Suttree, ”Burial” in Antaeus
The Ecco Press, New York, 1978.
Advance excerpt from Suttree in Antaeus, 32, Winter 1979, pp. 87-100. Softcover, 22.9 x 17.1 cm, 114 numbered pages. Publisher’s ivory wrappers lettered in red and black, designed by Sandra Stone, with a black pencil portrait of a girl on the front cover. Price “$3.50” on the front panel. Postal envelop for subscriptions still affixed to the verso of the front cover. The contributors page (p.113) mentions that Suttree will “be published in Spring 1979”.
CONDITION: a near fine example.
Issued in December 1978 with a print run of 3,000 to 5,000 copies, at $3.50
According to the publisher Daniel Halpern, Antaeus had a print run of 3,000 to 5,000 copies between the late 1970s and mid-1980s.
Dan Halpern told me: “In Antaeus I made a list of Neglected Books of the 20th Century and a couple of people mentioned The Orchard Keeper, so I was curious and read it. I fell in love with McCarthy’s writing. I contacted Random House editor, Albert Erskine, and asked if I could buy paperback rights to all the early novels since they were not going to publish them in paperback. In the meantime they sent me the manuscript of Suttree, for an excerpt in Antaeus”.
Indeed, Robin Straus, subsidiary rights administrator at Random House, in a letter to Dan Halpern dated July 26, 1978, included a copy of Suttree and expressed hope that an excerpt could be published in Antaeus (EP B32, F12). The contract with Random House for the excerpt rights was signed on November 2, 1978 and stipulated that the excerpt would be published by January 1, 1979 (RH 1611).
EARLIER EXCERPTS: A few typed excerpts from Suttree, predating this publication, were sent out. Albert Erskine sent them in 1970–71 to Willie Morris at Harper’s, Gordon Lish at Esquire, and Robie McCauley at Playboy (Luce, 237–239). All refused to publish the material, and I have never encountered one of these excerpts on the market.
COLLECTING TOPICS: copies of Antaeus containing the Suttree excerpt can be found easily in the market. As of January 2025, four copies in varied condition were offered on Abebooks, priced between $80 and $175. Cheaper copies can also be found. However, find a copy in truly fine condition can be, in my experience, a challenge for the collectors.
Discover more from The MCCARTHYIST
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.