# Is "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (Editorial Sudamericana, 1967) is identified by: True first is the Spanish 'Cien años de soledad,' Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, 1967, in original pictorial wrappers (softcover/rústica). The Spanish-language Sudamericana 1967 first printing is the true first in any language, identified by the Iris Pagano galleon cover — NOT the later Vicente Rojo reversed-'E' design, which begins with the second printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Spanish 'Cien años de soledad,' Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, 1967, in original pictorial wrappers (softcover/rústica)
- The decisive point is the COVER. The genuine first printing carries the galleon design by the in-house artist Iris Pagano (later Iris Alba): a blue galleon stranded in a spectral jungle with three orange flowers below
- This cover was an emergency substitute — García Márquez had commissioned Vicente Rojo, but Rojo's artwork was delayed in transit from Mexico to Buenos Aires and missed the print deadline
- The famous, iconic Vicente Rojo cover — hand-lettered in blue, red and black with a deliberately reversed 'E' — first appears on the SECOND printing, so a copy bearing the reversed-'E' Rojo design is NOT a first printing
- The final-leaf colophon of the first printing reads 'se terminó de imprimir el día treinta de mayo del año mil novecientos sesenta y siete en los Talleres Gráficos de la Compañía Impresora Argentina' (printing completed 30 May 1967; on sale early June 1967)
- The first run was about 8,000 copies and sold out within weeks
- Publisher imprint reads Editorial Sudamericana

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gabriel García Márquez |
| Publisher | Editorial Sudamericana |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Spanish 'Cien años de soledad,' Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, 1967, in original pictorial wrappers… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the Spanish 'Cien años de soledad,' Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, 1967, in original pictorial wrappers (softcover/rústica). The decisive point is the COVER. The genuine first printing carries the galleon design by the in-house artist Iris Pagano (later Iris Alba): a blue galleon stranded in a spectral jungle with three orange flowers below. This cover was an emergency substitute — García Márquez had commissioned Vicente Rojo, but Rojo's artwork was delayed in transit from Mexico to Buenos Aires and missed the print deadline. The famous, iconic Vicente Rojo cover — hand-lettered in blue, red and black with a deliberately reversed 'E' — first appears on the SECOND printing, so a copy bearing the reversed-'E' Rojo design is NOT a first printing. The final-leaf colophon of the first printing reads 'se terminó de imprimir el día treinta de mayo del año mil novecientos sesenta y siete en los Talleres Gráficos de la Compañía Impresora Argentina' (printing completed 30 May 1967; on sale early June 1967). The first run was about 8,000 copies and sold out within weeks. Genuine first printings are scarce and frequently faked. The first English edition is Harper & Row, New York, 1970 (trans. Gregory Rabassa); the Jonathan Cape London edition also appeared in 1970.

## Is this the true first?
The Spanish-language Sudamericana 1967 first printing is the true first in any language, identified by the Iris Pagano galleon cover — NOT the later Vicente Rojo reversed-'E' design, which begins with the second printing. The Harper & Row 1970 English translation by Gregory Rabassa is a separate 'first thus' and is generally taken as the first English edition, the Jonathan Cape UK edition also being 1970. Signed copies of the Spanish first are exceptional.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The dominant trap is printing sequence disguised by the cover: later Sudamericana printings carry the celebrated Vicente Rojo cover and are routinely mistaken for the first — the true first has the Iris Pagano galleon. Confirm the first-printing colophon (finished 30 May 1967, Compañía Impresora Argentina) and the absence of any 'segunda/tercera edición' statement. For the English first, verify the Harper & Row 1970 imprint and first-printing statement, and do not confuse it with the Cape UK edition or later book-club printings. The sources consulted document no first-printing textual/typographical state; identify by cover, colophon, and imprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *One Hundred Years of Solitude* by Gabriel García Márquez a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/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.