Paperback 1141: Corruption City / Horace McCoy (Dell First Edition A188)

Paperback 1141: Dell First Edition A188 (PBO, 1959)

Title: Corruption City

Author: Horace McCoy

Cover artist: photo

Condition: 7/10

Value: $20

[The Book Den, Santa Barbara, CA, August 2025]

Best things about this cover: 

• "Take me down to Corruption City / Where the bricks look fake and the hoods ain't pretty..."
• She's got good "Fear Hand"; feels like I haven't seen a good "Fear Hand" in a while.
• This is the kind of photo shoot I wish I'd been present at. It's a pretty complicated pose. I wonder how long she had to hold it. Maybe they actually put the brick background on the floor and shot it that way. There's not a ton of visual interest here, but they make good use of what they've got. The hood is truly shadowy—all hat, no face—the bricks really gleam, and there enough of her (face, hand) to convey terror effectively. Plus.
• This is a first edition Horace McCoy, so assuming it held together and wasn't astronomically priced (check, check) I was gonna buy it no matter what it looked like.

Best things about this back cover: 

• Belts, anyone? 
• Look, I'm no beltologist, but these look hideous.
• "The finest long-stretch elastic ever used in belt-making"! Wow, this I gotta* see! (*do not care to)
• This is the second book in my collection (so far) with this particular belt ad on the back. I don't own any other books with totally un-book-related ads on the back. I guess some guy at Dell First Editions had a bright idea for how to make better use of the back covers ... and then someone higher up was like "fire Belt Boy" and that was that (seriously, this book is numbered A188, the other book I own with this back cover is A185 ... if you told me this belt ad "concept" lasted for only four books, I would have no problem believing you)

Page 123~

"We know how you feel about this, John," Fogel said. "We also know how Nemo Crispi'll feel when he finds out you've pulled off the case."

I'm staring at "Nemo Crispi'll" with a kind of awe. I mean, Nemo Crispi is a Hall of Fame name on its own, but you do that contraction bit there with the apostrophe "L"s at the end and wow. That's hapax legomenon territory.

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Letterboxd]

Paperback 41: Penguin-Signet 670

Paperback 41: Penguin-Signet 670 (1st ptg, 1948)

Title: They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Author: Horace McCoy
Cover artist: T.V.


"Oh Jim, they were so cruel. They made fun of my severe bangs and lime-green sweater. Hold me, Jim!"

"Yes, that's right, rest your head on my shoulder while I use my salt-and-pepper hair to bathe us both in a magical brown penumbra."

Best things about this cover:

• T.V. is a well-known cover artist. Don't know what the initials stand for. I just like that they are T.V. If only there were an artist with the initials V.C.R. or D.V.D.
• The man is embracing the woman, but even he can't help looking at her haircut with derision. "What was she thinking!?"

Horace McCoy is a fantastic hard-boiled writer. This novel is better known as a 1970s movie starring Jane Fonda. It's actually not about horses, or bad haircuts, at all. It's about marathon dancing during the Depression. And some dude who gets sentenced to the death penalty. How's that for an eloquent summary?

• He looks like the B-est of B-Movie actors
• You should know that his "resumé" here is Very Very typical of paperback writers at the time. I'm not sure we are to take much of it at face value. Seems like every other paperback writer had tough odd-jobs like carny or blackjack dealer or lion tamer or the like.

RP

PS, This book was published during the brief period of time when Penguin was transitioning to Signet / NAL in the U.S. (late 40's) - a handful of books have this hybrid imprint, "Penguin Signet." Shortly after the switch, Signet would make a boatload of money as Mickey Spillane's publisher.