The Real First Edition Of THE GUNSLINGER

Here is an ebay offering for the true first appearance of The Gunslinger.  The book was originally published in the magazine of Fantasy and science Fiction section by section.  Kind of cool to see all the editions together,  I bought mine piece by piece.  It's starting bid is $80.  A lot for a bunch of magazines; but not so much for a true first appearance of The Gunslinger.  (No, I do not know the seller.)

Ukrainian Joyland

Here is a hardcover, Ukranian Joyland.  It's selling at ebay for $21.47.

Pennywise Looking Stranger Than Ever

Did you get everything you want for Christmas?  EVERYTHING?  How about this Stephen King's It Pennywise Clown Pop! Vinyl Figure from www.ebay.com.


The ebay seller explains:

• Stephen King's Pennywise the clown from the horror movie It as a vinyl figure! 
• Stands 3 3/4-inches tall. 
• Features Tim Curry's Pennywise with his scary teeth, freaky eyebrows, and scary clown costume! 

The scariest clown in horror movie history has been given the Pop! Vinyl treatment with this Stephen King's It Pennywise Clown Pop! Vinyl Figure! The demented killer clown looks true to form with his scary teeth, freaky eyebrows, and scary clown costume. When you see just how cool the 3 3/4-inch tall Stephen King's It Pennywise Clown Pop! Vinyl Figure looks you'll want to collect the rest in the horror movie line from Funko! Ages 5 and up.

My favorite part, "Ages 5 and up." Yeah, kiddos, guess what was in the stocking this year!

The item sells for $13.35

Christine License Plate

Ever spot strange stuff  on ebay?  Stephen King collectibles you didn't know existed?  Here's one --

Hey folks up for sale is an in person Christine Replica License Plate signed by Stephen King. For those who are familiar with the movie you already know what this is. For those who don't, this was the license plate that was on the red 1958 Plymouth Fury in Christine. This has been certified by PSA/DNA. It's made out of real metal, not plastic and is an exact screen replica. This is a cool collectible for any fan and also makes for a great conversation piece as well. Happy Hunting! PSA/DNA #U28942

Signed Is Better

taped inside Pet Sematary
ebay.com current bid: $6.50

When it comes to collecting books -- signed is better.  I own a lot of signed books.  Unfortunately, only one of them is signed by Stephen King!  (Under the Dome)  I made a decision a while back that I wasn't going to go to spend a lot of family money on Stephen King's handwriting.

Why not to mess with signed editions: Because publishers have figured out signed is better and have made it a business.  The days of sending your personal copy of a book to the author and getting it signed  and returned are gone.  Authors no longer do as may signings, and publishers don't like the author to sign books when they run into fans because it devalues their signature.  So what was fun is now just a money game.

Taped inside a copy of Pet Sematary is a note signed by King.  Now the book itself is not signed, it's on paper.  But, think about this -- it's the same signature.  So I'm asking -- what's special about his handwriting inside a book as opposed to on a paper?

I think inscribed books are better than flatsigned.  I love seeing the ones where little personal notes have been written from the author to the book owner. Some people prefer flatsigned books.  They don't want the writing that is directed to someone else.  However, that is part of the books history -- part of the signing -- and I think it's delightful.  I don't own a book King has insribed,but I own other boosk with little  notes from the author, and it's great!

Here's a couple I spotted that I think are cool:

• Four Past Midnight: "For Rick, don't stay out late."
• Firestarter: "To Dianne -- on her 25th -- with love from Scott and Stephen King, 8/19/90."

Someone should put together a list (book) of the things King has written to fans when autographing them.

An interesting thing is that the more expensive signed books are the old ones and the more recent ones.  A copy of Doctor Sleep signed is $400+.  Why?  Because that's where Cemetery Dance set the price, and people were ready to fork that over.  I think at $400 you should also get a couple of new tires and a Walmart gift card.

Know what I notice?  Signed books from the mid portion of King's writing don't cost as much.  Check it out on ebay!  (Not that I recommend buying signed items on ebay.)

• Bag of Bones, $250
• Christine, $150  (Hold on!  Why is this so low and Doctor Sleep so high?  A signed Christine seems like it would be very valuable because it's more rare to have those than the current super novel)
• Rose Madder, $175
• Eyes of the Dragon, $195
• Bag of Bones, $150 (advanced reading copy)
• Four Past Midnight, $149
• Firestarter, $375
• Full Dark No Stars, 112.50 (current bid, not final selling price)
• The Shining, $2,800 (seriously -- that's a lot of money.)
• BETTS BOOKSTORE: Dolores Claiborne, $75 (www.bettsbooks.com)

Okay, my point is really just how subjective this all is.  The books prices are pretty standard until  King autographs them, and then BAM! the price can go anywhere.  Salem's Lot signed goes for about $3,000.  That doesn't mean anyone will pay that, but it is what someone is asking.

Tell me -- 

how  important is a signature?  

How much would you be willing for fork over?

What King books do you have signed?

The Stephen King Bobblehead

image credit: bobblesgalore.com

It's a Stephen King bobblehead.  The one in the picture was a give away -- now sells for $134.95.

I think he needs friends. . . Carrie bobblehead.  Flagg bobblehead.  Roland bobblehead.  Pennywise  bobblehead.  Cujo bobblehead.

He's pitching. . . but he's a writer.  Right?  Shouldn't he be writing?  I guess it doesn't look as cool to be hunched over a typewriter when you're a bobblehead.

Here's another one, (ebay for $64.99)

Mrs. Todds Shortcut on tape

The Skeleton Crew stories  are  some of my favorites -- and some of the hardest for find on audio.  Here's one for $4.99 at ebay.

notice the typo on the inside write-up below (Steven King)

ebay: THE STAND audiobook

For those of  you who said  you could  not find a physical copy of The Stand -- check  out this ebay  auction at /www.ebay.com/itm/THE-STAND-UNABRIDGED-AUDIO-BOOK

The seller writes:

Actually picked this up at Comic Con NY in 2012. Was given away on Sunday at 5pm when the booth was closing up and was the table display. I picked the most expensive thing there and that was this 37 CD audio book. Almost 48 hours of content. I have listened to it once and the discs are in PRISTINE CONDITION!

The photo's are from the ebay seller.

The audio version can  also be purchased at audible.

Ebay: Maximum Overdrive Sweatshirt

Don't ya love ebay?  You find stuff  you need that you didn't even know existed!

Rare Promotional Tie-In Sweatshirt of STEPHEN KING'S movie MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE - promo/tie-in sweatshirt from VHS release. Red with logo and artwork on front and says “Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive” and “KLV-TV Karl-Lorimar Video” on the front and “Starring Emilio Estevez and Music by AC / DC” on the sleeve. (check it out on ebay)

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos

I saw this on ebay and thought it was interesting:
New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos.  It is a compilation of 9 short stories, edited by Ramsey Campbell.

Some of the stories include:

• "Crouch End" by Stephen King
• "The Second Wish" by Brian Lumley
• "Shaft Number 247" by Basil Copper
• "The Faces at Pine Dunes" by Ramsey Campbell
• And a collaboration: "The Black Tome of Alsophocus" by H.P. Lovecraft and Martin S. Warnes!

The book went for $55.68.  (a far cry from my $5 bid.)

Wikipedia offers this summery:

On August 19, 1974, two police officers, alcoholic veteran Ted Vetter and newcomer Robert Farnham, are working the night shift in the London neighborhood of Crouch End. They are discussing the case of Doris Freeman, a young American woman who came in to report the disappearance of her husband, lawyer Leonard Freeman. Nearly hysterical, Doris' story involves monsters and other supernatural incidents. 

She relates how she and her husband were looking for a potential employer's house in Crouch End, but as they did so, they became lost. As they continued searching, their surroundings started to change subtly and become infested by what appeared to be monsters and demons. Doris escapes with her life, but her husband is not so lucky, being consumed by some kind of hideous creature (possibly Shub-Niggurath, due to a reference to 'the Black Goat with a Thousand Young' made shortly before the creature's appearance). 

Farnham dismisses the story as rubbish, but Vetter, who has worked in Crouch End for years, is not so sure, remembering a time previously when similar events happened before. He speaks of different dimensions and Crouch End being a place where the veil between our world and another more demonic world is at its weakest. The story ends with Farnham going out into the night, only to find that something is different about the area for him too. He is never seen again, and Vetter dies a few years later. The story ends by saying that people continued to disappear in Crouch End and sometimes are never seen again.

Full Wikipedia article is HERE.

Ebay Audio: Drawing of the three

Here is a copy of The Drawing Of The Three that we discussed  recently.  These are tapes.  What's neat about this recording is that it was done by Stephen King.

Salem's Lot Script

Here's an interesting ebay item: The 1979 shooting Script for Salem's Lot.  It is selling for $125.

Description:

SALEM'S LOT by Stephen King screenplay 1979 Tobe Hooper shooting script.
Warner Brothers Television, Burbank, CA, 1979. Paper Wraps. Book Condition: Good with no dust jacket. Shooting script June 11, 1979.
Executive Producer Stirling Silliphant, producer Richard Kobritz, Writer Stephen
King/Paul Monash, Director Tobe Hooper. 195 pages. 

EBAY: It's A Whaaaat ?

I love ebay!  But, you definitely have to be discerning. And, you also have to decide exactly what King items you want to own.

I stick pretty close to books, magazines and one toy car of Christine.  I don't mess -- much -- with Red Leather editions, though  I have a few.  I've spotted Stephen King cuckoo clocks, Christmas ornaments, a photo of Christine -- "signed" by the car (meaning the car  ran over it). Photo's always strike me as strange.  I read Stephen King, I don't plaster my bedroom with his pictures!

I do own some -- odd stuff, but it's mostly in book  form.  A  pop-up book, copies of the Castle Rock, books that have King introductions, and The Mist and  The Stand on audio tape.  (TAPE!)  How about a Desperation/Regulators shrink-wrapped together with a book light.  No, I don't really "get it", but I got it.

Sometimes ebay pops up with a search result that makes you go, "huh?"  Stuff I didn't even know existed.

Here's an example:

Cats Meow 1991 THE WILLIAM ARNOLD HOUSE -STEPHEN KINGS RESIDENCE 

"I havea not super great condition William Arnold House by Cats Meow, co 1991, this is signed on the back 93. This is Stephen Kings House in Bangor, Maine! There was some water damage to the bottom of the wood and there is slight pitting of paint on front, cleaned it up as best I could. But hopefully someone would like a spare one or you can try to restore it yourself. This house has a gate in the front of the door which looks like a spider's web with bats!"

A what?  What is a "William Arnold House by Cats Meow" ?!  It looks like a box. Why would someone want a box of Stephen King's house?  I mean, isn't that. . . uhhh. . . kinda strangely personal?  I'll admit, King's Bangor home is super duper cool.  Looks like an old haunted mansion.  But, I don't want my house full of little miniatures of his house!

Let me rant for a moment. . .

I don't get it!  Reading Stephen King and thinking he's super cool is one thing; but some people really are strange!  Take the Christmas decoration, for instance.  Why would you want Stephen King's house on your Christmas Tree?  Who really wants their kitchen clock to be a version of The Shining?

I'm not even sure I know why I think first editions are so cool.  Seriously, it's just a book.  Why pay more when it's really about  the story, right?  Why is my big super copy of IT better than the paperback?  I don't know.  But I know I like that Cemetery Dance edtion of IT!  But I don't sit around reading it.

HERE is a whole page devoted to King ornaments.
HERE is my article  on the King House Christmas Ornament.

So, tell me. . .
1. What are you collecting guidelines.  What do you collect, and what is on your "not interested" list?
2. What is a "William Arnold House by Cats Meow"?
3. What strange things have you spotted? (I didn't even start to  list the toys and miniatures.)

Collecting Part 1: Hunting The Gunslinger

MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION
The Gunslinger" (October 1978) 

Once upon a time we had to buy all King products from specialty bookstores -- or publishers.  Which is fine, except that it limits the hunt.  Then ebay came, and the world opened up.  Collectors are able to trade directly, allowing for all kinds of strange stuff to pop up!  I'm not hunting for really strange stuff.  Not interested in a lot of stuff some people think are really awesome King finds.  And, generally speaking, it's a bad idea to buy signed King items off ebay!

The Gunslinger:

For the last few months I've been hunting.  Yep, I have.  Wanting to round out my Dark Tower collection.  Of course, that meant I had to buy WTTK.  It came. . . only, Grant instead sent me The Dark Tower artist edition.  They were nice about it.  

 

 

The other thing I wanted (even more than Wind) was the original five magazines that the Gunslinger was published in.  That means heading over to ebay.

MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION 

"The Gunslinger" (October 1978)
"The Way Station" (April 1980)
"The Oracle and the Mountains" (February 1981)
"The Slow Mutants" (July 1981)
"The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" (November 1981)

I have the last three.  Getting the Way Station was not too difficult.  And then my long hunt for The Gunslinger intensified.  I called the specialty bookstores -- and they also had the first four.  But, that last one, not so easy to get!  Checked specialty Science Fiction magazine sellers, and they would have every issue of that magazine, except October 1978.

 

 

Found and Lost

Then I found it!  It was on ebay.  I clicked watch, but did not bid.  It was a solid week away.  It was a long week, and I checked every day to see if anyone else was bidding.  No takers!  I was going to get this thing for a sweet $10.

 

 

I Reminded myself on a Monday morning to check ebay and bid!  But, alas, I was working on a very interesting message on the doctrine of heaven and in particular the New Earth.  Cool stuff, I promise.  Giant city, a whole world to explore (universe), friendship with God himself, the physical and spiritual drawn together. . . I was caught up.  And yes, after all those years of searching for that magazine, I forgot to bid on it!  Fifteen minutes after the auction closed, I gasped.  I looked up from my sermon draft -- could I have really missed my opportunity to buy the gunslinger?  Certainly not.  Not after all that searching, phone calls, hours of combing the internet.  Certainly not!  But I had.  I had gotten so excited about what the Bible says about the new earth that I had lost track of time.  I soothed my disappointment with self righteousness: At least I had my mind of heavenly thing.  Now this is crazy. . . I could almost taste the loss!  I had come so close.

 

 

My wife and I returned to the hunt.  We even called used bookstores, asking if they had stacks of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines.  Some did.  They did not have that issue.  Sheesh!  Finding the X-men comic book was easier than this.  In fact, coming up with a first edition of the Shining was easier!

 

 

Now, what's fun about this magazine is that it shouldn't be real expensive.  It's the first appearance of The Gunslinger, it's fairly old, and it really did not make a big splash in the world of Stephen King collectors at the time.  That means that there's not billions of them out there.  But they don't sell for that much!  Remember, when The Gunslinger was first listed in King's list of published books, collectors didn't even know what it was or that it existed.  So having it in an appearance before the Grant edition is cool.

 

 

Hope Again

ALAS!  I found it the other day.  Thank you, ebay!  But I didn't find it. . . I found them.  They had two auctions going for the October 1978 edition of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  It has a shuttle like spaceship with what looks like Frogger riding it.  Can't be Frogger! -- that little green guy wasn't gracing out Atari's in 1978 (had to wait until 1981).  Maybe it's just a gooey version of Gumbie.  See, I don't know what's up with the cover, because it's not in my hands yet.

 

 

I didn't miss the auction this time!  In fact, I bought the magazine for $12.86 (and $4.00 shipping.)  That completes my set of Magazine and Science Fiction Gunslinger's.  I ought to check the text and see if there were major revisions made between the Grand first printing and the magazine printings.

 

 

Oh, the other magazine is still up for auction.  Have about 4 hours as of the writing of this.  It's selling, at the moment, for a ridiculously low $7.99.  Pretty sweet, huh.  Okay. . . 4 hours later, that magazine went for $36.00.  I choose to sleep instead of participate in that bid war.   I actually suspect that magazine is actually worth something like $30-40. 

Building A Unique Collection, Part 2: More Stuff

Foreign Editions:
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At some point, every King collector will have to decide if they want to collect the foreign editions. I generally don't. For me, it's just a space and money issue. One of those things that I'll get to some day!
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I do have a Salem's Lot Australia (paperback) and a hardcover first British edition of the Stand. And a book club edition of a British Tommyknockers. That's about it for me!
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There s a coveted "bootleg" Russian IT, "ES."
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Galley Proofs:
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Obviously these are sought after because they are one of a kind. I don't have any. Again, they're on my "some day" list. Some day when I'm rich. Find them at Betts bookstore.
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More Stuff:
Here are other King things people collect:

• Large print.
• Magnets
• Soundtracks
• T-Shirts
• Anthologies
• Manuscripts
• Screen plays

Hard to get stuff:

• The Green Mile hard cover set.
• The Stand "coffin" edition. Signed, leather bound in a wood box. (You would think it was the Bible!) I think this book only goes for around 2k. That might sound like a lot, but when you see the prices of some of the signed stuff -- it's not so crazy.
• My Pretty Pony. There are 2 unique editions. One an over sized (really over sized) edition in a red slip case. The other is in a strange lock-box like case that has a clock on it.
• Bachman books. All four of the paperbacks are worth the hunt. When it comes to Thinner, don't pay too much for the Book club edition -- it's worth about $5-20. I think I paid $5.
• The Plant. This is a novel King gave away as Christmas gifts. I don't think he ever finished it. I read that he decided it was too much like Little Shop of Horrors.

Twilight Zone Magazine Bachman Ad

My February 1985 issue of the Twilight Zone magazine landed in my mailbox today. I do love ebay!

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I will post more on the articles inside, and the King/Straub interview. I love going through old magazine's and seeing what was happening at the time. As I thumbed through aging pages, something cool caught my eye. It was an ad. Later that year, 1985, King would be exposed as Richard Bachman. But in February, the general reading public had not been let in on the secret. The ad is for Thinner.

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That's interesting, because Bachman had run under the radar until Thinner. His books were not met with much publicity. In fact, they were usually released as simple paperbacks.

Japan Carrie Laser Disk

I ran across this today on ebay. Interesting! Remember the Laser Disk? I have this movie, on LD -- but in English.
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http://cgi.ebay.com/Japan-LD-CARRIE-1976-Stephen-King-Brian-Palma-/320461897778

Haven Foundation: 2010 auction

This is from the Haven Foundation:

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Looking for something unique for the holidays? How about an original signed piece of art based on The Dark Tower?

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Now being auctioned through eBay's Mission Fish with proceeds to benefit The Haven Foundation is this signed original artwork by Maine artist Glenn Chadbourne. This pen and ink drawing is inspired by Stephen King's The Dark Tower saga. It has been professionally framed with conservation quality materials. The piece including frame measures 13-1/4" x 15-1/2".

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Chadbourne has also illustrated the limited editionsof Secretary of Dreams Volumes 1 and 2 and The Colorado Kid.

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The Haven Foundation:

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The Haven Foundation is a national, nonprofit organization making grants to freelance writers and artists experiencing career-threatening illness, accident, natural disaster or other emergency or personal catastrophe. http://www.thehavenfdn.org/

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Bid Here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180595516450

Mystery Of The Long Walk

I've been collecting first edition Richard Bachman books of late. These usually go for anywhere from $50-75. I found an interesting copy of the Long Walk recently. It is a first edition, rebound for school use ($30, ebay). The interior librarians markings indicate that it was entered into the school library in 1981. Of course, it wasn't revealed that King was Bachman until 1985, when he was writing Misery to be released as a Bachman.

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Now this is interesting because:

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1. I didn't know Bachman was popular enough to be appearing in schools.

2. This book is unusually dark, not something I would expect to find in a school..

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Required Reading?

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This is a softcover book that's been turned into a small hardcover. With this kind of binding, it is not the kind of book schools simply drop in its library book shelves. Schools do this (at least my school did) for distribution to students as required reading. They don't have the money to turn every paperback on their shelves into a hardback. But for class required reading, these cheap paperback books were rebound as hardcovers by our school so that they wouldn't get destroyed by students carrying them around in their million pound backpacks. (Remember those?)

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Just causes me to wonder: Was The Long Walk required reading at Memorial High School in Newark, California? That would be irony, wouldn't it! King gets banned from schools, but Bachman slips in as required reading!

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Even if it wasn't required reading, it's still noteworthy that at the very time King was being kicked out of school libraries, Bachman was walking right in the door! And the really nutty thing, I would consider Bachman much less "school" worthy than most King books. However, dark Mr. Bachman seems to strike a chord with high school students. He is, after all, Stephen King "on a really bad day."

ebay collecting

ebay is the world's largest yard sale. Of course, it's wonderful for collectors, and in particular constant readers.

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Today I got in a bidding war for Richard Bachman's "The Long Walk." So what's a Bachman book worth? -- same thing your hosue is worth, whatever someone will pay for it. In my case, I just couldn't bring myself to give more than $70 for a paperback book.

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It's the first warm day in a long time, and as things warm up I always feel the need to start buying King. So, no Bachman. . . what did I buy? I want to be clear about this: Do not buy signed items on ebay or even amazon unless it's from the publisher. Go to Betts books for that kind of stuff. What I got:
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--stephen king : A Primary Bibliography Justin Brooks lmt, $6.00

--STEPHEN KING 14 WEEKLY ARTICLES ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, $0.99
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Big spender, eh. Of course, the 14 articles are just clipped paper, but still cool. My point is that collecting does not have to break the bank.

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My best buy yet was a The Running Man (with bachman name, not King on cover) for $5 from a small bookstore. Did they know what they had? They did, because it was in the Stephen King section.
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Now, how do I get that leather bound copy of The Stand. . .