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

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006) is identified by: Knopf, New York, 2006. US Knopf 2006 first printing is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006
- The first printing is identified by 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page (with no later printing indicated) and '2006' at the foot of the title page; later printings remove the 'First Edition' statement
- Binding is rust/red cloth with a black spine, and the Borzoi colophon is blind-stamped on the rear board (normal on all trade firsts)
- The first-issue dust jacket is a priced jacket (price present at the front flap)
- The dealer and bibliographic sources consulted key on the stated 'First Edition' rather than a number line
- Oprah's Book Club selected the novel only in spring 2007, so a true first-issue jacket carries no Oprah seal
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf

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

## Points of issue
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006. The first printing is identified by 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page (with no later printing indicated) and '2006' at the foot of the title page; later printings remove the 'First Edition' statement. Binding is rust/red cloth with a black spine, and the Borzoi colophon is blind-stamped on the rear board (normal on all trade firsts). The first-issue dust jacket is a priced jacket (price present at the front flap). The dealer and bibliographic sources consulted key on the stated 'First Edition' rather than a number line. Oprah's Book Club selected the novel only in spring 2007, so a true first-issue jacket carries no Oprah seal.

## Is this the true first?
US Knopf 2006 first printing is the true first. The first UK edition (Picador, 2006) appeared shortly after and does not precede it. McCarthy signed sparingly, so signed firsts are scarce and frequently forged. The Oprah's Book Club printings followed the 2007 selection and are not the first issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The real trap is the book-club edition, which can resemble a first. Tells of a book-club copy: an UNPRICED dust jacket (the trade first's jacket has the price printed at the flap) and a small blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board — not to be confused with the Borzoi colophon blindstamp, which is present on the genuine trade first. Oprah printings carry a printed Oprah seal on the jacket; later trade printings drop the 'First Edition' statement. An unpriced jacket, a rear-board dot/square, an Oprah seal, or a missing 'First Edition' statement all mean it is not the first-issue trade edition.

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