Book
Retold and illustrated by Dale DeArmond
Published by Old Harbor Press
Edition of 750 (flexible cover)
Edition of 50 (hardcover)
38 pages
The idea for The First Man was first generated in the early 1970s when a friend told Dale about a small volume written by Dr. John Driggs shortly after the turn of the century. Driggs' "Sketches from Oldest America" contains several Eskimo legends, including one in which woman creates the first man. In an interview with The Sitka Sentinel (September 14, 1990), when asked about her book she said "I don't know how you would classify it… it's a woman's book, primarily."
From the colophon:
The text of this book was handset in 14-point Bembo type. Illustrations were printed directly from the original end-grain maple blocks. The book was printed on an Original Heidelberg platen press on Mohawk Letterpress Text. The handmade cover paper is Indian Sea and the end-papers are Ingres Antique. The books are hand sewn in the Japanese style and all materials used in the book are of archival quality and guaranteed to last 200 years.
Editor's note: THE FIRST MAN is limited to eight hundred signed copies of which seven hundred and fifty are bound with flexible covers. Fifty copies are bound with hard covers and each of these contains a print hand pulled by the artist. A 10th Anniversary edition, released in 2000, was said to be reprinted as a "Grand Finale" to Dale's Christmas cards.
Contains seventeen (17) wood engraving illustrations. Click on any image below for more information (where available).
Original price: hardcover: $67.50; flexible cover: $37.50
ISBN: 9780961552954; 9780961552961
ISBN 10: 0-9615529-5-6
