The Counselor, uncorrected proof of the first edition.
New York, Vintage International/Random House, 2013.
Uncorrected proof of the first edition, so described on the front cover. Softcover, 20.5 × 13.3 cm, 179 numbered pages. White and light blue wrappers lettered in black, white, and light blue. The front cover notes “October 8, 2013” as the tentative publication date and “$14.95” as the tentative price. A gold sticker is affixed to the front cover reading “A Vintage Books Original.” A white label is also affixed, reading “Book is eligible for sale 17 USC & 109,” evidently added by a book dealer, as it references the limitations on exclusive rights and transfer of copies under U.S. copyright law.
CONDITION: Near fine.
Issued before July 2013, in an unknown number of copies.
Copies without the gold sticker have been noted; priority is unknown.
This proof illustrates both the raise of advance McCarthy materials prices and how much crazy collectors of McCarthy can be. In July 2013, roughly three months before the trade edition appeared, I found and bought a copy for $6 and another, some months later. for $4,50. About two years later I sold them for $200 and $250 to two American collectors. Then, in 2021, I repented and purchased back this copy from one of the buyers for $480!
However, this proof is very scarce in my experience. In June 2025, Chris Subarton sold a copy for $850. As of August 2025, one copy only was listed online at $1,500. Rare Book Hub records no copies at auction, and only five or six examples have been observed by the present cataloguer.
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