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

The Road [with signed bookplate]

London: Picador, 2006. First U.K. edition, first printing. Hardcover. One of only 200 copies issued with a bookplate signed in black ink by Cormac McCarthy mounted to the title page. These bookplates were signed specifically for this first Picador edition and distributed via the British retailer Waterstones. From the library of the late Santa Fe bookseller and McCarthy associate Nicholas Potter. Laid in is Potter's original invoice and purchase receipt from Nicholas & Helen Burrows (booksellers, Surrey/London, UK), dated 20-Nov-06.

241 pp. Octavo [24 cm]. Publisher’s black paper-covered boards with silver stamping to the spine. Original pictorial dust jacket with the "£16.99" price intact. A bright, square, and clean copy. Fine / Fine. Item #71330

The inclusion of the signed bookplate at the title page is notably scarce. A short note in Potter's hand is also laid in: "w/signed Bookplate tipped in. October 2006. Cormac told me he would not sign this book (title) so it is rare signed even if it is on a bookplate." Throughout a friendship spanning forty years, Nicholas Potter’s Santa Fe 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.

Pulitzer Prize-winning and austere, The Road is a harrowing odyssey and a testament to paternal devotion. Set in an ash-covered wasteland, the narrative depicts a father and son navigating a landscape of predatory cannibals among the ruins of civilization. Refining the sparse prose of his late career into minimalist parable, McCarthy captures the endurance of hope in the face of total environmental collapse. The work was adapted into a film directed by John Hillcoat and starring Viggo Mortensen.

Price: $5,000.00