Ficciones (1944/1962) Signed First Edition Reference

Ficciones (Sur, Buenos Aires, 1944) is the essential Borges — seventeen stories that collectively constitute one of the most influential literary publications of the twentieth century. “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius,” “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote,” “The Library of Babel,” “The Garden of Forking Paths,” “The Lottery in Babylon” — each of these stories has generated more scholarly commentary and creative influence than many writers’ complete works.

First Edition Identification

Spanish first: Ediciones Sur, Buenos Aires, 1944. Published in an edition of approximately 300 copies. Extraordinarily scarce. English first: Grove Press, 1962. Ficciones. Translated by Anthony Kerrigan and others. Edited by Anthony Kerrigan.

Why This Is the Borges Holy Grail

The 1944 Sur edition of Ficciones in approximately 300 copies makes it one of the scarcest first editions of any major twentieth-century literary work. A signed copy of the 1944 Sur edition would be among the most valuable Spanish-language literary manuscripts in existence.

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed Spanish first (Sur, 1944): $5,000–$15,000+ (rarely surfaces)
• Signed English first (Grove, 1962): $500–$2,000
• Unsigned Spanish first: $2,000–$5,000
• Unsigned English first: $100–$300