# Is "Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude)" by Gabriel García Márquez a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez (Editorial Sudamericana, 1967) is identified by: First printing, Editorial Sudamericana, May 1967 (first print run of about 8,000 copies). The Spanish-language Sudamericana edition is the true first worldwide.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing, Editorial Sudamericana, May 1967 (first print run of about 8,000 copies)
- The true first bears the galleon ('galeón') cover illustration — a blue Spanish galleon set in a spectral jungle with yellow/orange lilies, executed by Iris Alba because the intended Vicente Rojo design did not arrive in time
- Octavo, pictorial wrappers, roughly 351 pages
- The first edition is known to carry uncorrected typographical errata that later editions amended
- Publisher imprint reads Editorial Sudamericana
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gabriel García Márquez |
| Publisher | Editorial Sudamericana |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing, Editorial Sudamericana, May 1967 (first print run of about 8,000 copies) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing, Editorial Sudamericana, May 1967 (first print run of about 8,000 copies). The true first bears the galleon ('galeón') cover illustration — a blue Spanish galleon set in a spectral jungle with yellow/orange lilies, executed by Iris Alba because the intended Vicente Rojo design did not arrive in time. Octavo, pictorial wrappers, roughly 351 pages. The first edition is known to carry uncorrected typographical errata that later editions amended.

## Is this the true first?
The Spanish-language Sudamericana edition is the true first worldwide. The first English edition (Harper & Row, 1970, translated by Gregory Rabassa) is the true first in English and is collected as a 'first thus'.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The iconic Vicente Rojo abstract cover — white ground with the inverted 'E' in 'soledad' — appears from the SECOND edition onward, NOT on the first; a copy with the Rojo cover is therefore not the true first. Later Sudamericana printings state higher edition numbers and correct the errata.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude)* by Gabriel García Márquez a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cien-a-os-de-soledad-one-hundred-years-of-solitude
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.