Born of Man and Woman - The Collection by Richard Matheson - Numbered Edition

Out of print for more than five decades, Born of Man and Woman is the first short story collection by Richard Matheson, featuring seventeen masterful early works that showcase the author’s unparalleled ability to dive into the dark and mysterious corners of the human psyche.

With over 100 pages of carefully curated bonus material, a new foreword by R.C. Matheson and the introduction from the first edition by Robert Bloch, this is the first limited edition of the collection, offering readers the opportunity to experience Matheson’s mastery of the short story form, as he seamlessly blends science fiction, horror and fantasy with profound existential themes.

From the unsettling title story which kicks off the collection—a harrowing tale of a grotesque creature’s desperate desire for freedom—to the thought-provoking “Third from the Sun” wherein a family attempts to escape impending nuclear disaster, these tales weave themes of existential dread and the supernatural. In “Dress of White Silk,” Matheson delves into the nature of life, death and the afterlife, while “Mad House” explores the terrifying unraveling of reality itself. These stories, among others in the collection provoke philosophical questions, leaving readers with a lingering sense of unease and wonder.

Born of Man and Woman was first published by Chamberlain Press in 1954, featuring fifteen short stories that had been previously published in magazines such as Galaxy, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science-Fiction and Thrilling Wonder Stories between the years 1950 and 1953, plus two new stories (“Dear Diary” and “The Traveller”) that were published for the first time in the collection.  

Richard Matheson’s work would go on to influence a legion of writers and artists, with Ray Bradbury referring to him as “one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.” Steven Spielberg has stated, “Richard Matheson’s ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories, and for me, he is in the same category as Bradbury and Asimov,” while Stephen King once noted Matheson is “the author who influenced me most as a writer.”

A definitive collection of terrifying tales, Born of Man and Woman cements Richard Matheson’s legacy as one of the most influential voices in horror and science fiction, offering readers a glimpse into the mind of a master storyteller.

The limited edition of Born of Man and Woman by Richard Matheson is presented in three states: Lettered, Numbered and Artist editions.

NUMBERED EDITION

• 6” x 9” trim size.
• 416 Pages.
• Limited to 250 copies.
• Signed by R.C. Matheson, Clive Hicks-Jenkins and Paul Stuve.
• New exclusive foreword by R.C. Matheson.
• Introduction from the first edition by Robert Bloch.
• Note on the illustrations by Clive Hicks-Jenkins.
• Over 100 pages of bonus material carefully curated by Matheson collector, archivist and scholar Paul Stuve. 
• Bound by hand.
• Millimeter style binding covered in Hahnemühle Bugra with Dubletta cloth trim on the spine and fore edges. 
• Spine label is printed letterpress.
• Cover features inset leather label with artwork by Clive Hicks-Jenkins blocked in gold from a brass plate.
• Nineteen color illustrations by award-winning artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins.
  
• Illustrations printed as giclée fine art prints on Hahnemühle Bugra and tipped-on.
• Dust jacket and endsheet illustrations from the Artist state are featured here as frontispieces to the collection and the bonus content respectively.
• Printed letterpress on Mohawk Via Vellum paper by Scott Vile at The Ascensius Press in Buxton, Maine.
• Interior design & typography by award-winning designer Jerry Kelly.
• Text pages set in LeBé types.
  
• Housed in a clamshell enclosure covered in Dubletta cloth. 
  
• Bookmark with all pre-orders.

Published editions may differ slightly from mockups and prototype designs.
Illustrations © 2023 by Clive Hicks-Jenkins.