APG estimates the print run of this proof between fewer than 100 copies (Ken Lopez, catalog 7/98) and 150 copies (Waverley Books, catalog 6/98). Some dealers have suggested that Cities of the Plain proofs were issued in smaller numbers than other McCarthy proofs, but no clear evidence supports this. Judging from market appearances, copies of this proof surface about as often as those for The Crossing.

The dust jacket is identical to that issued with the first trade edition, except for the “Proof” stamp on the verso.

Caroline van Gelderen was one of the first literary agents representing Dutch authors in Dutch-speaking countries. She also represented leading publishers and agents in selling Dutch-language translation rights.

Copies with promotional material stapled to the front cover verso have been noted.

EARLY PROOF: APG records an earlier proof of Cities of the Plain, described as: “Perfect bound galley (typed manuscript form) with color copy of the intended dustwrapper used as a cover sheet. (Skyline Books 9/98.)” (010a). This appears to be the same copy auctioned at Swann Galleries in May 2016, in a lot with proofs of The Crossing in two states, described there as “an early printer’s proof.” Several points suggest that, if genuine, this was an isolated example that cannot be considered a distinct state nor assigned priority: Gary Fisketjon only “vaguely” recalls it, and confirmed that the yellow-wrapper proof was the only version produced; its style does not match the earlier proofs of All the Pretty Horsesand The Crossing; and it is absent from the collection of I.D. “Nash” Flores III, which otherwise included every McCarthy proof format.

TYPESCRIPTS: Photocopied typescripts predating even the supposed early proof do exist. Beyond drafts held by the Wittliff Collection in San Marcos, Texas, one resides in the Woolmer Collection of Cormac McCarthy. Ken Lopez listed it in catalog 104 (September 1999): “Unbound photocopied galley sheets of the third volume in The Border Trilogy. 8 1/4″ x 11 3/4″, printed on rectos only. This set of sheets was sent to a British publisher, in advance of the production of the U.K. edition, and is stamped ‘First Class Mail’ on the top sheet.”

Another typescript surfaced recently from the estate of Lanelle Holley, longtime friend of McCarthy. It appears later than the Woolmer copy: “Contemporary photocopied draft of the final iteration of the typescript, with no corrections; 411pp (rectos), housed in a white Joe’s Copies box, with holograph title written in pencil at the center of the lid.”

NOTABLE COPIES:

• MURRAY COPY. A near fine, unread copy. Inscribed on the half-title page: “To Philip Murray. With best wishes always, Cormac.” Auctioned by Fonsie Mealy in April 2024; now in a private collection in Arizona.
• GONZALES COPY. A near fine copy inscribed by McCarthy in 2017 to his friend and future biographer, writer Laurence Gonzales.
• MATTHIESSEN COPY. Unsigned; belonged to National Book Award–winning author Peter Matthiessen, an early reviewer of All the Pretty Horses. Matthiessen supplied the blurb for that novel’s dust jacket: “A rare, poetic evocation of the remote backcountry of south Texas and northern Mexico, strongly imagined and beautifully rendered by a very fine writer—one of our best—who deserves far more renown.” His proof contains some marked passages, a few holograph notes, and dog-eared corners. It was offered with his proof of The Crossing by Captain Ahab’s Rare Books in 2015.

COLLECTING TOPICS: Unsigned copies are not uncommon. Rare Book Hub records nine at auction, only one of which was signed (the Murray copy). As of August 2025, Abebooks listed nine available, all unsigned. This is the only copy I have seen accompanied by a trial dust jacket. Signed or inscribed copies remain rare.