Books

Hardcover with DJ. Green cloth spine with gold lettering and red foil decoration. Red paper over boards. This is a scarce and valuable first printing, so we are going to be very critical with our descriptions. Edgewear at bottom edge allows boards to show through from beneath rubbed red paper. Top edges and outer edges worn too, but not enough to reveal book board. Binding good and tight. The curve of the spine is not perfect, as there is a mild waviness to the to two inches. The green spine has a ghost-written shadow of the title of the book from the DJ, very faint, caused by half a century on a shelf with occasional sunlight. White DJ in good shape overall, slightly but evenly toned to off-white. Red lettering on the spine faded to pink. There is a moisture stain at the bottom inch of the DJ spine, extending ever-so-slightly onto the cover (see photos). Original price of $4.96 on the front flap, with handwritten 'P' beside it. Ownership name and address on the front endpaper, dated 1986. Previous owner was a judge on the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Also on front endpaper (top) and rear endpaper (bottom) there is a rectangular stain from clear tape at the top (no remains of the tape itself - it was likely transferred here from a mylar cover that has been discarded. Our conservation lab has tightened up the front gutter with an invisible bead of bookbinding glue and repair tissue. Foreedges toned and top edge lightly speckled. All these previous details would normally fall under the umbrella of 'good condition' as opposed to 'very good' but we wanted to mention everything in detail. Title page has a rubberstamp at the bottom that says Central Rappahannock Regional Library Demonstration Center. Copyright page dated 1965, stated First Printing. 246 pages. First printing of McCarthy's scarce first book. Please email with questions or to request photos. These are photos of the actual book.

The Orchard Keeper was Cormac McCarthy's first novel, a work of rich, poetic prose, telling the intertwining tales of a rural trio trapped by acts of violence and a mysteriously connected orchard.