Beschreibung:

KING, STEPHEN. Forty-two typed letters signed, one typed letter, and one carbon copy of a typed letter signed, all to William G. Thompson special projects editor at Doubleday and Company, and three typed letters signed and one brief autograph letter signed to others of the same firm, virtually all written from various places in Maine, early 1971-24 May 1978. Together 48 letters, 73 pages, 4to, the typed letters single-spaced, signed "Stephen King," "Steve King," "Steve" (mostly), and "Steve K." in various colored inks, seven with holograph (mostly initialed) postcripts, some on his printed letterhead; with the material below in acetate holders in 2 loose-leaf albums. [ with ] (1) Autograph manuscript by King of the dust jacket copy for The Stand (published 1978), 1 1/2 pages, 4to, in ink, with revisions, and typescript (by Doubleday?) of same, 2 pages, 4to. Any holograph material of King's is rare; (2) Four typescripts by King of biographical notes, publicity releases, and promotional material for Carrie , one typescript by him of dust jacket copy for 'Salem's Lot , and one typescript by him of dust jacket copy for The Shining , 1973-1977, together 7 pages, 4to, single and double-spaced , two typescripts with a few holograph revisions, one initialed by King, with a related typescript prepared by Doubleday; (3) Two typescripts of two articles by King, 5 pages, 4to, single and double-spaced , one typescript a carbon copy, with a carbon copy of a King letter; (4) Typescript by King of his story "I Know What You Need," 28 pages, 4to, double-spaced , a clean carbon copy, King's name and address typed at front; (5) Seven letters and carbon copies of letters to King from the people at Doubleday and others; and (6) Two photographs of King and about 16 pieces of publishing ephemera: publicity and marketing items, Literary Guild issues, clippings, a sample dust jacket for Night Shift , etc. STEPHEN KING TO HIS PUBLISHER: FROM "CARRIE" TO "THE STAND" An exceptional archive -- particularly given the paucity of King letters and manuscript items on the market -- covering the development of his literary career from his earliest novels throught The Stand (1978). Among the King works discussed at length -- with some letters entirely concerning the individual books -- are: Getting It On (retitled Rage ), The Long Walk, The Running Man -- all published 1977-1982 under the Richard Backman pseudonym, Carrie, 'Salem's Lot (originally titled Second Coming ), The Shining, Night Shift , and The Stand , among others. King also writes of unpublished works ( Blaze, Sword in the Darkness ), discusses in detail contract terms and financial arrangements, gives news of his family life, considers his career as an author, and comments on books by other authors (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula of special interest). Because of the length and depth of the correspondence only the following sample quotations can be given. [undated, but early 1971 -- King's first letter to Doubleday ]: "Gentlemen: I have completed a short -- to middle-length novel called Getting It On , which I think might be of interest to you. It's a combination of suspense and 'straight' novel forms (a possible --flattering -- analogue would be the works of James B. Cain)..." At bottom of letter William Thompson has penned: "Dear Mr. K, Please send your manuscript..." [October 1972]: "...The book is called Carrie [his first published novel, issued in 1974, which launched his phenomenal career]...[it] is quite different from anything I've ever written before...and both main characters are female. I'm not going into a plot outline -- it would sound crazy if I put it on paper in summary -- but I will say it was a much harder trick than I thought it would be. But if Stephen Crane could write The Red Badge of Courage without ever going to war, I guess I can write a novel that revolves around shower-room mensturation incident...The book is once again a high-school novel..." 2