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In spite of the official sources quoting September 26 the publication date, a letter by Erskine to McCarthy, dated September 23, 1968, shows clearly that the actual date of release was September, 25. The book was initially scheduled to be published on September 12, but publication was delayed. Finished copies arrived at the publishing house on August, 13. Ten copies were sent to McCarthy the following day (Erskine Papers

By 1983 the hardcover edition had sold 3,471 copies (Woolmer, 1,5).     

PROVENANCE: This copy comes from the Bruce Kahn collection. Purchased from Ken Lopez in 2009.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 GALLEY SHEETS: Eleven loose and 21 bound galleys were produced. A copy of “Galley sheets” was noted by APG with “Advance Proof sticker on front cover” (002a). When questioned in 2013 by Ken Lopez though, the authors of the checklist told him that they hadn’t actually seen the copy but had seen it listed in an unspecified book dealer catalog. The copy is probably the one listed as item 287 in the Oak Knoll catalog 103, issued in 1995 and reproduced as a photocopy among the Woolmer papers. It is described as follows: “McCarthy, Cormac. OUTER DARK. New York: Random House, 1968. GALLEY PROOF: an advance, uncorrected page proof. Unbound galley sheets with publication info taped to outermost sheet. Taped item removed from the first page affecting the first three lines of text (illegible) otherwise, a very good copy of this proof of which there were very few copies produced. Housed in a custom cloth folding box (approx. 7 x 14”) with leather spine label. $3,500”.  Woolmer papers include a photocopy of the publisher’s info slip typed on the galley’s outermost page.

A handwritten note by Woolmer suggests that this “proof-galley” copy came from the writer Guy Davenport. It is possible, as Davenport was a key person among those who helped to disseminate McCarthy’s works (see Luce, p. 190) and wrote a favorable review of Outer Dark in The New York Times Review of Books in September, 1968. McCarthy wrote to Davenport a letter postmarked December 18, 1968, thanking him for the review. After that they became friends and corresponded for twenty years, from December, 1968, to at least June, 1989 (Davenport Papers).

Erskine requested to get galleys “as quick as possible […] to sell serial rights” (Erskine Papers). The galleys were received on April 8, 1968 (Luce, p. 188) and sent out in the following days so that by May, 8, there were none left to send to James Michener. We know of only two galley recipients for sure: John Palmer at The Yale Review and Willie Morris, editor in chief of Harper’s Magazine. 

As far as I know, the galley listed in the Oak Knoll catalog is the only one appeared in the market.                                                                                                                                        

FORGERIES OF PROOFS:  Proofs don’t exist for this title as far as we know. It was usual with books by other authors edited by Erskine, but it is an exception for books by McCarthy. Woolmer notes: “Uncorrected proof not located”. 

Two kinds of forgeries for this proof do exist. See Collecting McCarthy, a Brief History.

REVIEW COPIES with a photo of McCarthy and a publisher’s slip laid in are noted. They were mailed starting on August 19, 1968 (Erskine Papers). One of them is in the Woolmer Collection. Another one was sold for $1,300 by Captain Ahab Rare books in 2013. They are scarce.

REMAINDERED COPIES with a “H” printed on the front first endpaper and a clipped dustjacket are noted.                                                                

NOTABLE COPIES:  

– CHANDLER COPY. Very good in a very good dust jacket, inscribed in McCarthy’s early cursive style to the influential Democratic politician and former Governor of Kentucky Albert Benjamin “Happy” Chandler and his wife: “To Momma and the Governor, With Fondest Regard, Cormac McCarthy”. Momma was the affectionate name Chandler gave his wife Mildred Lucille Watkins. Chandler was Governor of Kentucky in 1935-1939 and again in 1955-1959. It is in the Paul Ford collection.  

– WOOLMER COPY. Review copy, with only a publisher’s slip laid in mentioning: Title, Author, Price, Pub date (9-26-68). A beautiful book with the topstain brilliant and unfaded in a beautiful dustjacket with minimal edge wear, exceptionally bright and no toning to the white lettering. Inscribed on the second half title in black ink and in an early hand: “For Howard Woolmer / Cormac McCarthy”. It is in the Woolmer collection held at the University of Texas, San Marcos.

– HOLLEYS COPY. Warmly inscribed on the half-title page to McCarthy’s long-time friends, “To John & Lanelle with love / Cormac McCarthy”. Good condition book, Poor-Fair first state jacket, separated at spine. Auctioned in 2023 by Case Antiques, Knoxville, it sold for $5,700.

 – GONZALES COPY. A near fine copy inscribed to McCarthy’s friend and biographer Laurence Gonzales in a later hand. It is held in the Gonzales collection.

– PETRO COPY. Fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a contemporary presentation inscription from the author to Kentucky artist Joseph Petro Jr.: “To Joe Petro / Best wishes / Cormac McCarthy.” Petro was a Kentucky native, artist, and later an art teacher at university. One of his paintings, depicting “My Old Kentucky Home,” was used as the image on the state’s postage stamp celebrating the American bicentennial in 1976. In 1968, McCarthy, Petro, and wildlife artist Ray Harm participated in a joint lecture at Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky, part of a state-sponsored series. After the lecture, Petro gave McCarthy a print of one of his paintings, entitled “Horse at a Watering Place,” and inscribed it to Cormac and his then-wife, Anne. McCarthy gave Petro this copy of his recently published novel, Outer Dark, and inscribed it to him. It was offered by Ken Lopez on 2012 at $10,000.   

– JORDAN COPY. Very good copy in a very good dust jacket inscribed to Richard Jordan in a contemporary hand. Jordan’s name surfaced on 2022 when a few early interviews with McCarthy were uncovered and publicized. Jordan interviewed McCarthy for the University of Tennessee students newspaper , Daily Beacon. On the upper front pastedown Jordan has written: “Mr. McCarthy was interviewed by me at his home in Rockford, Tenn, on Jan. 15, 1969.” It was offered by Captain Ahab Rare Books in 2023 at $12,500. 

COLLECTING TOPICS:

Outer Dark, like The Orchard Keeper, made its entrance in the modern first editions market very early. McCarthy’s friend Gary Goodman was the first to trade signed copies of Outer Dark. Dianne C. Luce, one of the most authoritative McCarthy’s scholars, purchased a signed copy for $ 25 around 1975. An unsigned copy was listed at the end of 1978 at $15 in the important catalog “American Fiction of the 1960s” issued by Serendipity Books. 

Signed copies are scarce but not as scarce as one might imagine. Association copies are a different matter altogether.  

Rare Book Hub lists four signed or inscribed copies auctioned.