Is My Copy of The Red Pony a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Covici-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 rather than printed on the limitation leaf, which reconciles listings that describe the book itself as 'unnumbered' with those quoting a number out of 699
• Binding is publisher's pictorial beige/tan limp cloth with intersectional gray rules and a red pony vignette at the center of the front board, spine lettered in red
• 81pp; fore-edge and bottom edge uncut
• It was issued in a plain glassine wrapper — not a printed dust jacket — and a publisher's tan cardboard slipcase
• A scarce out-of-series lettered issue on watermarked Marais handmade paper (as against La Garde for the numbered copies) is also recorded and was intended for private distribution; the count of 52 is commonly cited but is inferred from surviving examples rather than stated, so treat it as unconfirmed

How Covici-Friede, New York marked a first edition

• 1928–1937: First editions carry no statement of printing on the copyright page; every later printing states its printing (e.g. 'Second Printing'). The absence of any printing statement indicates the first printing.

Full Covici-Friede, New York first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

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 Leader of the People' had already made its first book appearance in The Long Valley (Viking, September 1938). The three stories in the Covici-Friede volume had appeared earlier in periodicals (North American Review, Harper's) between 1933 and 1937, so the 1937 book is first in book form only.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

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 copy most often mistaken for a first.P-039100

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Red Pony a first edition?

A first edition of The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (Covici-Friede, New York) is identified by: Covici-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).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. Covici-Friede, New York, 1937 is the true first separate edition, in the signed limitation of 699.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

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 copy most often mistaken for a first.

I have a first edition of The Red Pony — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.