# Is "The Wayward Bus" by John Steinbeck a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck (The Viking Press, New York, 1947) is identified by: The copyright page of the first printing reads "Published by The Viking Press in February 1947" at the head and "Printed in U.S.A. US Viking Press, New York, February 1947 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The copyright page of the first printing reads "Published by The Viking Press in February 1947" at the head and "Printed in U.S.A. by the Haddon Craftsmen" at the foot — the printer line matters as much as the publication line, because the book-club printing repeats the publication line verbatim
- Bound in brick-red / terra-cotta cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and front cover, with a bus blind-stamped on the lower front board and the top edge stained green
- 8vo, 312 pp
- Jacket priced at the front flap
- Goldstone & Payne A23a
- Dealer descriptions of the cloth vary widely (brick red, terra cotta, maroon, red-orange, brown) and some of that range is fading rather than true variation, so the Haddon Craftsmen printer line and the green top stain are the safer tests
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Steinbeck |
| Publisher | The Viking Press, New York |
| Year | 1947 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The copyright page of the first printing reads "Published by The Viking Press in February 1947" at the head and "Printed in U.S.A. by the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The copyright page of the first printing reads "Published by The Viking Press in February 1947" at the head and "Printed in U.S.A. by the Haddon Craftsmen" at the foot — the printer line matters as much as the publication line, because the book-club printing repeats the publication line verbatim. Bound in brick-red / terra-cotta cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and front cover, with a bus blind-stamped on the lower front board and the top edge stained green; 8vo, 312 pp. Jacket priced at the front flap. Goldstone & Payne A23a. Dealer descriptions of the cloth vary widely (brick red, terra cotta, maroon, red-orange, brown) and some of that range is fading rather than true variation, so the Haddon Craftsmen printer line and the green top stain are the safer tests.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking Press, New York, February 1947 is the true first. The first English edition followed from William Heinemann (London) in 1947, shortly after the US printing — close but not simultaneous, and with no precedence claim; it is collected only as the first English edition. Only the Viking printing is the collected first. The census claim (US Viking 1947 first; UK Heinemann later the same year) is confirmed as stated.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Well documented and the standard trap for this title. The book-club issue is bound in salmon-coloured cloth rather than brick red; its copyright page reads "Printed in the United States of America by the Kingsport Press, Inc." instead of the Haddon Craftsmen line; a small blind dot or deboss is impressed on the lower rear board (often needing a glass to see); and the club jacket has no price at the flap. Critically, the club printing repeats "Published by The Viking Press in February 1947" and the 1947 title-page date, so that statement alone identifies nothing — check the printer line, the cloth colour, and the rear-board dot.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Wayward Bus* by John Steinbeck a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-wayward-bus
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.