# Is "To a God Unknown" by John Steinbeck a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck (Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933) is identified by: First edition, first issue in green cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained, with pictorial endpapers and a title page printed in green and black. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1935.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first issue in green cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained, with pictorial endpapers and a title page printed in green and black
- Title page, dust jacket, and endsheets carry illustrations by Mahlon Blaine
- Although about 1,498 sheets were printed, only roughly 598 copies were bound in the Ballou green cloth
- Goldstone & Payne A3a
- Publisher imprint reads Robert O. Ballou, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Steinbeck |
| Publisher | Robert O. Ballou, New York |
| Year | 1933 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first issue in green cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained, with pictorial endpapers and a title page printed in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first issue in green cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained, with pictorial endpapers and a title page printed in green and black. Title page, dust jacket, and endsheets carry illustrations by Mahlon Blaine. Although about 1,498 sheets were printed, only roughly 598 copies were bound in the Ballou green cloth. Goldstone & Payne A3a.

## Is this the true first?
True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1935. After Tortilla Flat succeeded, remaining sheets were later bound up and reissued with a cancel title leaf under other imprints, so a different publisher on the title page indicates a later issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Scarce; later issues differ in binding and bear a cancel title leaf.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *To a God Unknown* by John Steinbeck a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/to-a-god-unknown
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.