# Is "The Log from the Sea of Cortez" by John Steinbeck a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck (The Viking Press, 1951) is identified by: Maroon 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Maroon 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
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Steinbeck |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1951 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Maroon cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering, maroon top stain, pictorial map endpapers; copyright page reads 'Published by The Viking… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Maroon 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.

## Is this the true first?
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.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Log from the Sea of Cortez* by John Steinbeck a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-log-from-the-sea-of-cortez
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.