# Is "The Pastures of Heaven" by John Steinbeck a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck (Brewer, Warren & Putnam, New York, 1932) is identified by: Genuine first issue carries the Brewer, Warren & Putnam imprint at the foot of the spine and on the title page. True US first; precedes the UK Philip Allan edition of 1933.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Genuine 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
- Publisher imprint reads Brewer, Warren & Putnam, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Steinbeck |
| Publisher | Brewer, Warren & Putnam, New York |
| Year | 1932 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Genuine first issue carries the Brewer, Warren & Putnam imprint at the foot of the spine and on the title page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Genuine 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.

## Is this the true first?
True US first; precedes the UK Philip Allan edition of 1933. The original Brewer, Warren & Putnam imprint distinguishes the genuine first issue.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Pastures of Heaven* by John Steinbeck a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-pastures-of-heaven
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.