Very Scarce Early Proof

Night Shift [Tall proof]

King, Stephen

Publication: New York: Doubleday, 1977. Uncorrected Proof.

Notes: A scarce early Stephen King proof. Stephen King is one of the rare authors whose collections of short stories sell well. The first edition of Night Shift has always been somewhat scarce and the likely reason is that Doubleday had low expectations and printed fewer copies than they did of early novels. In fact, they felt a need to gussy up the book and got John D. MacDonald to write a foreword, which in hindsight seems entirely unnecessary.

These stories—mostly collected from Cavalier, the men's magazine that was King's first regular publisher—have spawned at least six Hollywood productions including Children of the Corn, Cat's Eye, and most recently, The Boogeyman.

Without evidence, various sources report print runs of this proof between 10 and 50 copies. In any case, it's hard to find. The only copy at auction sold at California Book Auctions in 1986 for $2500.

There seem to be two versions of this proof, with and without a label pasted to the front cover (there are also copies where the label has fallen off, leaving glue residue behind).

10-13/16 by 5-3/8. [20], 217, [3:blank] pages.

Edition + Condition: Stray pen marks on bottom edge, glue residue on the front cover, else near fine. Printed information sheet formerly mounted on cover now loose. (NB: The handwritten publication date is 1/20/78; your cataloger has seen a review slip in a finished book giving the publication date as February 17, 1978). A brief description of the book is stapled to the half-title page. Uncommon with the information sheet (FWIW, I haven't found a record of another copy with the info sheet still present).

Provenance: James Strand. When his house was looted following his death in August 2023, the thieves took most of his Stephen King collection, but they left behind a few proofs, which didn't look particularly valuable to them. Strand may have purchased this book shortly after publication. The surviving record of his purchases starts reliably in 1979 and runs for twenty years. This book isn't listed. He paid $350 (penciled price inside), which suggests that it sold before the 1986 copy at auction.

Item No: #365597

Sold