11 Scribes · Stephen King & Bachman · Richard Bachman

Rage Grail pb original

as Richard Bachman
1977 · Signet (New American Library), New York — mass-market paperback original. Catalog no. W7645, ISBN 0451076451 / 9780451076458.
First-edition cover of Rage
First-edition jacket (first edition (verified vs jacket)) · source

What it’s about

Charlie Decker, a troubled high school senior in small-town Maine, snaps after a confrontation with the principal, retrieves a pistol from his locker, and guns down a teacher before taking his algebra class hostage. As the school is surrounded and the standoff drags on, Charlie holds court with his captive classmates, steering them into raw, confessional conversation that peels back the polished surface of suburban teenage life. Tense and claustrophobic, it is a first-person descent into adolescent alienation and the violence simmering beneath an ordinary classroom.

Significance King's first novel published under the Richard Bachman pseudonym (1977) and the most notorious entry in canon — King allowed it to fall out of print after it was linked to real school shootings, making the Bachman-era paperback a sought-after collector's rarity.

Value$2,000–4,000 (genuine first printing, Fine/unread mass-market paperback original; there is no dust jacket to clip — it is a PBO) confirmed salesnear-fine / fine

How to spot a true first 30-second check

★ BookOn the copyright page, a 1977 first printing carries the statement "First Signet Printing, September, 1977" (King's official guide wording; many dealers transcribe it as "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977") sitting with the complete number line "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" — the numeral 1 present. Per King's guide the decisive point is the presence of the 1: a later Signet printing removes the low number(s), so a line beginning "2 3 4 5…" (or any other printing-month/year statement) is a second or later printing, not the first. There is no Doubleday-style gutter code on a Signet paperback, so the statement-plus-number-line is the whole book-block tell.
★ JacketThere is NO dust jacket — Rage is a Signet mass-market paperback original with a printed pictorial card cover. The "jacket" tell is therefore the printed cover itself: the first-printing cover shows the $1.50 price and Signet catalog number W7645. King's official guide lists Rage at $1.50; the later companion Bachman paperbacks cost more (The Long Walk $1.95, Roadwork $2.25, The Running Man $2.50) and later Rage printings carry a higher price, so a $1.50 / W7645 card cover is consistent only with the 1977 first.

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.

Copyright"FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" (King guide: "First Signet Printing, September, 1977"); Signet/NAL, catalog W7645, ISBN 0451076451.
Number line ★ book tellFull ASCENDING "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" with the low 1 present. King's master rule: the numeral 1 is REMOVED for a second printing — a line beginning "2 3 4 5…" (or any other printing statement) is a later printing.
Gutter code—n/a
Jacket price ★ jacket tell$1.50 printed on the front cover near catalog no. W7645 (no jacket — mass-market paperback); later Bachman titles cost more.
BindingMass-market paperback: perfect-bound (glued), pictorial card cover; no boards, no cloth, no hardcover. Trim ~4¼ x 7.0".
Dust jacketNone — printed card cover: black ground, "RAGE" in red, a brooding teen at a teacher's desk, "Richard Bachman" byline, Signet logo + W7645.
Endpapers / edges—n/a
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-page statement book — Copyright page reads "First Signet Printing, September, 1977" (King official guide wording; dealers also report "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977"). The September-1977 first-printing statement must be present.
  • Asserted Number line book — A complete number line "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" (ascending) with the numeral 1 present on the copyright page. King's master rule: the presence of the 1 is what denotes the first printing.
  • Asserted Catalog number book — Signet/NAL catalog no. W7645, ISBN 0451076451 / 9780451076458 — both check digits valid; a mismatched catalog number signals a rebound or married copy.
  • Asserted Binding book — Mass-market paperback: perfect-bound (glued), pictorial card cover, no boards/cloth/hardcover, trim approx. 4¼ x 7.0 x 0.7" per King's guide.
  • Verified Cover price (no jacket) jacket — Printed cover price $1.50 (no dust jacket — the price is on the card cover, near catalog no. W7645). King's official guide lists Rage at $1.50.

Disqualifies it — book-club or later

  • Asserted Number line — A number line that no longer begins with 1 (e.g. "2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" or higher) = a second or later Signet printing, not the first.
  • Asserted Copyright-page statement — Any printing statement other than the September-1977 first-printing line (a different month/year) = a later Signet printing.
  • Asserted Cover price — A cover price other than $1.50 = a later printing (later Rage printings raise the price).
  • Asserted Format — A hardcover claiming to be a "first edition of Rage" is wrong: Rage is a paperback original. The 1985 NAL omnibus "The Bachman Books" is the first HARDCOVER appearance of the text, a later state — not a first edition of Rage.
  • Asserted Married / facsimile cover — A reproduction/facsimile card cover wrapped around a later or cheaper text block, or a mismatched W7645 number, voids the first-printing claim.

Proves nothing — shared traps

  • Shared Catalog number W7645 — The W7645 catalog number alone proves nothing about printing — every Signet printing of Rage carries it. It must be paired with the September-1977 statement and the intact "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" line.
  • Shared Cover art / image — The black cover with red "RAGE" lettering and the seated teenage figure is shared by all Signet printings; cover art is not a printing tell — only the printed price + the copyright-page statement/number line are.
  • Shared Generic "First Printing" wording — A bare "First Printing" claim in a listing without the SEPTEMBER 1977 date and the number-1-present line is not proof; a later Signet printing changes the month/year.

What to look for

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.

Seller’s photo of this copy
✓ 1st/1st confirmed$4000rarebooksleuth ↗
bench-verified Pass Very Good (book; leans VG- on the front-cover crease) — no jacket (paperback original)

True 1977 Bachman first, but a creased VG- reader is not $4,000 money — hold off the board until the ask drops to $1,200-$1,800.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Copyright — Copyright page reads "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" — the decisive Bachman first-state statement, confirmed at the loupe.
  • Number line — Clean full "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" line ending at the low 1 — no later-printing tell present.
  • Jacket price — $1.50 first-state cover price (Signet 451-W7645); PBO with no jacket / no price-clip concept.

✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.

Seller’s photo of this copy
✓ 1st/1st confirmed$4499aa_auctioneers ↗
bench-verified Pass Rage: VG (heavy cover creasing/chipping) / The Long Walk: VG+ — both paperback originals, no jackets to grade

A two-volume Bachman set — the 1977 Signet Rage with the 1979 Long Walk — in which both copyright plates and both first-state cover imprints are photographed and legible, so nothing on the edition question rests on the seller's word; the copies are well-worn, creased, bookstore-stamped readers, but that is a condition matter and nothing on the edition side is outstanding.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Copyright statement — The lower half of photo 4 is Rage's copyright page, shot square and fully legible under enlargement — "COPYRIGHT © 1977 BY RICHARD BACHMAN" above "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" — the title's decisive book tell, which I enlarged and read off the plate myself rather than take on the seller's word.
  • Number line — The same plate in photo 4 carries the full ascending line "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" with the leading numeral 1 plainly present, and since the 1 is the digit struck for a second printing, its survival rules out any later Signet printing.
  • Cover price / catalog number — Photo 1 shows the imprint "SIGNET•451-W7645•$1.50" across the head of Rage's front cover — the first-state price and catalog number our rubric calls for — which I enlarged to be certain of the W prefix rather than a later J.
  • Binding — Photos 1 and 5 show the front and rear of a mass-market card cover in pictorial wraps — no boards, no cloth — which is the form the 1977 Signet Rage was issued in, a paperback original with no hardcover first standing behind it.
  • Dust jacket — None applies: photo 1 shows the printed front cover (black ground, red "RAGE", the brooding teen on the teacher's desk, the Bachman byline and the Signet device) and photo 5 the rear panel, and a paperback original carries no jacket, so there is no jacket state to prove and nothing that could be married to the book.
  • Companion volume (The Long Walk) — The set's second book proves out on the same footing — the upper half of photo 3 shows The Long Walk's copyright page reading "COPYRIGHT © 1979 BY RICHARD BACHMAN" over "FIRST PRINTING, JULY, 1979" with the complete "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" line, and its matching first-state imprint "SIGNET•451-J8754•$1.95" reads along the cover edge in photo 1.

✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.

Seller’s photo of this copy
✓ 1st/1st confirmed$9995cardshark1212 ↗
bench-verified Pass VG paperback (single volume; no jacket — PBO)

Authentic 1977 Bachman Rage first, but a well-read VG (title crease, rolled spine, owner's pen) — $9,995 is ~2.5x the fine band; not a buy.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Copyright — Copyright page legibly states "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" — the decisive Signet Bachman first-state plate, read at the loupe.
  • Number line — Full ascending "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" ending in the leading 1 — confirms the 1977 first over any later printing.
  • Jacket price — $1.50 first-state cover price (Signet W7645); PBO, no jacket to clip. 1979 second-novel note also present and consistent.

✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.

Full identification detail & sourcescopyright · jacket · binding · book-club traps · print run · value · references
Is this the true first?NO. "Rage" is a PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — there is no hardcover first edition. It was issued only as a Signet mass-market paperback (W7645) in September 1977. The novel's FIRST hardcover appearance is the omnibus "The Bachman Books" (NAL, October 1985), which collects Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork and The Running Man. So a collector wanting a hardcover of Rage buys The Bachman Books; a collector wanting the true first edition of Rage buys the 1977 Signet paperback.
The true first edition is the 1977 Signet mass-market paperback (W7645). No hardcover, small-press limited, or trade edition precedes it. The official Stephen King "Identifying First Editions" guide lists the first as: Rage / 1977 / Signet / $1.50 / "First Signet Printing, September, 1977" on the copyright page. The first hardcover printing of the text is the 1985 NAL omnibus "The Bachman Books" ($19.95, "First (omnibus) Printing, October 1985" on CP) — a later state of the text, NOT a first edition of Rage. Note: King let Rage go out of print after it was linked to several school shootings, so it was never reissued separately — the 1977 Signet is the only standalone edition and is the scarcest of the early Bachman paperbacks.

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statementCopyright page reads "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" (the official King guide records the wording as "First Signet Printing, September, 1977"). A true first must show this September-1977 first-printing statement together with the complete ascending "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" number line. Later Signet printings carry a different printing month/year statement and a number line no longer beginning/ending at 1.
Number lineFirst printing shows the full number line "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" on the copyright page (lowest digit 1 present). A later printing drops the leading low number(s) — e.g. a row beginning "2 3 4 5..." or higher indicates a second or later printing, not a first.
Gutter / printer codeN/A — Signet/NAL mass-market paperbacks are not identified by Doubleday-style gutter codes. First-printing identification is by the copyright-page statement + number line only.
First printing — copies~75,000 accepted figure
First jacket price$1.50 (cover price — no dust jacket; this is the price printed on the paperback cover). Confirmed by the official Stephen King identification guide ($1.50) and dealer listings (Downtown Brown). The companion later Bachman paperbacks rose in price (The Long Walk $1.95, Roadwork $2.25, The Running Man $2.50), so a $1.50 cover is consistent only with the 1977 Rage first printing. (Printed on the front cover, upper area near the catalog number (Signet W7645). As a mass-market paperback there is no dust jacket or price flap; the price is part of the printed cover and the matching code/price may also appear on the spine and rear cover.)
Board (panel) colorN/A — no hardcover. The paperback has a predominantly black cover (front-cover art over black ground) with red title lettering. Fore-edges/page-edges plain (untinted) on the mass-market stock.
Spine / center bindingN/A — perfect-bound (glued) paperback spine, not cloth. Spine carries title, "Richard Bachman" byline, the Signet logo and catalog number on the black cover scheme.
Binding styleMass-market paperback: perfect-bound (glued), pictorial card cover. Not sewn, not cloth, no boards. Approx. trim 4¼ x 7.0 x 0.7" per the official King guide.
Topstain / endpapersN/A — mass-market paperback; no topstain, no endpapers (self-wrappers / card cover). UNVERIFIED as to any edge tint (page edges appear plain/untinted on the 1977 printing).

Dust jacket

No dust jacket (paperback). Printed card cover: black ground with the title "RAGE" in red lettering and a brooding teenage male figure seated on/at a classroom teacher's desk, with the "Richard Bachman" byline. Signet logo and W7645 catalog number on cover/spine; $1.50 price on front. UNVERIFIED as to back-cover blurb text specifics.

Art / design: UNVERIFIED — no artist/illustrator credit is documented for the 1977 Signet cover in collector references. (For contrast, the 1985 hardcover "The Bachman Books" jacket art is by Don Brautigam, but that is a different book.)

reference photohttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rage_(1977)_front_cover,_first_edition.jpgreference photohttps://stephenkingcovers.com/title/rage-richard-bachman/reference photohttps://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-rage-first-edition-first-printing-richard-bachman-1st-1977-Signet-Classics/
Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyNo book-club edition exists for the 1977 Signet paperback of Rage (paperback original, never a BOMC selection). BCE concerns instead attach to the 1985 hardcover omnibus "The Bachman Books" (NAL): the Doubleday/BCE-style tells there are a small blind-stamp on the lower-right rear board, "Book Club Edition" on the lower front jacket flap, NO printed jacket price (a true NAL first jacket carries $19.95), smaller/lighter trim and cheaper paper, and glued rather than sewn binding. For Rage itself there is no club issue to confuse — the only counterfeit risk is later Signet printings or facsimile covers, not a BCE.

Also watch for: Cautions specific to Rage: (1) Later Signet printings sold as firsts — always verify "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" + full "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" number line AND the $1.50 cover price (later printings change the statement and number line). (2) Because it is famously out of print and valuable, watch for facsimile/reproduction covers wrapped around a later/cheaper text block, and "married" copies. (3) Ex-library, heavy reading wear, cracked/rolled spine, and tape repairs are common on this fragile mass-market stock and sharply reduce value. (4) Forged King/Bachman signatures appear on high-value copies — demand reputable provenance/authentication. (5) Do NOT accept a 1985 "The Bachman Books" hardcover as a "first edition of Rage" — it is the first hardcover appearance but a later state of the text. (6) Confirm the matching W7645 catalog number to rule out a mismatched/rebound copy.

Print run & scarcity

First-printing figure per the copyright-page printing line + specialist reference. stephenkingcollector.com (specialist King first-edition reference) states for the 1977 Signet paperback: "First edition of 75,000 copies.

First-state points & errata

No published text-block errata/state distinction is documented for the 1977 Signet Rage; first vs later is determined solely by the copyright-page statement and number line. UNVERIFIED as to any internal variant.

Limited & signed editions

No publisher-issued signed/numbered or traycased limited edition of Rage exists. The 1977 Signet paperback is the only edition. Dealers (e.g. Very Fine Books) sometimes offer the ordinary first-printing paperback housed in a custom clamshell/tray-case they commission — that is a dealer-added protective case, NOT a publisher limited edition, and adds no bibliographic priority. Genuine King-signed copies exist but are author-signed copies of the standard first printing, not a "limited edition."

Market value confirmed sales

$2,000–4,000 (genuine first printing, Fine/unread mass-market paperback original; there is no dust jacket to clip — it is a PBO)

Assumes a genuine first edition / first printing in near-fine to fine condition (clean copy, unclipped jacket). Lesser condition is worth less.

Confirmed sales: No clean public auction/sold record surfaced for a true Fine first. Closest transaction signal: an eBay copy with a MISSING cover sold ~$504 (Sept 2025) — a damaged-copy floor, not a Fine comp. Press reporting (LADbible/SlashFilm, Jan 2025) cites "up to $4,000" for collectible copies. Treat these as directional, not as Fine/Fine confirmed comps.

Book-club edition (the trap): No true book-club edition of the standalone Rage exists (it was a PBO, never a BCE). The real "cheap trap" substitute is THE BACHMAN BOOKS omnibus (1985, which reprints Rage) — common, ~$10–40; later Signet printings of Rage (number line not ending in 1) ~$50–150. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

Condition-driven: a thin PBO, so most survivors are VG with spine lean/reading creases (~$200–800); the $2,000+ tier is reserved for genuinely Fine/unread copies, which are scarce — that scarcity IS the premium. King-signed copies command a large multiple (Near Fine signed asks ~$15,000). THE single biggest thing separating a real first from the mislistings: Rage was a SIGNET MASS-MARKET PAPERBACK ORIGINAL (W7645, $1.50) — there is NO Doubleday hardcover and NO gutter code, so any "hardcover first edition of Rage" is the 1985 Bachman Books omnibus or a custom rebind, NOT this book. Verify the stated line "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" plus the full number line ending in 1; a number line not ending in 1 is a later printing worth a fraction.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: Price $1.50 cross-checked: official stephenking.com guide PDF + Downtown Brown listing + multiple AbeBooks listings. Statement/number line cross-checked: Very Fine Books ("FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" + "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9"), AbeBooks/Peryton Books (same number line), and the King guide ("First Signet Printing, September, 1977"). Catalog no. W7645 confirmed across AbeBooks/Biblio listings. Hardcover-first = The Bachman Books (1985 NAL, $19.95, "First (omnibus) Printing, October 1985") confirmed via the King guide PDF.

confidence: high — the $1.50 price, "FIRST PRINTING, SEPTEMBER, 1977" statement, "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" number line, W7645 catalog number, paperback-original status, and 1985 NAL hardcover-first fact are each cross-confirmed by 2+ independent sources including the official Stephen King identification guide. Lower on the cover-artist credit (UNVERIFIED — no documented attribution found).
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