# Is "The Gardener's Son (screenplay)" by Cormac McCarthy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Gardener's Son (screenplay) by Cormac McCarthy (Ecco Press, 1996) is identified by: First book publication by The Ecco Press, Hopewell NJ, 1996 (ISBN 0880014814): trade hardcover in dust jacket. First book publication is the 1996 Ecco Press edition; the signed/numbered limited issue of 350 copies is the premium issue and is also an Ecco Press publication.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First book publication by The Ecco Press, Hopewell NJ, 1996 (ISBN 0880014814): trade hardcover in dust jacket
- A signed limited issue of 350 numbered copies, specially bound in cloth with a matching slipcase and issued without dust jacket, is the premium collectible state
- Publisher imprint reads Ecco Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Cormac McCarthy |
| Publisher | Ecco Press |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First book publication by The Ecco Press, Hopewell NJ, 1996 (ISBN 0880014814): trade… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First book publication by The Ecco Press, Hopewell NJ, 1996 (ISBN 0880014814): trade hardcover in dust jacket. A signed limited issue of 350 numbered copies, specially bound in cloth with a matching slipcase and issued without dust jacket, is the premium collectible state.

## Is this the true first?
First book publication is the 1996 Ecco Press edition; the signed/numbered limited issue of 350 copies is the premium issue and is also an Ecco Press publication.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Gardener's Son (screenplay)* by Cormac McCarthy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-gardeners-son-screenplay
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.