Unseen J.D. Salinger photos shot for ‘Catcher’ on display

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — The University of New Hampshire is celebrating J.D. Salinger’s centennial year by exhibiting never-before seen photos of the famously reclusive author.

Salinger, who was born Jan. 1, 1919, and died in 2010, spent the last nearly six decades of his life in Cornish, New Hampshire. The photos displayed Tuesday were taken by German photographer Lotte Jacobi for the book jacket of “The Catcher in the Rye,” but Salinger later requested the picture be removed from the book so he wouldn’t be recognized.

Given how much he valued his privacy, speakers at the birthday celebration joked that Salinger would have loathed the event. Associate professor of English Thomas Payne said in a world awash in social media, Salinger’s retreat makes all the more sense today.