'Salem's Lot

Originally printed with an $8.95 price on the dust jacket, the publisher later determined this price was too high. The prices were clipped from the jackets and replaced with a new $7.95 price before the books were released to the public, with only 5–6 copies of the original unclipped $8.95 jackets apparently remaining at the publisher. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that the jacket copy erroneously referred to the character “Father Cody,” when the correct name should have been “Father Callahan” (commonly referred to as the “Father Cody error”). The dust jackets were then reprinted with the corrected $7.95 price and the proper character name.

These early mistakes and last-minute changes resulted in the unusual situation of there being three distinct dust jacket states for the first edition, first printing of 'Salem's Lot:

First state: An unclipped dust jacket priced at $8.95 and containing the “Father Cody” error. These copies were never sold to the public, and only 5–6 are believed to exist. As such, they are by far the most valuable state.

Second state: A clipped dust jacket with a $7.95 price and the “Father Cody” error still present. These are also quite rare and highly valuable.

Third state: An unclipped dust jacket with a $7.95 price and the corrected “Father Callahan” name in the jacket copy. While the least valuable of the three states, these remain highly collectible due to the low print run of the first edition, first printing.

For an excellent discussion of the dust jacket states, see The Stephen King Collector's analysis of 'Salem’s Lot'.