Clarkson N. Potter, who founded the Clarkson N. Potter publishing company in 1959, died June 24 in Jamestown, R.I. He was 73. Potter began his publishing career at Doubleday and became managing editor at Dial Press before starting his own house. After retiring from his company, now an imprint of Random House's Crown Publishing Group, Potter was president of Brandywine Press and served as a literary agent and consultant. He was also the author of several books, including Who Does What and Why in Book Publishing, released in 1990.