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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 7,500 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 2,500 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.
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