11 Scribes · All titles · The Dark Tower (Donald M. Grant)

The Wind Through the Keyhole Common

2012 · Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. (true first / limited) and Scribner (trade first)

First-edition cover of The Wind Through the Keyhole — First-edition jacket (first edition (verified vs jacket)) · source

What it’s about

Sheltering from a sudden, bone-freezing "starkblast" storm, gunslinger Roland Deschain holds his ka-tet together by telling a story from his youth—when, as a green gunslinger still grieving his mother, he was sent to a remote town to hunt a shape-shifting "skin-man" murdering its people. Within that tale, Roland recounts a third story: a magical fable from his childhood about a boy named Tim Ross who ventures into a haunted forest to save his mother. Three nested stories of courage, monsters, and the strange wonders of Mid-World fold into one another.

Significance A Dark Tower novel published as "Book 4.5," set between "Wizard and Glass" and "Wolves of the Calla"—King's return to the series years after its 2004 conclusion, written to deepen Roland's saga rather than extend it, and a prized entry-point gift edition among Dark Tower collectors.

Is this the true first?Yes — this is a hardcover first, but with the usual Dark Tower wrinkle: the TRUE first edition is the small-press Donald M. Grant limited (released Feb 21, 2012), NOT the Scribner trade hardcover (released April 24, 2012). Both are hardcovers. There is no paperback-original issue; the Scribner mass-market paperback came later in 2013.
The Donald M. Grant limited edition PRECEDES the Scribner trade and is the bibliographic true first edition (mirrors the pattern of the early Dark Tower volumes, where Grant is always the true first). Grant released two states on/around Feb 21, 2012: (1) Numbered/Deluxe Edition — 800 copies, signed by Stephen King AND artist Jae Lee, in a foil-stamped clamshell traycase; (2) Artist Edition — 5,000 copies, signed by Jae Lee only, in a stamped slipcase ($75.00). Both Grant states carry 6 full-color + 11 black-and-white Jae Lee illustrations (color by June Chung) absent from the Scribner trade. The Scribner trade hardcover (April 24, 2012, $27.00) is the 'first trade edition' and is the version most collectors own, but it is the SECOND appearance, ~2 months after Grant. For a collector seeking 'the first,' the Grant Numbered is it; for an affordable 'first edition first printing,' the Scribner trade is the standard target.

I own a copy of this title

My notes — condition, state, price intact, is it a book-club copy?

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statementSCRIBNER TRADE: copyright page states "First Scribner hardcover edition April 2012" together with a complete descending number line (BOTH must be present). GRANT LIMITED: identified by a printed limitation page/colophon stating the edition size (one of 800 numbered, or Artist Edition one of 5,000) with the King/Jae Lee or Jae Lee signature(s); no separate "First Edition" wording is used by Grant — the limitation statement IS the first-edition point.

Number lineSCRIBNER TRADE first printing: full number line present and terminating in 1 (collector sources describe the standard Scribner full line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" — the lowest digit 1 must be present for a first printing; a line beginning at 2 or higher = later printing). GRANT LIMITED: no number line — a printed limitation number (e.g., "no. 51 of 800") serves the identifying role instead.

Gutter / printer codeN/A (not a Doubleday title; no gutter code).

First printing — copiesNot publicly disclosed

First jacket priceSCRIBNER TRADE first printing dust jacket: "$27.00" (US). GRANT ARTIST EDITION: issued at $75.00 (no clipped trade-style jacket flap price; sold direct at publisher price). GRANT NUMBERED/DELUXE ($250 publisher price is widely cited but UNVERIFIED in these sources — treat as UNVERIFIED). (Scribner trade: upper front jacket flap (top corner), with "$27.00" and Canadian price; a price-clipped flap removes this corner and lowers value. Grant editions were sold directly by the publisher in case/slipcase and do not carry a trade flap price in the same manner.)

Board (panel) colorScribner trade: black cloth boards (full cloth). Grant limited: publisher's special binding housed in clamshell traycase (Numbered/Deluxe) or slipcase (Artist Edition); exact Grant board cloth color UNVERIFIED in sourced listings.

Spine / center bindingScribner trade: black spine (full cloth, not quarter-bound) with gilt (gold) titling stamped to the spine. Grant limited spine/case: foil-stamped; exact color UNVERIFIED.

Binding styleScribner trade: full black cloth over boards, sewn, gilt spine titling. Grant Numbered/Deluxe: cloth-bound volume issued in a foil-stamped clamshell traycase. Grant Artist Edition: cloth-bound volume in a stamped slipcase. Both Grant states are illustrated (6 full-color + 11 b&w by Jae Lee, color by June Chung).

Topstain / endpapersScribner trade: plain orange endpapers (noted consistently across first-edition listings); no notable topstain reported. Grant limited endpaper/topstain details UNVERIFIED.

Where to buy marker-checked

Live AbeBooks listings, checked against the seller's own photos. ✓ confirmed = a photo shows the decisive first-printing marker; cover only = ask the seller for the copyright-page shot before buying.

✓ 1st/1st confirmed$36Bob's Rare Books$36.00 — within fair range (~$25-50); not overpriced. Jacket retains correct $27 issued price, unclipped.. CONFIRMED genuine US Scribner TRADE first e cover only — verify$29ReadAmericaBooksfair ($29, within ~$25-50 range for Scribner trade first; not overpriced). Listing has ZERO seller-uploaded photos. Verified the raw HTML (112KB, HTTP photos unclear$65Time Traveler Booksacceptable ($65; within tolerance of ~$25-50 value band, under the ~$80 overpriced threshold). NO seller photos exist. The listing's only book image i

Dust jacket

Scribner trade jacket: dramatic Jae Lee-based cover imagery for the Dark Tower 4.5 story; front panel art with title and author, spine and rear flap with author photo and bio. Grant editions feature the full illustrated Jae Lee art package not present in the trade. Exact panel-by-panel layout per state UNVERIFIED beyond the artist/designer attribution.

Art / design: Jae Lee (cover/interior art; Lee is the Marvel Dark Tower graphic-novel artist; interior color by June Chung). Scribner trade jacket designed by Scribner art director Rex Bonomelli with Platinum FMD.

https://www.stephenkingcollector.com/1st/TWTTKH.html

https://secure.grantbooks.com/books/dark-tower-iv-s-wind-through-keyhole/

https://secure.grantbooks.com/product/wind-through-keyhole-artist/

Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyNo commercial book-club edition (BOMC/SFBC) is prominent for this title — it published in 2012 well after the Doubleday/BOMC blind-stamp era and after physical book clubs declined. Caution instead is between the cheaper Scribner trade and the premium Grant limited; do not let a Scribner trade be sold as 'the Grant first.' If any club/digest reprint surfaces, generic BCE tells apply: no price on jacket flap, "Book Club Edition" printed on the lower front flap, blind-stamp (small indented dot/square) on the lower-right rear board, thinner paper, smaller trim, glued rather than sewn — but none of these are documented for this specific title (UNVERIFIED that a BCE exists).

Also watch for: 1) Misrepresentation of the Scribner trade as 'the first edition' without disclosing the earlier Grant true first. 2) Price-clipped Scribner jackets (corner cut to hide the $27.00) — devalued. 3) Later Scribner printings (number line not ending in 1) sold as firsts. 4) Married jackets / facsimile jackets on the trade. 5) Grant limiteds: verify the signature(s) are authentic publisher signatures (King + Jae Lee for Numbered; Jae Lee only for Artist) and that the traycase/slipcase and limitation page are present and intact — cases get separated. 6) Ex-library and remainder-marked trade copies. Confirm number line + "First Scribner hardcover edition April 2012" on the trade; confirm limitation number + correct case for Grant.

Print run & scarcity

This title has TWO distinct hardcover first editions in 2012, so the answer splits.

1) SCRIBNER TRADE HARDCOVER (ISBN 978-1451658903, $27.00, pub. April 24, 2012): This is the mass-market collector "first edition." No first-printing quantity is publicly documented. The standard bibliographic reference, stephenkingcollector.com, literally records it as "A first edition of ??? copies" — i.e., Scribner never disclosed the figure. Do NOT assume a Carrie-style ~30,000; by 2012 King was a guaranteed bestseller and trade first printings for a Dark Tower novel were almost certainly well into six figures, but no announced/audited number is on record, so I am NOT inventing one. (The ~30,000 Carrie reference in the brief is a different, much earlier title and does not transfer.)

2) DONALD M. GRANT signed limited editions (the small-press collectible, simultaneous 2012):
- DELUXE / numbered: 800 copies, signed by Stephen King (blue) AND artist Jae Lee (black), hand-numbered, issued in a foil-stamped tray/clamshell case. Copies numbered 1–500 carry "matching number" rights to assemble a same-number set back to The Gunslinger (1982). Confirmed by official stephenking.com promo page and a First and Fine dealer listing ("one of 800 numbered copies").
- ARTIST EDITION: 5,000 copies, signed by Jae Lee only (not King), slipcased. Confirmed by stephenking.com and Grant publisher.
- No separate LETTERED (e.g., 26-copy) state surfaced for this title in any source checked.

SOURCE AGREEMENT: The Grant counts (800 + 5,000) are consistent across the official author site, the publisher, and dealers — reliable. The only real "debate" here is the Scribner trade run, which is simply unpublished rather than disputed.

First-state points & errata

No documented textual errata distinguishing first-state.

Limited & signed editions

Donald M. Grant (Feb 2012): (1) NUMBERED/DELUXE — 800 copies, signed by Stephen King AND Jae Lee, foil-stamped clamshell traycase, full Jae Lee illustrations (color June Chung); numbers within first 500 allow a matching-number Dark Tower set back to The Gunslinger (1982). (2) ARTIST EDITION — 5,000 copies, signed by Jae Lee only, stamped slipcase, $75.00, illustrated, open to all buyers. UK: Hodder & Stoughton also issued limited illustrated editions. (Grant Numbered original price ~$250 cited by the trade but UNVERIFIED here.)

Market value confirmed sales

$25–$50 (typically ~$30–$40)

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

Confirmed sales: 1) Grant 800-copy King-signed Limited, copy #51, fine/fine/fine in traycase, "all unread" — firstandfine.com dealer record, now SOLD/out-of-stock (2023–2024 listing). 2) "The Wind Through the Keyhole" $1,100 SOLD — TheDarkTower.org Palaver collectible classifieds (older forum sale; likely a mid-grade or lower-number limited). 3) Grant Artist Edition (5,000-copy, Jae Lee-signed), slipcased — eBay sold listings consistently $125–175 (2024). 4) LiveAuctioneers price-result record shows "1 Sold" (Williston, VT) but realized price is paywalled — cited for existence, not as a hard figure.

Book-club edition (the trap): There is no true BOMC/BCE of this Grant edition, so the analogous "trap tier" is the Scribner trade hardcover (2012, ISBN 9781451658903) at roughly $15–40, and the Grant ARTIST EDITION (5,000 copies, Jae Lee-only signature) at ~$125–175. Both are routinely mislisted as "the first edition" — the artist edition especially, since it shares the 2012 Grant imprint and a signature, but it is the secondary state, not the King-signed first. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

[Audit-corrected from $2000-2800: value is for a genuine UNSIGNED trade first in fine/fine; signed/limited copies excluded.] Condition/completeness is everything: the King-signed Limited must be COMPLETE in its foil-stamped traycase and unread to hold $2,000+; a damaged/missing traycase or reading wear drops it toward $1,200–1,500. Low limitation numbers carry a real premium — copies numbered 1–500 qualify the owner for a matching-numbered Dark Tower set (Gunslinger 1982 onward), so a sub-500 number can add 15–30%. The book is ALREADY signed by King and Jae Lee as issued, so "signed" is not a separate premium for the Limited — the premium is on number, traycase, and unread state. THE SINGLE BIGGEST THING that separates the real first from the mislisted copies for THIS title: confirm BOTH signatures (Stephen King in blue + Jae Lee in black) with a red-pen handwritten number out of 800 AND the foil-stamped TRAYCASE (clamshell). If it has only Jae Lee's signature and a plain SLIPCASE, it is the 5,000-copy Artist Edition (~$150), not the $2,000+ true first. If it has no signature and a printed dust jacket price, it is the Scribner trade hardcover (~$20). Watch for married/facsimile traycases and copies sold "limited edition" that are actually the artist state.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: Cross-checks performed: (a) True-first sequence — Wikipedia (Grant Feb 21, 2012; Scribner follows) AND stephenkingcollector.com (Grant artwork revealed Dec 19 vs Scribner cover Dec 22) AND multiple dealer listings; (b) Price $27.00 — abebooks first-edition listings AND stephenkingcollector.com; (c) Copyright statement "First Scribner hardcover edition April 2012" — abebooks listings AND general search confirmation; (d) Binding (black cloth, gilt spine, orange endpapers) — multiple abebooks Scribner first listings; (e) Grant editions/sizes/signers — grantbooks.com, stephenking.com, firstandfine, Lilja's Library. OUTSTANDING UNVERIFIED: Scribner number-line exact glyph order (saw 'complete number line'/'1 present' but not a transcribed image); Grant Numbered/Deluxe original publisher price ($250 cited externally, not confirmed here).

confidence: medium-high — Publication sequence (Grant Feb 21, 2012 BEFORE Scribner April 24, 2012), Grant edition sizes (800 numbered / 5,000 artist), signers, cases, illustrator (Jae Lee / June Chung), Scribner copyright statement ("First Scribner hardcover edition April 2012"), $27.00 trade jacket price, black cloth boards / gilt spine / orange endpapers, and $75 Artist price are all cross-confirmed across two or more sources. LOWERED for: exact Scribner number-line string not seen on a copyright-page image (inferred from Scribner convention + listings stating 'complete number line'), and the Grant Numbered ($250) original price which is UNVERIFIED in these sources.← Back to all titles