No Country for Old Men, advance reading copy
Knopf, New York, 2005
Advance reader’s edition of the first edition. Softcover, 21 x 14 cm, 305 numbered pages. Glossy red wrappers featuring the first trade edition dust jacket by Chip Kidd, with an additional black flap over the front panel, lettered in white on the spine and front cover. Photograph of McCarthy by Marion Ettlinger on the back cover. Publisher’s bookmark and salmon review slip lettered in black laid in. While the book mentions just “July 2005” as date of publication (on spine and verso of front cover) the review slip reads “July 25, 2005” and a price of “$24.95”.
CONDITION: a fine copy.
This advance reader’s edition was published for mainly promotion in a quite large run. It was preceded by the earliest proof in cream cardboard but, rather strangely, it precedes the proof in plain red wrappers.
The date in which it was available and the number of copies printed are unknown.
COLLECTING TOPICS: this is much more common than both the other proofs. H However, copies with the review slip laid in are uncommon. Signed or inscribed copies are completely different fish. I came across just three of them. The last one was listed in May, 2023 at $1,600 on Abebooks and, as of August 2025, was still there, offered for $2,000. Signatures of all of them were, in my opinion, disputable.
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