The Crossing, first English edition.
The Crossing, first English edition
Picador, London, 1994.
First English edition, first printing with complete number line, starting with 1 and ending with 2, on the copyright page. Hardcover, 22.7 x 14.3 cm, 425 numbered pages. Publisher’s black cloth lettered in silver on the spine. Text-block top edge unstained. Grey endpapers. White dustjacket lettered in silver , featuring an uncredited photograph in a silver-blue tone by Melanie Acevedo on the front cover. Price of “£14.99” on the front flap, photograph of McCarthy by Marion Ettlinger (which differs from that featured by the American and Australian edition) on back flap. White back panel with five blurbs referring to All the Pretty Horses (APG 007j).
Inscribed in blue ink by McCarthy on the second half title page to his friend and collector Philip Murray “For My Friend Phillip [sic] / All best wishes / Cormac McCarthy” (FM lot 730).
CONDITION: near fine in a near fine dustjacket.
PROVENANCE: the book comes from the Philip Murray collection. Purchased from First and Fine in 2020.
Published on August 16, 1994, at £.14.99, in a first printing of 11,955 copies.
The source of the date of publication and the first print run is the Picador archive.
RECIPIENT: Philip Murray, Irish collector and McCarthy’s friend.
BOOKPLATED ISSUE: APG notes an issue signed by the author via bookplate affixed to the title page (007i). Peter Straus, then publisher at Picador, told me that roughly 100 bookplates were sent to McCarthy, came back signed and then were given to the sales representatives who distributed them to booksellers for promotional purpose. Straus added that some dealers had them stuck in the books but many others put them loosely in. So, the way to glue them to earlier and more valuable McCarthy’s titles was open. I have handled a first English edition of Blood Meridian with the bookplate affixed to. Other examples are the first English editions copies of The Orchard Keeper and Outer Dark listed on 2023 by The Books of Ely in Birmingham. Following the book dealer “the bookplates were gifted nearly 20 years ago by Peter Straus, McCarthy’s publisher in England”.
PAPERBACK EDITION: On August 11, 1995 Picador released the first English paperback edition, in a print run of 75,000 copies.
COLLECTING TOPICS: so-called signed copies of this edition appear sometimes in the market. However, they are often forgeries. Genuine signed or inscribed copies like this are instead very scarce.
Discover more from The MCCARTHYIST
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.