The Bachelors

New York: Grosset & Dunlap. Near Fine in Good dj. (c.1915). Reprint. Hardcover. [a solid copy with minimal shelfwear, just a touch of dust-soiling to the top of the text block, bookseller's rubber-stamp at upper left corner of front pastedown; jacket is soiled and rubbed but still presentable despite several tape-repairs (internal and external) along the top and bottom edges]. (B&W frontispiece illustration) Novel about "varying types of men affected in different ways by college ideals in meeting the world as we know it today." As explained in a contemporary review: "One of the bachelors is a self-made man without the veneer of society training; another is a polished, perfectly conventional afternoon tea type, while the third is a recluse embittered with life and its fascinations. How the three men get together through the agency of one woman furnishes the romance of the book." Orcutt (1870-1953) was primarily known as a book and typeface designer, and as a scholar and historian of the book arts; in fact, to read his Wikipedia page, you'd be forgiven for thinking that's *all* he ever did, as there is not a single mention of his activities as a novelist, which included at least six other titles in addition to this one. He was also a Harvard man (Class of 1892), as are this book's protagonists, and his portrayal of the species earned him high praise from some of his fellows; one newspaper reported that he was "being deluged with letters of congratulation and personal thanks from Harvard and other college men for the strong presentation of the altruistic side of college life" in his novel. .