One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967/1970) Signed First Edition Reference

Cien años de soledad (Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, 1967; English: Harper & Row, 1970, translated by Gregory Rabassa) is the defining novel of the Latin American Boom and one of the most widely read and influential novels of the twentieth century. The multi-generational saga of the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo established magical realism as a global literary mode and made García Márquez the most famous living writer in the Spanish-speaking world.

First Edition Identification

Spanish first: Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, June 1967. First printing of approximately 8,000 copies. Blue paper covers with gold lettering. No dust jacket (published in wrappers with a printed card cover). English first: Harper & Row, New York, 1970. Hardcover with dust jacket featuring a flower design. First printing identifiable by code on copyright page.

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed Spanish first (Sudamericana, 1967): $5,000–$20,000+
• Signed English first (Harper & Row, 1970): $2,000–$8,000
• Unsigned Spanish first: $2,000–$8,000
• Unsigned English first: $300–$800

The ultimate Boom collectible. Rabassa’s English translation is itself regarded as a masterwork of literary translation.