# Is "All the Names" by José Saramago a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of All the Names by José Saramago (Harvill, 1999) is identified by: UK Harvill Press 1999 first edition, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, is the true first English, ISBN 1860466427, 238 pages. First English translation of Todos os Nomes (1997).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Harvill Press 1999 first edition, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, is the true first English, ISBN 1860466427, 238 pages
- The binding has mustard-yellow boards with the spine stamped in gilt and yellow endpapers; the first-issue jacket is glossy and should retain the printed price on the flap (price-clipping alone does not disqualify a first-issue jacket)
- Costa's translation won the 1999 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize
- The US Harcourt edition (ISBN 0151004218) followed in 2000
- Publisher imprint reads Harvill
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | José Saramago |
| Publisher | Harvill |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Harvill Press 1999 first edition, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, is the true first… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Harvill Press 1999 first edition, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, is the true first English, ISBN 1860466427, 238 pages. The binding has mustard-yellow boards with the spine stamped in gilt and yellow endpapers; the first-issue jacket is glossy and should retain the printed price on the flap (price-clipping alone does not disqualify a first-issue jacket). Costa's translation won the 1999 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize. The US Harcourt edition (ISBN 0151004218) followed in 2000.

## Is this the true first?
First English translation of Todos os Nomes (1997). The UK Harvill Press 1999 edition (ISBN 1860466427) precedes the US Harcourt 2000 edition (ISBN 0151004218).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition is recorded.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *All the Names* by José Saramago a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/all-the-names
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.