John Steinbeck First Editions

• Cup of Gold — 1929 · Robert M. McBride & Company, New YorkSteinbeck's first book, published 1929 in 1,537 copies (Goldstone & Payne A1a). First-issue binding: yellow cloth, titled in black on front cover and spine, with the top edge stained blue and the final blank leaf present. The copyright page carries no later-printing notice. Issued in the pictorial pirate dust jacket illustrated by Mahlon Blaine with the printed price. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1937. The McBride printing is the genuine first. No book club edition. A distinct 1936 Covici-Friede reissue exists with a new tipped-in title page, a Lewis Gannett introduction, and its own binding (recorded in maroon and later blue cloth); it is a separate, later edition, not a state of the McBride first.
• The Pastures of Heaven — 1932 · Brewer, Warren & Putnam, New YorkGenuine first issue carries the Brewer, Warren & Putnam imprint at the foot of the spine and on the title page. Binding: green cloth with titles in gilt. Sheets were printed for about 2,500 sets but only a portion were bound under the Brewer imprint; the remaining sheets passed to later publishers, making the Brewer-imprint copies the true first issue. First-issue dust jacket carries the Brewer imprint. True US first; precedes the UK Philip Allan edition of 1933. The original Brewer, Warren & Putnam imprint distinguishes the genuine first issue. No book club edition. Later issues use leftover Brewer sheets reissued first by Robert Ballou (1932) and then by Covici-Friede (1935), the latter being the recognized fourth issue; the Covici-Friede issue is not the immediate 'second issue.'.
• To a God Unknown — 1933 · Robert O. Ballou, New YorkFirst edition, first issue in green cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained, with pictorial endpapers and a title page printed in green and black. Title page, dust jacket, and endsheets carry illustrations by Mahlon Blaine. Although about 1,498 sheets were printed, only roughly 598 copies were bound in the Ballou green cloth. Goldstone & Payne A3a. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1935. After Tortilla Flat succeeded, remaining sheets were later bound up and reissued with a cancel title leaf under other imprints, so a different publisher on the title page indicates a later issue. No book club edition. Scarce; later issues differ in binding and bear a cancel title leaf.
• Tortilla Flat — 1935 · Covici-Friede, New YorkFirst edition, first printing: copyright page reads 'Manufactured in the United States by The Van Rees Press' and notes no later printing; original beige/oatmeal cloth stamped in blue with blue top stain. Illustrations by Ruth Gannett. The first-issue dust jacket carries a Steinbeck bibliography on the back flap (replaced by blurbs in later states). About 4,000 copies in the first printing. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition. Steinbeck's first commercial success. No book club. Later printings are stated as second, third, etc., on the copyright page; at least eight printings appeared between 1935 and 1937.
• In Dubious Battle — 1936 · Covici-Friede, New YorkTwo simultaneous first-edition formats. The deluxe issue is a signed limited of 99 numbered copies bound in black cloth over grey buckram, gilt spine lettering, top edge stained, in a black paper-covered slipcase with a paper spine label. The trade issue is bound in orange/tangerine cloth printed in black and red, top edge stained red, with no statement of later printing on the copyright page. Goldstone & Payne…. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition. The 99-copy signed, numbered limited is the precedence/deluxe first and was issued alongside the trade printing. No book club. Later trade printings carry a printing statement on the copyright page.
• Of Mice and Men — 1937 · Covici-FriedeTrue first: US Covici-Friede (NY, 1937) is the recognized true first edition; the UK Heinemann edition is also 1937 but later/secondary — CONFIRMED. First-issue point (CORRECTED): the point on p.9 is TEXTUAL, not "broken/cropped type." The first issue (first printing, first state) CONTAINS the nine-word phrase at the bottom of p.9 reading "...and only moved because the heavy hands were pendula." Roughly 2,500…. US Covici-Friede is the true first; UK Heinemann is later. The recognized first-issue point is the broken/cropped type on p.9 ('pendula') and the absence of the second-issue correction. Book-club and later printings reset the p.9 line and carry other imprints; Covici-Friede later printings note additional printings on the copyright page.
• The Red Pony — 1937 · Covici-Friede, New YorkCovici-Friede's 1937 issue was published only in a signed limitation — there was no 1937 trade printing — so the limited edition IS the first separate edition (Goldstone & Payne A9a). The limitation leaf states 699 copies, each signed by Steinbeck, printed on La Garde handmade paper by the Pynson Printers of New York under the supervision of Elmer Adler; dealers record the copy number penned on the slipcase spine…. Census claim confirmed: Covici-Friede, New York, 1937 is the true first separate edition, in the signed limitation of 699. It is US-only — there is no UK edition of the 1937 issue and no original-language question, so no precedence contest arises. The familiar Viking illustrated Red Pony (New York, 1945), with eleven Wesley Dennis watercolors and a fourth story, is a classic 'first thus' trap, not a first: 'The…. No book-club issue of the 1937 limitation exists. Any copy that is illustrated, contains four stories, or arrives in a printed pictorial dust jacket rather than plain glassine is a later Viking edition or reprint, not the Covici-Friede first. The 1945 Viking illustrated edition — textured beige cloth with a pasted-on watercolor of a foal to the upper board, in its own slipcase — was widely reprinted and is the….
• The Long Valley — 1938 · The Viking Press, New YorkFirst edition, first printing: copyright page reads 'First published in September 1938' with no later printing noted. Bound in beige buckram-backed terracotta/red boards with the spine stamped in red. First-issue dust jacket has a wraparound illustration by Elmer Hader, lettered in black and blue. About 8,000 copies. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1939. No book club for the first issue; later printings add a printing statement to the copyright page.
• The Grapes of Wrath — 1939 · The Viking PressTrade first (the only first-edition form): the copyright page carries a single edition line, 'First published in April 1939,' with NO later-printing statements beneath it. Contrary to a widespread error, the copyright page does not read 'First Edition' — the words 'FIRST EDITION' appear only on the dust jacket, printed at the lower right of the front flap, with the original printed price at the head of that same…. US Viking Press trade first (New York, April 1939) is the true first — and the only first-edition form. NO signed or numbered limited edition was issued to precede or parallel it; signed copies exist only as individually inscribed presentation copies, not as a limited issue. The UK first (Heinemann, London, September 1939) follows: US precedes UK. A separate deluxe illustrated edition appeared LATER, in 1940,…. Book-club reprints carry the 1939 copyright date but lack the 'First published in April 1939' line and lack the jacket's 'First Edition' statement; they are typically thinner, show a blind-stamped dimple to the rear board, and come in an unpriced or price-clipped jacket. Absence of the single 'April 1939' line on the copyright page = not a first.
• The Moon Is Down — 1942 · The Viking Press, New YorkFirst edition, first printing, first issue: copyright page reads 'First published in March 1942' with NO printer's imprint, and on page 112, line 11, the period between the words 'talk' and 'this' is noticeably larger than the other periods in the book. Bound in blue cloth, spine stamped in silver, front cover blind-stamped. First-issue dust jacket is priced and reads 'The Moon Is Down' at the top of the flap. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1942. Book club editions show Haddon Craftsmen or Kingsport Press on the copyright page, lack the enlarged-period point, and come in an unpriced jacket.
• Cannery Row — 1945 · The Viking Press, New YorkFirst edition, first printing (published January 1945): the diagnostic precedence point is the binding color — light buff/tan cloth is the first state; canary/yellow cloth is the later second state. Lettered in blue on spine and front cover, with a black top stain. First-issue dust jacket is priced and carries the Arthur Hawkins Jr. pictorial design. About 2,500 copies in the first-state buff binding. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition. The first-state binding color (buff/tan) is the key precedence point. No notable book club edition. The later state changes the binding to canary yellow cloth; later jackets are repriced.
• The Pearl — 1947 · The Viking Press, New YorkFirst printing has the statement 'Published by The Viking Press in December 1947' on the copyright page (not 'First Published 1947'). Illustrated with drawings by Jose Clemente Orozco. The first-state dust jacket carries the printed price and shows the photograph of Steinbeck looking to his left, toward the spine; the second-state jacket shows him glancing to the right. The story had earlier appeared in Woman's…. True US first book edition; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1948. No book club issue for the true first. Later printings carry additional printing statements on the copyright page.
• The Wayward Bus — 1947 · The Viking Press, New YorkThe copyright page of the first printing reads "Published by The Viking Press in February 1947" at the head and "Printed in U.S.A. by the Haddon Craftsmen" at the foot — the printer line matters as much as the publication line, because the book-club printing repeats the publication line verbatim. Bound in brick-red / terra-cotta cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and front cover, with a bus blind-stamped on the…. US Viking Press, New York, February 1947 is the true first. The first English edition followed from William Heinemann (London) in 1947, shortly after the US printing — close but not simultaneous, and with no precedence claim; it is collected only as the first English edition. Only the Viking printing is the collected first. The census claim (US Viking 1947 first; UK Heinemann later the same year) is confirmed as…. Well documented and the standard trap for this title. The book-club issue is bound in salmon-coloured cloth rather than brick red; its copyright page reads "Printed in the United States of America by the Kingsport Press, Inc." instead of the Haddon Craftsmen line; a small blind dot or deboss is impressed on the lower rear board (often needing a glass to see); and the club jacket has no price at the flap.….
• The Log from the Sea of Cortez — 1951 · The Viking PressMaroon cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering, maroon top stain, pictorial map endpapers; copyright page reads 'Published by The Viking Press in September 1951' with no later printings listed; frontispiece photos of Steinbeck and Ricketts; the narrative of the 1941 'Sea of Cortez' plus the new 67-page Ricketts profile 'About Ed Ricketts'; first-state dust jacket with original unclipped price. US Viking (1951) is the true first OF THIS WORK ('first thus'): it reprints the Steinbeck narrative from the 1941 Sea of Cortez and adds the 'About Ed Ricketts' preface, but it is a distinct book, not a reprint of the 1941 first. The 1941 Sea of Cortez (with Ricketts) is the separate, scarcer title. Distinguish from the 1941 'Sea of Cortez.' The 1951 'Log' is its own first edition, identified by the 'Published... September 1951' statement with no further printings noted. Club issues lack the original jacket price.
• East of Eden — 1952 · The Viking PressCopyright page states 'First published by The Viking Press in September 1952' with no later printing line. First-issue text error: 'bite' for 'bight' on p.281, line 38. A 1,500-copy signed limited edition preceded the trade. Original jacket with its printed price. US Viking is the true first; the 1,500-copy signed numbered limited is the premium state. UK Heinemann is later. The 'bite/bight' error on p.281 confirms first printing. Book-club edition lacks the September-1952 line and the first-issue text error, has a blind-stamp, and uses bulkier paper.
• Sweet Thursday — 1954 · The Viking Press, New YorkThe first printing carries the copyright-page statement "First published by the Viking Press in June 1954" together with a Colonial Press printer's colophon; the title page is printed with red rules/lettering and the top edge is stained red. Binding is pale olive cloth-covered boards (described by some dealers as tan) lettered in red with blue bird decoration, collating x, 273pp. The first-issue jacket carries…. US Viking Press, New York, June 1954 is the true first. The first UK edition — William Heinemann, London, 1954 (viii, 264pp, jacket illustrated by Paul Galdone) — appeared later the same year; it is collected as the first English edition but does not precede. First-thus trap: the Penguin Classics issue with Robert DeMott's introduction and notes is a modern reprint, not a first. Book-club copies lack the red top stain, show no color on the title page, and carry no colophon or printer statement on the copyright page; fedpo additionally records a small red ink dot at the lower right corner of the rear board. Club jackets have no price at the flap. An early Viking-printed club issue dated 30 September 1954 exists — roughly three months after the trade first — so a 1954 date on its own….
• The Winter of Our Discontent — 1961 · The Viking Press, New YorkFirst printing has the statement 'First Published in 1961 by The Viking Press, Inc.' on the copyright page with no later-printing notice. Bound in blue cloth with titling in black on silver panels, and the top edge tinted pale blue. Dust jacket illustrated by Elmer Hader and carrying the printed price. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1961. Book club issue can be told apart by a small blindstamped identifier on the lower rear board near the spine and a clipped or unpriced jacket; it lacks the trade first-printing presentation.
• Travels with Charley in Search of America — 1962 · The Viking PressFirst edition states 'First published in 1962' on the copyright page with no additional printing line; bound in beige/tan cloth, brown topstain. First-issue dust jacket with its printed price on the front flap with the original jacket art. US Viking (1962) is the true first. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in 1962, so first-issue jackets predate any Nobel mention. The Book-of-the-Month Club issue is common. The Book-of-the-Month Club edition lacks the price on the jacket (price-clipped/absent), bears a small blind-stamp on the rear board, and has lighter boards. Trade first carries the printed price jacket and the stated 1962 copyright line without later printings.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: John Updike, John Williams, John Wyndham, Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Ryder (Robert Ludlum pseudonym).

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