The Road, first edition, review copy
Knopf, New York, 2006
First edition, first printing, with “First Edition” and no statement of further printings on the copyright page. Review copy, with the publisher’s pale blue slip lettered in black laid in, stating the publication date as “October 2, 2006.” Also laid in is a publisher’s promotional sheet featuring two blurbs for The Road—from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly—and indicating a first printing of 175,000 copies. Hardcover, 24 x 14.5 cm, 241 numbered pages. Publisher’s copper paper-covered and black cloth boards, lettered in copper on the spine with the “Borzoi Books” imprint and logo embossed on the lower back panel. Graphic dust jacket by Chip Kidd, with black panels lettered in copper and gray on the front cover and spine, and white flaps lettered in black. First issue. The front flap shows a price of “U.S.A. $24.00 / Canada $30.00,” the back flap the code “10/2006” and a photo of McCarthy by Derek Shapton. The back panel features praise for McCarthy from Newsweek and a white box with the printed ISBN number.
CONDITION: near fine book in a very good dust jacket.
PROVENANCE: purchased from the American collector Paul Ford in 2023.
The first trade edition was published on October 2, 2006, priced at $24, in an announced print run of 175,000 copies.
Review copies were likely distributed in September, although the exact date and the number produced are unknown. The Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly notices were both published in July, providing no help in narrowing the release date.
As for the print run, it is notable that the proof copy of The Road states 250,000 copies, while the publisher’s sheet included with the review copies lists 175,000. This discrepancy suggests that announcing a higher initial print run was a marketing strategy intended to attract the attention of reviewers and booksellers—a tactic Knopf had also used for No Country for Old Men.
Some sources cite September 26 as the publication date, but there is no clear evidence to support that claim.
SIGNED COPIES: McCarthy consistently refused to sign copies of The Road. He even declined a request from his friend and biographer Laurence Gonzales, for whom he inscribed every other book, explaining that the only signed copies are the 250 he signed for his son, John Francis, to whom the book is dedicated. It is unknown whether these copies were standard trade editions flat-signed or contained a tipped-in signed leaf. As of October 2025, none of these copies have surfaced on the market. A “signed” copy offered at Bonhams in 2014 proved to be a forgery and, tellingly, went unsold.
SOPHISTICATED COPIES: Copies with a tipped-in signed leaf began appearing in late 2023 and 2024. These were not issued by the publisher. The signature, in McCarthy’s later hand, was almost certainly removed from signed editions of The Passenger or Stella Maris. As such, they are of no interest to serious collectors.
COLLECTING TOPICS: while first edition copies are common, given the large print run, review copies are scarce and rarely appear on the market. Rare Book Hub lists no copies at auction, and as of October 2025, none were available on Abebooks.
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2 Responses
Thank you for posting this Umberto. Very interesting!
Yours is only the second review copy of The Road that I have seen. I purchased my copy in early August 2023, just over a month after McCarthy‘s passing. I was surprised when I saw it listed and didn’t know such a copy even existed. I happily paid the $150 asking price from an eBay seller. I consider it to be the only “scarcity” of the Knopf first edition, at least until his son decides to sell some of his signed copies. My copy also includes a laid in color photograph of McCarthy that was used in black and white on the rear jacket flap.
Regarding the possible publication date of September 26, 2006 – perhaps this comes from the front cover of the earliest proof which states “On Sale 9/26/06”. Later printings of the first edition confirm the publication date of October 2, 2006 as I’m sure you are aware.
Al, please send via email the color photo of McCarthy. I haven’t seen it and, if you agreed, I would like to update the post.
Best, Umberto