publication (1987). The first OFFICIAL signed limited is Suntup Editions (Feb 2018), oversized (7.5 x 10.5"), eight new full-color Rick Berry illustrations, in THREE states per stephenking.com: (1) Numbered — limited to 200, signed by Stephen King and Rick Berry (185 numbered in black for sale; 15 numbered in red, reserved); (2) Lettered — 26 copies (A-Z), signed by King and Berry, full-leather handbound by Peter Geraty / Praxis Bindery, with a Barry Moser wood-engraving and six original Royal glass typewriter keys in a walnut box; (3) Artist Gift Edition — signed by Rick Berry only, slipcased with dust jacket. These are later collectibles, NOT first-edition precedents. (The draft's "Dave Christensen" co-signer is unconfirmed by stephenking.com and dropped.) Aftermarket "slipcased" Viking firsts exist but the slipcases are bookseller-issued, not publisher-issued.
Market value confirmed sales
$200–500 (true first, fine/fine, unclipped $18.95 jacket, unsigned). Signed/flat: ~$800–1,500; signed & inscribed: ~$1,200–2,500.
Assumes a genuine first edition / first printing in near-fine to fine condition (clean copy, unclipped jacket). Lesser condition is worth less.
Confirmed sales: Very Fine Books — unsigned 1st/1st, Fine/Fine, unclipped $18.95 jacket, listed/sold at $295 (current dealer listing, 2024-2026). StephenKingCollector.com authority pegs typical-grade copies at $15–$50 (Aug 2023 valuation, reflecting clipped/lower-grade and the million-copy printing). Sotheby's — signed (flat, title page) UNCORRECTED PROOF, VG, offered in the four-figure range (proof, not the trade first — a near-comp, NOT a first-printing sold comp). Dealer market (Edwards Rare Books / First and Fine / veryfinebooks) signed & inscribed trade firsts cluster ~$1,200–2,500 asking. NOTE: no Heritage/PBA realized-price record for a plain unsigned first surfaced — consistent with it being too common to make major auctions; treat unsigned band as dealer-sold-anchored, not auction-anchored.
Book-club edition (the trap): $10–30. The Book-of-the-Month Club / book-club edition is the dominant trap on this title and is near-worthless. Tells: NO $18.95 price on jacket flap (BCE jackets have no price), blind-stamp ("dot" or square) on lower rear board, lighter/thinner boards, and often "Book Club Edition" on the front flap. Many are mislisted as "first edition" because the copyright page can read similarly. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.
Condition is everything here because the printing is NOT scarce — value lives entirely in grade + jacket integrity + signature. The SINGLE biggest separator for THIS title: the jacket must be UNCLIPPED showing the original $18.95 (with DJ code 06182587 / 0618 2587) AND the book must NOT carry a book-club blind-stamp on the rear board. A price-clipped or restored/married jacket drops a Fine copy by 40–70%. Because ~1M first-printing trade copies exist, an unsigned first/first is a $200–500 book at best in true Fine/Fine — anyone asking four figures for an UNSIGNED copy is mispricing. Real money requires King's signature: a flat title-page signature roughly 3–5x's an unsigned copy, an inscription with date/place more. Two genuine first-printing variants exist (white endpapers / R.R. Donnelley-Harrisonburg vs. orange-red endpapers / Arcata-Fairfield) — both are accepted firsts, neither commands a premium; don't let a seller upsell one as "the" first.
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-misery-first-edition-first-printing/
- https://www.stephenkingcollector.com/1st/misery.html
- https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/_stephen-king-misery-signed-book-9493
- https://www.firstandfine.com/product/king-stephen-1987-misery-us-signed-and-inscribed-first-edition/
- https://edwardsrarebooks.com/products/misery-stephen-king-first-edition-61589
- https://stephenking.com/other/identifying_first_editions.pdf
Sources
- https://stephenking.com/other/identifying_first_editions.pdf
- https://stephenking.com/works/limited/misery.html
- https://www.stephenkingcollector.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=328&start=0
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-misery-first-edition-first-printing/
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-misery-signed-first-edition-first-printing-Viking-Press-1987/
- https://edwardsrarebooks.com/products/misery-stephen-king-first-edition-61589
- https://bookshopapocalypse.com/products/misery-by-stephen-king-first-book-club-edition-1987
- https://shop.suntup.press/products/misery-limited-edition
- https://stephen-kings-misery.fandom.com/wiki/Misery_(novel)
- https://www.biblio.com/9780670813643
- https://www.stephenkingcollector.com/1st/misery.html
- https://edwardsrarebooks.com/products/misery-stephen-king-first-edition-61589
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_(novel)
- https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-670-81364-3
Verification notes: CORRECTIONS vs draft (sources preferred): (1) NUMBER LINE — draft claimed a "full Viking number line ending in 1" and made absence of the line the key BCE tell. WRONG. Per the canonical stephenking.com/Bev Vincent guide, Misery's first printing has NO number line at all; it is identified by the copyright statement alone (cf. The Tommyknockers same year, which DOES carry "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10"). Both the trade first AND the BCE lack a number line, so that tell is void for this title. (2) BCE TELL — corrected to ABSENCE OF $18.95 JACKET PRICE + blind stamp + smaller trim (dealer BCE = "identical to the true first edition w/ no price on dust jacket and no number line"). (3) PRINTER/ENDPAPER — added documented first-printing variants: two simultaneous printers (R.R. Donnelley, Harrisonburg VA; Arcata Graphics, Fairfield PA) and orange-or-white endpapers; the printer line below the ISBN is a genuine first-printing locus (StephenKingCollector forum). (4) JACKET CREDITS — added Tony DiSpigna (lettering) alongside Neil Stuart (design) and Bob Giusti (illustration). (5) BINDING — "quarter-bound" (black cloth spine over paper-covered boards) per dealers, not "quarter-bound." (6) SUNTUP — confirmed Numbered/200 (King+Berry) + added Lettered/26 + Artist Gift (Berry-only); dropped unverified "Dave Christensen." (7) GUTTER CODE — confirmed N/A; "06182587" is a jacket date-code, not a CP gutter code. VERIFIED & UNCHANGED: copyright statement, $18.95 front-flap price + location, jacket code 06182587, grey boards / black cloth spine, ISBN 0-670-81364-8, 310 pp, Viking trade HC is true first (no small-press precedent), Suntup 2018 only official signed limited. STILL UNVERIFIED: exact rear-board blind-stamp shape specific to this title; precise front-jacket imagery wording beyond credits. CORRECTION (2026-07-15): the red-foil 'SK' monogram at the lower outer corner of the FRONT grey board is ORIGINAL to the Viking trade first — confirmed across FIVE independent copies (treasuredbindings, tomsbooks123, true1stbooks_ig, papercrainbooks, tem270), all showing the identical mark. A prior listing note calling it a 'non-original/aftermarket SK stamp' was WRONG and has been corrected; the SK is a positive binding confirmer, not a defect. (Owner-flagged; verified against our own confirmed firsts.)