Is My The Sea of Cortez (Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first issue includes the color frontispiece and the full phyletic catalogue (species appendix); bound in tan/buff cloth
• Co-authored by Steinbeck and Ricketts
• First-issue dust jacket with front-flap price
• The complete species catalogue and the integral color plate are the points to verify

How The Viking Press marked a first edition

• Earliest era (1925 to roughly 1937): Viking used no first-edition statement and instead noted later printings; treat the absence of any later-printing notice, with the title-page/copyright dates matching, as the first.
• From about 1937 onward: first printings state "First published by The Viking Press in [year]" or "Published by The Viking Press in [year]" with no later-printing notice; later printings were noted, and from the 1980s a n…

Full The Viking Press 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?

US Viking (1941) is the true first and the only edition containing the full Ricketts species catalogue. The later 1951 'The Log from the Sea of Cortez' (Viking) is a separate 'first thus'—Steinbeck-only narrative text WITHOUT the species catalogue, prefaced by 'About Ed Ricketts.' Do not confuse the two.P-016396

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of the 1941 first. The pervasive confusion is the 1951 'Log from the Sea of Cortez,' which is a different book (narrative only). Any copy lacking the species catalogue/phyletic appendix is the Log, not the 1941 Sea of Cortez first.P-016397

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Sea of Cortez (Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research) a first edition?

A first edition of The Sea of Cortez (Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research) by John Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts (The Viking Press) is identified by: First edition, first issue includes the color frontispiece and the full phyletic catalogue (species appendix); bound in tan/buff cloth.

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. US Viking (1941) is the true first and the only edition containing the full Ricketts species catalogue.

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

No book-club edition of the 1941 first. The pervasive confusion is the 1951 'Log from the Sea of Cortez,' which is a different book (narrative only). Any copy lacking the species catalogue/phyletic appendix is the Log, not the 1941 Sea of Cortez first.

I have a first edition of The Sea of Cortez (Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.