20 resultados
1959ref. 69726London: Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd 1959. Third edition revised. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 570pp. Octavo 22 cm Orange cloth over boards with a gilt stamped title on the backstrip. Numerical notation in pen at the foot of the spine. In the dust jacket with some darkening to the spine and top quarter of the front panel. The jacket's spine is also a bit stained and has a few short chips and tears at the edges. From the library of Audrey and Berlyn Brixner with their bookplate on the front pastedown. American photographer Berlyn B. Brixner 1911-2009 was the head photographer for the Trinity test the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. A radical revision and enlargement which includes the results not only of new discoveries since 1934 but also the steady research conducted by the author during the intervening years. Includes three new chapters on Adhesives Beads and Inlaid Eyes and the chapter on Mummification has been greatly expanded. Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd hardcover books
1911ref. 68898New York: Duffield and Company 1911. First edition. Hardcover. Good . 128pp. Duodecimo 19 cm Light brown paper over boards with printed paper title labels on the spine and front board. Ex-library with traces of library markings on the rear endpaper. Spine subtly darkened. Ex-libris Emma K. Willits with her bookplate on the front pastedown. Emma K. Willits 20 September 1869 – 9 April 1965 was a physician and surgeon who played a significant role in the development of Children's Hospital in San Francisco now the California campus Women and Children's Center of the California Pacific Medical Center serving as the head of the Department of General Surgery from 1921 to 1934. She is thought to be the third woman to specialize in surgery in the United States and the first to head a surgery department. A play set among the Paiute Indians. A nice association copy. Duffield and Company hardcover books
1980ref. 70019Santa Fe and Albuquerque NM: School of American Research; University of New Mexico Press 1980. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. SIGNED. 379pp. Quarto 26.5 cm Natural beige cloth over boards. In the dust jacket with the price in the top fore-edge corner of the front inside flap torn out. The jacket shows pronounced rubbing and has sporadic small closed and open tears in the edges. One of the closed tears along the top edge of the front panel has been repaired with a short piece of tape. From the library of Helen Greene Blumenschein with her bookplates on the front endpaper. Helen Greene Blumenschein 1909-1989 was an artist who was active in New Mexico and New York and who was known for landscape and pueblo scenes. She was the daughter of famous New Mexico artist Ernest Blumenschein. A comprehensive study of carvings and paintings on stone by Native Americans surveys the rock art of Utah Arizona New Mexico northern Mexico and West Texas from 2000 B.C. to the nineteenth century. Inscribed by Schaafsma to Helen on the half title page: "To Helen with / all best wishes- / Polly Schaafsma." Additionally inscribed by the book's photographer Karl Kernberger. School of American Research; University of New Mexico Press hardcover books
1960ref. 71795New York: The Viking Press 1960. First edition review copy. Hardcover. Very Good/Good . 373pp. Octavo 21 cm Natural cloth covered boards with a dark green ink stamped title on the spine and dark green ink stamped natural vignettes on the spine and front cover. Publisher's olive green topstain. Ex-libris Missoula author Dorothy Johnson with Johnson's inscription on the front free endpaper. Also in pen on the free endpaper: "reviewed for Sat. Review." Covers cocked. Numerous tiny moisture spots to top edge of text block they do not transfer to the pages. In the dust jacket with multiple small closed and open tears to the edges. Review by Robert L. Perkin for Berry's "Moontrap" laid in. Robert L. Perkin was the editor for the "Rocky Mountain News." Several other pieces of ephemera related to the author also tucked in. A novel of a desperate quest in early Oregon. Don Berry 1932-2001 was most known for his historical novels about early settlers in the Oregon Country. The Viking Press hardcover books
1838ref. 69551London: Simpkin Marshall and Co 1838. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 264pp. Small octavo 19.5 cm Green decoratively embossed cloth over boards with a gilt stamped title on the spine. Yellow endpapers. Frontispiece illustration. Spine sunned. Cloth at spine ends chipped. Underlying boards barely just beginning to peek through at corners. Free endpapers and recto of frontispiece mildly discolored. Short tape repairs to long closed tear on p. 140 no text is obscured. Loss to fore-edge margin of p. 163/64 again text not affected. Stitching visible in inside margins however binding very sturdy. Ex-libris James Cowan Smith with his bookplate depicting his beloved dog Callum on the front pastedown. James Cowan Smith 1843-1919 was a British civil engineer director of a railway company British Wagon and philanthropist. In his will he bequeathed what would now amount to roughly $4284000 to the National Gallery of Scotland to be used to expand its collection. The one stipulation was that the portrait of his dog Callum by John Emms was to be on permanent display in the museum. The condition of the donation helped draw attention to Callum's rare terrier breed the Dandie Dinmont. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co hardcover books
1834ref. 87522Berlin & Wien: Nicolai / Carl Gerold 1834. First Edition. Tall octavo 25cm. Contemporary full oxblood morocco decoratively stamped in gilt and blind on spine and covers; xxii384pp. Bit of fading to leather on spine and board edges slight rubbing and wear to extremities; still Very Good - a quite attractive copy. From the library of the prominent German publisher Bernhard Tauchnitz 1816-1895 with his engraved bookplate to front pastedown. Nicolai / Carl Gerold unknown books
2010ref. 71344London: Picador 2010. First U.K. edition first printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 142 pp. Octavo 20.5 cm. Publisher's black paper-covered boards with gilt-stamped titles on the spine. Black endpapers. In the original illustrated dust jacket designed by David Pearson with the "£9.99" price intact. A nice bright clean copy. From the library of the late Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter. Throughout a friendship spanning forty years Potter’s bookstore served as a frequent destination for McCarthy; the two shared a rapport rooted in a mutual appreciation of literature art music and history. While this copy is neither signed nor marked it originates from Potter's collection. McCarthy who famously avoided public life inscribed most of his published works to Potter. Set in a sparse New York apartment the work is a claustrophobic dialogue sparked by a thwarted suicide. With McCarthy’s prose stripped to its essential core the play pits existential despair against faith in a high-stakes dialectic for the soul. Picador hardcover books
1872ref. 45648Salt Lake City UT 1872. 32pp. Duodecimo 21 cm Stapled wrappers. Near fine. Early Utah/Masonry volume from the library of Kent Walgren. unknown books
1972ref. 71926Garden City: Doubleday & Company Inc 1972. Later printing. Hardcover. Very Good /Very Good. SIGNED association copy. 248pp. Octavo 21.5 cm Sage green cloth over boards. In the illustrated dust jacket with very subtle toning and light edgewear. In pencil on the front free endpaper: "Purchased from Charles Henri Ford August 1985." Inscribed by American author poet and film critic Parker Tyler 1904-1974 to Charles Henri Ford on the front free endpaper. Charles Henri Ford 1908-2002 was an American poet novelist diarist filmmaker photographer and collage artist. Tyler and Ford co-authored "The Young and Evil" 1933 written in an experimental style and one of the first openly gay American novels. Tyler was enormously respected by numerous underground and experimental filmmakers of his time. Doubleday & Company, Inc hardcover books
1852ref. 70233Boston: Wright & Hasty Printers 1852. First edition. Paperback. Very Good. 138pp. 19 cm. Tan and black printed wraps. 3/4" losses from the spine ends. Front wrap detached at the head and foot. Small dark partial ring stain to front wrap. Contemporary notations on verso of front wrap. Stitching visible in inside margins. Pages foxed. Fore-edge corners of front wraps and preliminary pages a bit dog-eared. Ex-libris Grace Josephine Boggs with her name and Berkeley California address on the front wrap. Grace Josephine Boggs 1879-1954 was married to Robert Roy Service in 1904. Together they joined the Student Volunteer Movement with the intention of devoting their lives to missionary work. Roy was accepted by the Y.M.C.A. for its foreign work and sent to Purdue University for training. Subsequently the International Committee of the Y.M.C.A. sent the young couple to Chengtu Szechwan in far west China to establish Y.M.C.A. work. Later they were transferred to Shanghai. While in Shanghai Grace served as a member of the China National Committee of the Y.M.C.A. and was active in American and international women's activities including the American Association of University Women and Daughters of the American Revolution. The Grace Service Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by John Stewart Service in July 1986. Information from UC Berkeley Bancroft Library. Wright-Howes C-457. Wagner-Camp 210. Asa Bement Clarke was born in Conway Massachusetts in 1817. He left New York on January 29 1849 as a member of the Hampden Mining Company. He then traveled to California by way of Mexico arriving at Los Angeles on July 9. Ferol Egan recounts his adventures as well as those of others who took the same route to California in "The El Dorado Trail" New York: McGraw-Hill 1971. Wright & Hasty, Printers paperback books
ref. 71342Hopewell NJ: The Ecco Press 1994. First edition first printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Signed by Cormac McCarthy in blue ink on the half-title page. 133 pp. Octavo 22 cm. Publisher's black cloth and grey paper-covered boards with blind-stamped design on the front and silver titles on the spine. First edition clearly stated on the copyright page. In the original dust jacket designed by Chip Kidd with the "$19.95" price and "9404" code intact on the front flap. A Near Fine unread and clean copy. The rear board is bound slightly askew a minor binder's aberration. The dust jacket is likewise Near Fine showing only very light surface rubbing. A nice copy. Signed by the notoriously reclusive author. From the library of 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. Written in the mid-1970s The Stonemason remained unpublished for nearly twenty years until its release by Ecco Press in 1994. The professional relationship began when Ecco founder Daniel Halpern reached out to McCarthy via a letter to his Tennessee home. This collaboration eventually established Ecco as a primary publisher for McCarthy’s dramatic and poetic work. Set in Louisville Kentucky the work meditates on craft and heritage. McCarthy’s rhythmic dialogue reflects the precision of masonry elevating manual labor to a spiritual discipline. Prioritizing thematic architecture over narrative the play measures the permanence of stone against the fragility of family structures. The Ecco Press hardcover books
ref. 71333New York: Alfred A. Knopf 2022. First editions first printings in publisher's slipcase. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. From the library of the late Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter a long-time friend of Cormac McCarthy. Both volumes are signed by the author on publisher’s tipped-in pages: The Passenger in blue ink and Stella Maris in black ink. Laid into the first volume are two small memo notes in Potter’s hand providing a record of the set's rarity: "This is one of the two copies of the boxed signed edition that Dorothy Massey proprietor of Santa Fe’s Collected Works Bookstore got in the "lottery" for them. Collected Works was one of hundreds of bookstores that tried to order them. Probably fewer than 500 were signed. Dorothy gave it to me." 383; 189 pp. Two octavo volumes 24 cm. Publisher’s blue and red paper-covered boards respectively; titles gilt-stamped to spines. First edition clearly stated on the copyright pages. In the original illustrated dust jackets with prices and date codes intact. Housed in the publisher's decorative pictorial paper-covered slipcase with the original paper label tipped-on the rear panel. All elements are Near Fine; bright square clean copies showing only the faintest hints of shelfwear or handling. This set documents a direct connection within the Santa Fe book trade having been gifted from Dorothy Massey to Nicholas Potter. The signatures are provided on the publisher’s tipped-in pages with provenance established by a laid-in note in Potter’s hand. This note identifies the volumes as a gift from Massey proprietor of Collected Works establishing a professional association that distinguishes this set from typical signed issues. It stands as a physical record of the professional network and relationships that supported McCarthy’s work in New Mexico for four decades. Alfred A. Knopf published The Passenger on October 25 2022 followed by Stella Maris on December 6 2022. This slipcased boxed set was released concurrently with the second volume and contains both first-edition hardcovers. These signed sets were distributed via a highly restricted "lottery" to select bookstores; it is estimated that only 500 such sets were produced. As McCarthy declined public appearances for these final titles these tipped-in pages represent rare "officially" signed copies of his final works. McCarthy passed away in June 2023—scarcely six months after the final volume's release—marking these as the last works published during his lifetime. Conceived as a profound late-career diptych The Passenger and Stella Maris constitute Cormac McCarthy’s final novels. The first volume follows Bobby Western a salvage diver contending with his father’s legacy on the Manhattan Project and the suicide of his sister Alicia. Its companion Stella Maris is a psychiatric transcript recording Alicia’s own struggle with mathematics and hallucination. Eschewing conventional linear plotting the pairing serves as a rigorous inquiry into the "unshareable" nature of reality and the constraints of human knowledge. Alfred A. Knopf hardcover books
ref. 71330London: Picador 2006. First U.K. edition first printing. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 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. 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. Picador hardcover books
1558ref. ST20936Mainz: druckts Franz Behem Arnold Birckmann I heirs of 1558 1559. FIRST EDITION. 320 x 205 mm. 12 5/8 x 8". 6 p.l. CCCCCI 501 leaves; 4 p.l. CCLXII 162 leaves. Contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over bevelled wooden boards covers with concentric frames containing a palmette roll and roll featuring half-length portraits of King David signed K D St. Paul Christ the Savior and St. John the Baptist dated 1549 each of these with abbreviated Latin mottos beneath the figures central panel with botanical tooling raised bands inked shelfmark G 73 in bottom panel brass catchplates and remnants of straps corners of boards and head and tail of joints repaired with pigskin some decades ago. Title pages with printer's device 6 with woodcut of the Crucifixion verso of title page of second work with woodcut arms of the archbishop of Mainz. Front pastedown with FULL-PAGE HAND-PAINTED EX-LIBRIS OF JOHANNES SALICETUS WIDENER: his ink inscription at head of page above a shield painted yellow with curling ink leaves around the perimeter dominated by a bearded young man in red shirt and tights standing astride three brown hillocks one hand on his hip the other holding three stalks of wheat a ink-drawn homunculus at the foot of the page his head sprouting what appear to be two antennae the later blue ink stamp of F T E beside this. First work: USTC 694128; VD16 694130. Second work: 694130; VD16 For the binding: EBDB workshop w002792; EBDB roll r001326 similar to saints roll but dated 1547 and with slightly different Latin mottos. Pigskin somewhat soiled and rubbed title page of first work tipped onto 2 leaves lightly browned due to paper quality with intermittent foxing and occasional mostly trivial stains and smudges final leaf with a two-inch to half-inch triangular piece torn away from the upper half of the fore edge affecting a total of perhaps 80 or 100 words. Still a copy featuring a binding with antique appeal and considerable interest in terms of provenance see below. Offered in its original blind-stamped pigskin binding this imposing collection of Counter-Reformation sermons by an influential preacher is of special interest because of the impressively large hand-painted ex-libris at the front. The two groups of sermons bound together here were written by Johann Wild 1497-1554 a Franciscan who was educated at Cologne and who served as the Domprediger official cathedral preacher at Mainz Cathedral. Wild's sermons were very popular and it has been suggested that they played a significant role in keeping Mainz Catholic at a time when many surrounding cities were converting to Lutheranism. Despite his being a Catholic hero for a time Wild later became a controversial figure in the Church: many of his works eventually faced posthumous censure even being placed on the Vatican's Index Librorum Prohibitorum on the grounds that they might invite scriptural misinterpretation. Our copy was owned by a second German Counter-Reformation figure Johannes Salicetus i.e. Johann Wideman whose exuberantly large hand-painted ex-libris takes up nearly the entire front pastedown. Salicetus was rector at the University of Ingolstadt which had become a bastion of Catholic thought in Southern Germany under the leadership of theologian Johann Eck 1486-1543 an outspoken Luther opponent. A relative and very close friend of Eck Salicetus composed Eck's eulogy USTC 698476 as well as a marital poem for his son Oswald USTC 2213477. The enormous bookplate is apparently a coat of arms and features a particularly proud central figure posing staunchly in a very red suit with a prominent codpiece and holding three stalks of wheat. While this peculiarly emphatic expression of ownership is surely not unprecedented we have never owned a book with provenance shown in quite such a dramatic fashion. druckts Franz Behem, [Arnold Birckmann (I) (heirs of)] unknown books
ref. 71269New York: Random House 1973. First edition first printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Inscribed by Cormac McCarthy in black ink on the half-title page to Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter: "For Nicholas Potter All the best from your friend Cormac McCarthy." 197 pp. Octavo 21.5 cm. Publisher's black cloth and red paper-covered boards stamped in red and gold. Black dust jacket with red white and olive green typography designed by Muriel Nasser. First edition clearly stated on the copyright page. Dust jacket with "$5.95" price intact at top-front flap and "1/74" code at the rear flap's bottom-left. A Near Fine unread copy with occasional light surface soil or toning. The text block is solid and square. The top edges of the boards are gently sunfaded. The front free endpaper has a previous ownership inscription written neatly in blue ink: "Dane Meyers Hugh Prather Collection." The dust jacket is in Very Good condition showing the spine-fading common to this title along with some general surface rubbing and scratching. The jacket edges are lightly toned with a few minor creases and short closed tears measuring less than 2cm. An attractive copy with an intimate association. A significant association copy warmly inscribed by the notoriously reclusive author to his long-time friend the late Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter. A short note in Potter's hand is laid in: ".This copy inscribed to me in the mid 90's." 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 first printing of Child of God consisted of a run of 7500 copies and was the only printing of the first edition of this work. The book was a commercial failure upon its release selling less than 2500 copies. The book sparked controversy over its subject matter with some reviewers objecting to it on moral grounds. The narrative chronicles the progressive isolation and depravity of Lester Ballard—a dispossessed outcast who pushes the boundaries of abhorrent human behavior. Set in the rugged hill country of mid-century Tennessee the story is told in a detached clinical manner. McCarthy’s third novel Child of God intensified the visceral Southern Gothic vision of his previous works and solidified his reputation for writing spare biblical prose that depicts harrowing and macabre scenes with unflinching clarity. Random House hardcover books
1965ref. 71251New York: Random House 1965. Second printing of the first edition in the first issue dust jacket. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. 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. 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. Random House hardcover books
ref. 71328New York: Alfred A. Knopf 2006. First edition first printing. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 241 pp. Octavo 24 cm. Publisher's black and orange paper-covered boards with metallic copper stamping to the spine. Original dust jacket designed by Chip Kidd with the "$24.00" price and "10/2006" code intact. A Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket; bright square and clean. Laid in at the front are three unique pieces of ephemera which along with this volume are from the collection of the late Santa Fe bookseller and McCarthy associate Nicholas Potter. These items provide rare insight into McCarthy's restrictive signing habits following the publication of this title: -Signed Sales Receipt: A Nicholas Potter Books receipt dated October 16 2006 documenting McCarthy's purchase of a "Toynbee Set." Signed by Cormac McCarthy in black ink at the bottom. -Nicholas Potter Autograph Note: A small handwritten note in Potter's hand dated the same day providing the context for the receipt. It reads: "October 16 2006 Cormac told me today that he would not sign any trade editions of The Road even for friends. His logic is that he signed 250 copies the limited edition and gave them to his son John the dedicatee of the book and that some day John would be able to sell them for a good purpose college etc. He felt it was an 'infringement' on John's right to the legacy if he signed other copies. He said if I ever saw a signed trade edition it was a forgery. Since I won't be able to get one signed I decided to keep the credit card receipt he signed for a set of Toynbee as a souvenir with my copy of the book." -McCarthy Handwriting Specimen: A small slip of paper featuring a specimen of McCarthy's "architectural" handwriting in pencil it reads: "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country." Attached to this note is a small memo note in Potter's hand identifying the specimen it reads: "Cormac's 'architectural' handwriting 4.24.07." All ephemera is in Fine condition measuring 6" x 4" or smaller and laid in at the front of the book. Representing perhaps the closest approximation of a signed American trade edition of The Road this copy is accompanied by three pieces of ephemera documenting its provenance. From the library of the late Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter-an avid collector of McCarthy's works-this flawless copy stands as a vital fragment of a forty-year friendship. Throughout that time Potter's bookstore served as a frequent destination for McCarthy the two sharing a rapport rooted in literature art music and history; the included ephemera clarifies the author's refusal to sign this specific title. 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. Alfred A. Knopf hardcover books
1968ref. 71258New York: Random House 1968. First edition first printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Signed by Cormac McCarthy in black ink on the half-title page. 242 pp. Octavo 21 cm. Publisher's turquoise cloth and grey paper-covered boards stamped in black silver blue. Publisher's black topstain. Black dust jacket with white green and orange typography designed by Muriel Nasser. First printing statement on the copyright page. Dust jacket is price-clipped and has the "9/68" code at the front flap’s bottom-right. A Near Fine unread copy clean and square. The black topstain is lightly faded. The price-clipped dust jacket is Very Good with just a tiny closed tear measuring less than 1cm at the bottom edge of the front panel and one very small dark stain on the spine. A nice copy. Signed by the notoriously reclusive author. From the library of 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. The first printing of Outer Dark consisted of a run of 5000 copies and was the only printing of the first edition of this work. The book was a commercial failure upon its release selling less than 3500 copies. Set in purgatorial turn-of-the-century Appalachia Outer Dark is McCarthy’s second novel distilling his Southern Gothic style which he would continue to explore in his two subsequent novels Child of God and Suttree. The narrative utilizes an archaic rhythmic prose to deliver a wandering tale—a harrowing meditation on nihilism. Its publication cemented McCarthy as a singular prophetic stylist distinguished from many of his more experimental postmodernist contemporaries through a mastery of the macabre and the mythic. Random House hardcover books
ref. 71273New York: Random House 1979. First edition first printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Inscribed by Cormac McCarthy in black ink on the half-title page to Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter: "For Nicholas With fond best wishes from your friend Cormac." 451 pp. Octavo 21.5 cm. Publisher's black cloth and cream paper-covered boards stamped in gilt. Black dust jacket with orange yellow and olive green typography and ornamentation designed by Jack Ribik. First edition clearly stated on the copyright page. Dust jacket with "$12.95" price intact at top-front flap and "2/79" code at the bottom of the rear flap. A Near Fine copy with only minimal sporadic surface soil and gentle wear to the edges and corners of the boards perhaps lightly read. The text block is solid and square. The dust jacket is likewise Near Fine with only very light surface rubbing and some minor edgewear near the folds. An attractive copy with an intimate association. A significant association copy warmly inscribed by the notoriously reclusive author to his long-time friend the late Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter. A short note in Potter's hand is laid in: "Scarce 1st edition inscribed to me in the mid 90's." 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 first printing of Suttree consisted of a run of just under 6500 copies and was the only printing of the first edition of this work. It was another commercial failure for McCarthy at the time selling less than 3000 copies before being remaindered by the publisher. Suttree is McCarthy's most expansive and picaresque work marking the culmination of his "Southern Gothic" period preceded by The Orchard Keeper Outer Dark and Child of God. Set in the decaying riverside slums of mid-century Knoxville Tennessee the narrative follows Cornelius Suttree as he navigates a grotesque carnival of scattered river-dwellers. It is a masterpiece of character and atmosphere that balances dark humor with existentialism through its dense philosophical prose. Random House hardcover books
1985ref. 71283New York: Random House 1985. First edition first printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Inscribed by Cormac McCarthy in black ink on the half-title page to Santa Fe bookseller Nicholas Potter: "For Nicholas Potter With all best wishes from your friend Cormac McCarthy." 337 pp. Octavo 21.5 cm. Publisher's red cloth and red paper-covered boards lettering stamped in gilt with ruling in metallic red. Maroon dust jacket designed by Richard Adelson with red typography and Salvador Dalì's "The Phantom Cart" on the front. Photograph of the author by Mark Morrow on the back. First edition clearly stated on the copyright page. Dust jacket with "$17.95" price intact at top-front flap and "3/85" code at the bottom of the rear flap. Housed in a custom slipcase by Robert Wang of Denver mirroring the dust jacket design. A Near Fine copy with only a few light spots of surface soil at the edges of the text block which is otherwise clean solid and square. The dust jacket is also Near Fine with only very light surface rubbing some minor wear near the folds and just a hint of toning at the top edge. A bright attractive copy with an intimate association. 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. A short note in Nicholas Potter's hand is laid in: "Incredibly powerful prose combined with a dark and bloody subject matter. This copy inscribed to me by Cormac in the mid 1990's. Very rare inscribed. 1st issue without remainder mark fewer than 2000 of the 5000 copy printing were sold before it was remaindered. Considered by many to be the greatest American novel of the 2nd half of the 20th century." Largely ignored upon its release Blood Meridian is now widely considered the preeminent American novel of the late twentieth century. Set amidst the scorched landscapes of the mid-nineteenth-century American Southwest McCarthy completely reimagines the Western myth. A significant departure from the author's previous four Southern Gothic works McCarthy takes a leap into the desert sublime. The narrative tracks the harrowing journey of "The Kid" through a landscape of escalating depravity haunted by the terrifyingly eloquent and primordial figure of "The Judge." Renowned for its beautiful apocalyptic prose the novel stands as a monumental interrogation of the violence of history and the nature of evil. Random House hardcover books
