# Is "The Road signed first" by Cormac McCarthy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Road signed first by Cormac McCarthy (Knopf, 2006) is identified by: The true first edition of The Road is the Alfred A. The US Knopf 2006 trade hardcover is the true first edition; the UK Picador edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition of The Road is the Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006 trade hardcover
- Confirm the first printing by a complete Knopf number line on the copyright page terminating in 1, alongside the Borzoi colophon
- The book runs to 241 pages and is bound in black and orange paper-covered boards with metallic copper stamping to the spine
- The first-issue dust jacket was designed by Chip Kidd; the printed jacket price and the 10/2006 date code should be present at the lower flap corner
- Two spine-lettering states are recorded, one with orange spine lettering and one with grey; priority between them has not been established, so neither is a reprint tell on its own
- A signed first is the trade first with McCarthy's genuine signature, typically to the title page, and no signature is part of the point structure of an unsigned first
- Publisher imprint reads Knopf

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Cormac McCarthy |
| Publisher | Knopf |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition of The Road is the Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006 trade hardcover |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first edition of The Road is the Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006 trade hardcover. Confirm the first printing by a complete Knopf number line on the copyright page terminating in 1, alongside the Borzoi colophon. The book runs to 241 pages and is bound in black and orange paper-covered boards with metallic copper stamping to the spine. The first-issue dust jacket was designed by Chip Kidd; the printed jacket price and the 10/2006 date code should be present at the lower flap corner. Two spine-lettering states are recorded, one with orange spine lettering and one with grey; priority between them has not been established, so neither is a reprint tell on its own. A signed first is the trade first with McCarthy's genuine signature, typically to the title page, and no signature is part of the point structure of an unsigned first.

## Is this the true first?
The US Knopf 2006 trade hardcover is the true first edition; the UK Picador edition followed. There was no signed limited issue from the publisher, so a signed copy is simply a trade first that was later signed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions and later printings reprint the text but are not the first edition. A first-printing Knopf number line ending in 1, the Borzoi colophon, and a jacket bearing the printed price with the 10/2006 code together authenticate genuine trade production rather than a club reprint, which is typically thinner in the boards, lacks a printed jacket price, and often carries a blind board indent. See book-club edition vs. first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Road signed first* by Cormac McCarthy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-road-signed-first
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.