A travel through a McCarthy first editions collection

“IL BUIO FUORI”, THE FOURTH BOOK BY MCCARTHY TO APPEAR IN ITALIAN

Il buio fuori, first Italian edition of Outer Dark.

Outer Dark, (Il buio fuori), first Italian edition

Einaudi, Torino, 1997.

First Italian edition, only printing, with complete number lines from 0 to 6 and from 1997 to 2000 on a colophon page bound after the text at the end of the book ,which reads “Stampato…nel mese di luglio 1997”. Hardcover, 22.1 x 14.5 cm, 208 numbered pages. Publisher’s original greenish-grey cloth, lettered in black on the spine. White dust-jacket lettered in black, featuring a reproduction of the painting “Equivalent, Set W, No 2, 1929” by Alfred Stieglitz. The back cover features the price “Lire 26000”. Translated by Raoul Montanari.

CONDITION: fine book in a near fine dustjacket.

Published on August 1, 1997, at “Lire 26,000”, in a first print run of 11,000 copies.   


This is the fourth of McCarthy’s titles to appear in Italian. As of September 20, 2023, the book had not had any further hardcover printings. 

COLLECTING TOPICS: increasingly uncommon. Two copies sold on the web in 2023 for $40 and $55. Two others sold in 2024, both for $75-80. As of February 2025 there was only one copy listed on the web at $90. 

Il buio fuori, first Italian edition of Outer Dark: the colophon page.

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