McCarthy, Cormac. [Ex-libris: Nicholas Potter, bookseller]

The Orchard Keeper [Inscribed]

New York: Random House, 1965. Second printing of the first edition, in the first issue dust jacket. Hardcover. Inscribed by Cormac McCarthy in black ink on the half-title page to Santa Fe bookseller, Nicholas Potter: "For Nicholas | All the very best | Cormac."

246 pp. Octavo [21 cm]. Publisher's green cloth and light burgundy paper-covered boards, stamped in gilt, red, and blind. Publisher's green topstain. White dust jacket with red and black typography, designed by Muriel Nasser. Second printing clearly stated on the copyright page. First issue dust jacket with "$4.95" price intact at top-front flap and "5/65" code at the bottom-right.

A Near Fine copy, the text block is clean, square, and seemingly unread throughout. The green topstain is lightly faded and the paper at the fore-edges of the boards show bits of abrasion. The dust jacket is Very Good, gently sunned at the spine and showing light overall surface soiling and minor edgewear, including a short split beginning at the top-front flap fold and tiny chips at the spine head and the top-right corner of the front panel. An attractive copy with an intimate association. Near Fine / Very Good. Item #71251

A significant association copy, warmly inscribed by the notoriously reclusive author to his long-time friend, the late Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter. Throughout a friendship spanning forty years, Potter’s bookstore served as a frequent destination for McCarthy, where the two shared a rapport rooted in their mutual appreciation of literature, art, music, and history. This volume represents a vital fragment of that connection; McCarthy, who famously avoided public life, inscribed most of his published works to Potter.

The second printing of The Orchard Keeper consisted of a small run of only 750 copies. It has been noted that surplus first-issue dust jackets were used for this printing; these were frequently price-clipped to accommodate the second printing’s increased $6.95 price. The present example is notably not price-clipped, retaining the original $4.95 price.

Set in a remote rural Tennessee community between the World Wars, The Orchard Keeper is McCarthy’s debut novel, inaugurating a cycle of four Southern Gothic works (with Outer Dark, Child of God, and Suttree to follow). The narrative explores the forces of modern civilization as they encroach upon older, more rugged ways of living. Upon its release, the novel earned McCarthy immediate critical acclaim and comparisons to the likes of William Faulkner.

Price: $10,000.00