Child of God, first paperback edition
The Ecco Press, New York, 1984
First The Ecco Press and first paperback edition, first and only printing. Softcover, 20.4 x 13.7 cm, 197 numbered pages. Publisher’s purple pictorial wrappers with a black spine and white back panel, lettered in orange, white, and black, designed by Saksa Art & Design, Inc. Summary of the novel and a price of “$ 7.50” on the back panel.
Inscribed on the title page by McCarthy to Dale Walker in blue ballpoint pen and in an early hand: “For Dale / All the best / Cormac McCarthy”.
CONDITION: a very good example.
PROVENANCE: purchased from the collector Paul Ford in 2021.
Published in September 1984, priced at $7.50, with a first printing of 3,000 copies.
This is the second title, along with Outer Dark, published by Ecco Press in its series “Neglected Books of the Twentieth Century”.
The date of publication is mentioned in the publisher’s editorial fact sheet (EP, B32, F14). The number of copies printed comes from a handwritten note by Dan Halpern on a letter from Howard Woolmer to him, dated January 17, 1994 (EP, B32, F12).
The license agreement between Random House and Ecco signed on November 30, 1983, and completed on January 9, 1984, stated an advance of $500, payable on the day of publication, and 7,5% royalties. (EP, B32, F14).
WRAPPER PROOF: the Ecco Press Archive includes a proof of the wrapper, later discarded, which features a blank back panel and a blue front cover background instead of purple (B32, F14).
RECIPIENT: the book is inscribed to Dale Walker, a writer and acquaintance of McCarthy from El Paso.
COLLECTING TOPICS: unsigned copies have become uncommon. In fact, they seem to be scarcer than those of The Orchard Keeper, Outer Dark, and Blood Meridian, published by The Ecco Press. As of January 2025, no copies were listed on line.
Rare Book Hub lists no copies at auction.
Signed or inscribed copies are decidedly scarce. Aside from this one, I remember only a signed copy offered by Captain Ahab’s Rare Books in 2017. It was listed at $1,500 and eventually sold for $1,200.
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