Jack Kerouac Book Covers

A selection of front covers of various editions of On the Road (click on thumbnail to enlarge)

"When I'm old, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to study languages reading these."
(Kerouac's comment on the foreign editions of his books, 1966.)

UK Editions:

Deutsch 1958	Deutsch 1958	Pan Giant 1961	Pan 1963	Deutsch 1968	Penguin 1972	Deutsch 1973
Penguin 1980	Penguin 1987	Penguin 1989	Penguin 1991	Penguin 1998	Penguin 1999	Penguin 2000
Penguin 2007	Allen Lane 2007	Penguin Classics 2007

USA Editions:

Viking 1957	Viking 1962	Viking 1971	Signet 1958	Signet 1965	Signet 1967	Signet 1968
Signet 1977	Signet 1982	Penguin 1980	Penguin 1990	Penguin 1990	Penguin 1991	Penguin 1994
Penguin 1999	Penguin 2002	Penguin 2003	Penguin 2005	Buccaneer 1978	Viking 1979	Penguin 1979
Quality 1993	Viking 1997	Amereon 1998	Viking 2007	Lib of America 2007	Viking 2007 (proof)	Viking 2007

German Editions:

Rowohlt 1959	Rowohlt 1959	Rororo 1968	Reclam (GDR) 1978	Rororo 1993	Bertelsmann 1996	Rororo 1998
Rororo 2000	Rororo 2002	Rororo 2004	Rororo 2006

Dutch Editions:

De Bezige Bij 1961	De Bezige Bij 1970	De Bezige Bij 1974	De Bezige Bij 1978	De Bezige Bij 1988	De Bezige Bij 1989	De Bezige Bij 1994
De Bezige Bij 1996	De Bezige Bij 1999	Areopagus 2004	De Bezige Bij 2006

French Editions:

Gallimard 1960	Gallimard 1972	Gallimard 1987	Gallimard 1990	Gallimard 1997	Gallimard 2003	Gallimard 2004

Italian Editions:

Mondadori 1961	Mondadori 1967	Mondadori 1970	Mondadori 1970	Mondadori 1970	Mondadori 1974	Mondadori 1981
Mondadori 1989	Leonardo 1994	Mondadori 1995	Mondadori 1995	Mondadori 1998	Mondadori 1999	Mondadori 2000
Mondadori 2001	Mondadori 2001	Bib. di Rep. 2002

Spanish Editions:

Bruguera 1981	Bruguera 1983	Anagrama 1989	Biblioteca 2001

Spanish (Catalan) Editions:

Barcelona 1989	Barcelona 1996	Barcelona 1998

Others:

Argentina 1959	Argentina 1969	Argentina 1975	Argentina 1977	Brazil 1984	Brazil 1986	Brazil 1987
Brazil 1997	Brazil 2004	Bulgaria 1981	Bulgaria 1983	Bulgaria 1997	China 2000	China 2001
Croatia 1971	Croatia 1997	Czech 1978	Czech 1980	Czech Rep. 1994	Czech Rep. 1997	Czech Rep. 2005
Denmark 1960	Denmark 1986	Denmark 1988	Denmark 1998	Estonia 1996	Estonia 2006	Finland 1964
Finland 1980	Finland 1988	Finland 2000	Greece 1981	Greece 2000	Hungary 1966	Hungary 1983
Hungary 1994	Hungary 1999	Hungary 2004	Iceland 1988	Israel 1988	Japan 1983	Norway 1992
Norway 2004	Poland 1993	Poland 2005	Portugal 1960	Portugal 1978	Portugal 1998	Romania 2003
Russia 2000	Russia 2002	Russia 2003	Serbia 2005	Slovakia 2002	Slovenia 1998	Slovenia 2005
Sweden 1958	Sweden 1965	Sweden 1976	Sweden 1988	Sweden 2003	Taiwan 1999	Turkey 1993
			And finally, Jack Kerouac's own design for a book cover in 1952. It was never used.
Ukraine 1995	Ukraine 2001	Yugoslavia 1988		Kerouac 1952

  This published version of On the Road was Kerouac's third attempt at writing his road novel.
  The first was begun in November 1948 and featured hero Ray Smith. This was abandoned, and
  a second version started in March 1949 with hero Ray "Red" Moultrie.

  Further attempts were made in 1950 but proved to be false starts. It was only after Kerouac was
  inspired by the letters of Neal Cassady in late 1950 that he sought to write in a similar free-flowing
  style, the result of which was the famous scroll version of April 1951, which became the basis of the
  published version.

  Kerouac was, however, still dissatisfied with the result and, having been introduced to the concept
  of "sketching" with words in the fall of 1951, he began working on yet another version of his road book,
  completing it while staying at the Cassady home in San Francisco in the early months of 1952.

  Originally titled Visions of Neal, the book, which included a rewrite of the main events described
  in its forerunner, was only published in its complete form, as Visions of Cody, three years after
  Kerouac's death, in 1973.

 Thanks to Rod Anstee, Niels Hansen, Andrew Sclanders, Vojo Sindolic, and Horst Spandler for the use of their book cover images.

 A selection of books by William S. Burroughs can be found here:

 A selection of books by Neal Cassady can be found here:

 A selection of books by John Clellon Holmes can be found here:

 A selection of books by David Goodis can be found here: