# Is "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Covici-Friede, 1937) is identified by: True first: US Covici-Friede (NY, 1937) is the recognized true first edition; the UK Heinemann edition is also 1937 but later/secondary — CONFIRMED. US Covici-Friede is the true first; UK Heinemann is later.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True 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 copies were bound with this uncorrected reading; the page was then reset to delete those nine words, so the second issue/state ends the sentence at "...hung loosely." Thus the first state has the original (longer) uncorrected reading — it is not that it "lacks a correction" so much as it predates the deletion
- A second corroborating point is the bullet (raised period) between the two 8's of the page number on p.88 in the first issue (claim omitted this)
- Binding (CORRECTED/refined): publisher's beige/tan cloth, but stamped in terracotta/orange and black with a blue top-edge stain — NOT gilt
- Dust jacket: printed price on the upper front flap — CONFIRMED. Reference: Goldstone & Payne A7.a
- Publisher imprint reads Covici-Friede
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Steinbeck |
| Publisher | Covici-Friede |
| Year | 1937 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: US Covici-Friede (NY, 1937) is the recognized true first edition; the UK Heinemann edition is also 1937 but later/secondary… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True 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 copies were bound with this uncorrected reading; the page was then reset to delete those nine words, so the second issue/state ends the sentence at "...hung loosely." Thus the first state has the original (longer) uncorrected reading — it is not that it "lacks a correction" so much as it predates the deletion. A second corroborating point is the bullet (raised period) between the two 8's of the page number on p.88 in the first issue (claim omitted this). Binding (CORRECTED/refined): publisher's beige/tan cloth, but stamped in terracotta/orange and black with a blue top-edge stain — NOT gilt. Dust jacket: printed price on the upper front flap — CONFIRMED. Reference: Goldstone & Payne A7.a.

## Is this the true first?
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.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Of Mice and Men* by John Steinbeck a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/of-mice-and-men
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.