(pretty much all the points tie back to observations of actual copies or comments from Pete (+ friend) that haven't been discarded. Any text emphasis in quotations is mine)
0/a. (originally stated as 1974 by Jeff). On revision (1975) perhaps.
White pages only. Stated to have been prior to the one year "gap" ending Jan/Feb 1976 (not 1975). Stated to have been bagged and shipped to TSR prior to(?) May 1976. Possibly impossible to distinguish from later copies minus the other components? May not exist.
None seen.
[2-way/4-way alignment points would also rule out 1974 and early 1975, if confirmed.
Jeff, whilst you're browsing through perhaps? ]
[However, "My first run on the AB Dick 360 printing press I had picked up was used to
remake the inside pages on this item over Xmas leave in 74 (actually 1975?) and the cover was used starting in 75 (actually Feb 1976) with the shop opening"
indicates a separate run.
This is one of the hooks that made me run with the auction to such a degree, first time around]
0/b. White pages only. (Printed early 1976?) Possibly more than one print run owing to problems with equipment. Possibly double-sided and single-sided already at this stage. (Not impossible to believe late 1975, in which case would that not be 0a?). White pages only? Unsure if may have had a
white cover sheet or not? ("the cover was used starting in 75 (actually Feb 1976) with the shop opening" combined with "sent... to TSR... a white copy of Brads cover art as well as a black folder copy". Can now discard the previous statement re. yellow cover sheet added to copy for shop opening, since that's dated June 1976 on the reverse).
Stated to have been sold locally. Could just have easily been the one Jeff bagged and shipped to TSR prior to(?) May 1976.
May be impossible to distinguish from later copies when stripped of their other components?
None seen.
[Black folder printed prior to(?) May 1976 or before and sent to TSR prior to(?) May 1976]
[
White copy of Morno scrollwork title/cover sheet sent to TSR prior to(?) May 1976 (still a query as to why this is dated 1975-76 if it wasn't actually used until much later... unless white copies do also exist with 0b. Possible significance of duplication of first part of "this kit contains" text with first white sheet uncertain although that does also
hint at the possibility of an earlier flavor without the title/cover sheet)]
0/c. Black folder.
Would have no reference to TSR distribution. May or may not have a scrollwork title sheet (more likely that it would, given cumulative indications). However, still uncertain as to whether black folder was actually used prior to TSR deal because, thus far,
None seen.
1/x. Black folder. (June 1976) TSR distribution sheet. May or may not have had a fresh run of white sheets (although more likely carried forward from 0/x). Double sided or single sided may still reflect printing problems. May or may not have a separate scrollwork title sheet (yellow-orange, not bright yellow?). All maps two-tone grey grid?? Some copies with photocopied replacement sheets. $3.50 noted on partly customised original polybag with one copy.
Lack of scrollwork title sheet in some copies may be due to loss (less likely given two copies noted thus far which are otherwise fine?), that the scrollwork sheet was created later (unlikely given the cumulative evidence above), that they ran out of sheets (
perhaps more likely) or that it wasn't deemed necessary to begin with, when the "foldered" release was created (*tries to remember if that "background" section is contained elsewhere on the white sheets*). Known to exist.
["When I ran out of the folder run the switch was made to this poly bagged version then over to the booklet when the printer took over"]
[Combined cover/title/distribution sheet on 2/x
appears to be the same bright yellow as 3/x, as opposed to yellow-orange on 1/x, although no-one has all three to compare against, afaik...???]
[Early reviews/ads indicate black folder where format is noted]
[Black folder stated to have been sent to TSR prior to(?) May 1976, so did exist at the point, above]
2/x. Yellow scrollwork cover, polybagged. (no earlier than June 1976). Cover/title sheet combined with distribution sheet on single bright yellow page. May be double sided or single sided. All maps two-tone grey grid?? (Copies known with $3.50?). Known to exist.
[If copies of 2/x are known with $3.50, creating and adding in an expensively produced black folder and for no extra charge would be an interesting way to run business, given not a cent has been received from TSR]
(3/x lifting some comments from Ian's descriptions. Haven't been able to follow that print fully and haven't read back through that discussion yet).
3/a. Yellow castle cover. Ziplock. Distributed TSR. "Poor quality two tone grey grid present but broken in places" (?)
3/b. ? did we not have ones with missing grid (toymom copy, but is this not known to have been distributed by anyone in particular?)
[latest date for any official "circulated by TSR" copy = mid-autumn 1977(?) from combined evidence of OD&D supplements (does anyone has a 7/77 supplement??), GW ad, etc.]
3/c. Distributed via Zocchi? (?late 1977)
[Games Workshop ad indicates
PotVQ eventually obtained via Zocchi after an extended period, but before Character Archaic was available again direct from Pete. Unknown how this reflects the actual situation in the U.S.]
3/b, 3/c dates interchangeable, perhaps? Insufficient data... Need to check for any other 'zine refs, etc. (Not possible to rule out that TSR may have printed copies "3/b"(?) after end of deal).
[ed.: $5 price tag on the toymom copy (store in Yakima) is actually more than the price stated in the (last?) WW digest pubs. (=$4.50). Local markup/whatever? Unsure what to make of this...]
=
Will have to read back through everything again at some point, since it's certain I've missed a few obvious points.
Is there any
hard evidence that could be used to affect this sequence in any major or minor way?
Given the apparently shared internal pages and difficulty in determining whether a component item has just been discarded, I'd still be fairly happy to see 0/c thru 2/x rolled into a single "with/without folder" for the time being. In which case, 0/b may require re-evaluation if a white cover/title sheet copy comes up and 0/a if a copy with earlier text or printing points "prior to remake" appears. Both those would be preferred with good provenance,
IMHO (certainly to a similar degree of proof required for an OD&D set to be declared a dated "prepub" even though the box labels may have been loose simply because it was an un-assembled staff copy of indeterminate date).
All comments/thoughts/grammatical errors 02 cents, only.