John SteinbeckBiblio.com
1942rif. 005405New York: The Viking Press 1942. Scarce. This is a First Edition. First Printing Very First State in a First Issue Trade dust jacket about 300 copies were printed Amelio 2019 C1a. Very Good copy in Good dust jacket. Issue points are as follows: "First Published in March 1942" with no mention of printer; the now established closed parenthesis before the word Lanser on page 13; the period between "talk" and "this" on page 112; and other lesser extraneous marked points on other pages Amelio C1a 2019. The points of the jacket are: A perfect "m" in "them" on the rear flap and a perfect serif "Tiflin' on rear panel; price of $2.00 on upper front flap; square flap corners; laid woven paper not smooth. Amelio C1b 2019. The book is in blue cloth covers with blindstamped title and author on front cover and lettering and lines stamped in silver on spine. Only two horizontal lines at bottom of spine. Square and intact binding. Clean and unmarked endpapers and text pages. Bumping of ends of spine. Light wear. Jacket is intact with price on upper front flap. Moderate rubbing to edges and white rubbed spot on spine. In mylar protective cover. More photos upon request. . Hardcover. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. The Viking Press Hardcover
1939rif. 183206New York: Viking 1939. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good in a Very Good price clipped dust jacket. All 4 flap corners clipped. Faint foxing on side/top text block edge. Viking hardcover
1939rif. 149708New York: The Viking Press 1939. First edition with "First Published in April 1939" on copyright page and first edition notice on the front flap of the dust jacket. Octavo bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands gilt ruling to the front and rear panel gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery marbled endpapers all edges gilt. Boldly signed by John Steinbeck on a page bound-in. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation. "The Grapes of Wrath is the kind of art thats poured out of a crucible in which are mingled pity and indignation. Its power and importance do not lie in its political insight but in its intense humanity. It is the American novel of the season probably the year possibly the decade" Clifton Fadiman. It is the basis for the 1940 John Ford directed film bearing the same name starring Henry Fonda. It is widely considered as one of the greatest American films of all time. In 1989 this film was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally historically or aesthetically significant." Listed by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the twentieth century. The Viking Press unknown
1947rif. 152451New York: The Viking Press 1947. First edition of this classic story of simplicity based on a Mexican folk tale. Octavo original brown cloth stamped in black and gilt. Boldly signed by John Steinbeck on the title page. Near fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket with Steinbeck looking to the left on the rear panel. Drawings by Jose Clemente Orozco. Uncommon signed. The Pearl 1947 is a novella by John Steinbeck the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. A story of classic simplicity based on a Mexican folk tale The Pearl explores the secrets of man's nature the darkest depths of evil and the luminous possibilities of love. Steinbeck first encountered the Mexican folk tale on which it is based during a marine biology expedition to the Sea of Cortez in 1940. He originally conceived it as a film script before expanding it into a short story published in Woman's Home Companion in 1945 as "The Pearl of the World." The novella follows Kino a poor pearl diver in La Paz Mexico whose discovery of an enormous pearl promises escape from poverty but ultimately destroys everything he loves. The story functions as a parable about greed materialism and the corrupting influence of wealth. The Viking Press hardcover
1947rif. 150377New York: The Viking Press 1947. First edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning writer. Octavo original cloth. Boldly signed by John Steinbeck on the front free endpaper. From the library of John and Carol Steinbeck with their stamp to the front pastedown. Carol Henning Steinbeck John Steinbeck’s first wife was instrumental in his early literary development sustaining the couple financially and offering editorial input during the years when Steinbeck struggled to establish himself as a writer. Their marriage which lasted from 1930 to 1943 coincided with the creation of some of his most important early works including Tortilla Flat 1935 and The Grapes of Wrath 1939 yet ultimately dissolved under the pressures of fame and Steinbeck’s personal restlessness. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Robert Hallock. An exceptional example most rare and desirable signed and from the writer's library. In his first novel to follow the publication of his enormous success The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck’s vision comes wonderfully to life in this imaginative and unsentimental chronicle of a bus traveling California’s back roads transporting the lost and the lonely the good and the greedy the stupid and the scheming the beautiful and the vicious away from their shattered dreams and possibly toward the promise of the future. It was the basis for the 1957 film starring Jayne Mansfield Joan Collins Dan Dailey and Rick Jason. The Viking Press hardcover
1939rif. 190786New York: The Viking Press 1939. The fields were fruitful and starving men moved on the roads First edition of the author's masterpiece widely regarded as the supreme literary achievement of the Depression era. The film adaptation by Darryl F. Zanuck produced the following year is similarly one of the greatest 20th-century American films. "Lauded by critics nationwide for its scope and intensity the book attracted an equally vociferous minority opinion" with some debating Steinback's use of supposedly crass language and his unwavering sympathy for the disenfranchised ANB. It was consequently banned in several counties until well into the Second World War. The jacket design is by the children's writer and illustrator Elmer Hader 1889-1973 the joint recipient alongside his wife Berta of the 1948 Caldecott medal. Steinbeck was so taken with the illustrations in their book Billy Butter 1936 that he specially requested Elmer design the jacket for The Grapes of Wrath. Elmer later designed the jackets of East of Eden 1952 and The Winter of Our Discontent 1961. Octavo. Original buff cloth spine lettered in brown pictorial design in brown wrapped around spine and covers endpapers printed with sheet music for "Battle Hymn of the Republic" top edge yellow. With dust jacket. Housed in custom green cloth slipcase and chemise. Tiny spots to bottom edge; jacket unclipped spine toned and creased at head minor rubbing to extremities: a fine copy in very good jacket. Goldstone & Payne A12a. hardcover
1936rif. 1804084Covici Friede 1936. 1st Edition Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Near fine signed first limited edition as stated on colophon. Signed by John Steinbeck on colophon. Number 53 of 99 signed copies. Very light shelf wear. Light tanning between boards and endpapers. Slightly spine-cocked. Housed in slipcase. Covici Friede hardcover
1935rif. 8578New York: Covici-Friede Publishers 1935. First Edition. First Printing wrappered issue one of 500 copies. Octavo 19cm; original pictorial wrappers priced $2.50 on front flap; vi7-89-3164pp with black & white illustrations throughout by Ruth Gannett. Hint of sunning to spine pinpoint wear to heel with a tiny tear to lower rear joint; a bright fresh very Near Fine copy housed in a custom half-morocco clamshell case. Steinbeck's third novel set among a small band of paisanos in Monterey California in the aftermath of World War I. "The story of Danny and his paisano friends in Monterery is a satire on the Arthurian knights of the round table. On a deeper level it is a tragedy a defense of the non-conformist personality and a statement that what does not change will surely die applies to societies as well as individuals" Baird 2341. The novel was Steinbeck's first critical and commercial success basis for Victor Fleming's 1942 film adaptation starring Spencer Tracy Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield. Goldstone & Payne A4a; Morrow 28. 8578. Covici-Friede Publishers unknown
1936rif. 1804084Covici Friede 1936. 1st Edition Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Near fine signed first limited edition as stated on colophon. Signed by John Steinbeck on colophon. Number 53 of 99 signed copies. Very light shelf wear. Light tanning between boards and endpapers. Slightly spine-cocked. Housed in slipcase. Covici Friede hardcover books
rif. 2240538H. Fair. unknown
1939rif. 53753New York: The Viking Press 1939. First printing. Near fine. First edition of the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning novel that made Steinbeck a household name. GRAPES OF WRATH has been generations of students' introduction to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck's extensive use of symbolism and Biblical motifs also makes it an excellent exercise in literary criticism for both high schoolers and hardcore academics all pulled together with exceptionally lyrical prose. GRAPES OF WRATH was an immediate hit and stayed atop bestseller lists for the majority of 1939. But it was not always beloved: the novel was a lighting rod for Steinbeck both professionally and personally. His portrayal of the difficult lives of migrant workers and the corruption of the agriculture business earned him "constant vilification" from powerful farmers' groups and the book was banned and even occasionally burned in a variety of communities Demott. In his diaries Steinbeck lamented how the novel's popularity "got really out of hand became a public hysteria" leading to the idea that he was himself "public domain" Demott. This first edition with its hyperbolic but prescient dust jacket editorial copy "Perhaps GRAPES OF WRATH is the greatest modern American novel. the greatest single creative work this country has ever produced" captures the tipping point of Steinbeck's career. 8'' x 5.25''. Original tan buckram binding with brown titles and line art. Original unclipped $2.75 color pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Elmer Hader. Yellow topstain. Endpapers with illustration of the Battle Hymn of the Republic in yellow and orange. 620 pages. Jacket with minor edgewear one tiny chip to spine foot. Book with just a touch of spotting to fore-edge. Overall sharp. The Viking Press unknown
1945rif. 108060The Viking Press 1945. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. First. One of 52 signed and lettered copies in addition to a stated limitation of 699 signed and numbered copies this is letter "FF" of the lettered issue signed by Steinbeck. There were likely 52 lettered copies since double lettered copies such as this have appeared on the market. 1937 1937. FIRST EDITION. SIGNED. STEINBECK John. The Red Pony. New York: Covici-Friede 1937. Octavo original pictorial beige cloth uncut original numbered cardboard slipcase. Housed in a custom clamshell box. The three interconnected stories in this volume a fourth was added in the 1945 edition "examine the nature of life and of death and the relationship of the individual to the whole" Benson 288. Without original glassine. Goldstone & Payne A9a. Salinas Public Library 27. Valentine 78. Interior fine. Cloth with slightest toning. Original slipcase lightly worn with a small piece of the top edge of the case detached but present. A lovely copy in very nearly fine condition. The Viking Press hardcover
1939rif. 53753New York: The Viking Press 1939. First printing. Near fine. First edition of the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning novel that made Steinbeck a household name. GRAPES OF WRATH has been generations of students' introduction to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck's extensive use of symbolism and Biblical motifs also makes it an excellent exercise in literary criticism for both high schoolers and hardcore academics all pulled together with exceptionally lyrical prose. GRAPES OF WRATH was an immediate hit and stayed atop bestseller lists for the majority of 1939. But it was not always beloved: the novel was a lighting rod for Steinbeck both professionally and personally. His portrayal of the difficult lives of migrant workers and the corruption of the agriculture business earned him "constant vilification" from powerful farmers' groups and the book was banned and even occasionally burned in a variety of communities Demott. In his diaries Steinbeck lamented how the novel's popularity "got really out of hand became a public hysteria" leading to the idea that he was himself "public domain" Demott. This first edition with its hyperbolic but prescient dust jacket editorial copy "Perhaps GRAPES OF WRATH is the greatest modern American novel. the greatest single creative work this country has ever produced" captures the tipping point of Steinbeck's career. 8'' x 5.25''. Original tan buckram binding with brown titles and line art. Original unclipped $2.75 color pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Elmer Hader. Yellow topstain. Endpapers with illustration of the Battle Hymn of the Republic in yellow and orange. 620 pages. Jacket with minor edgewear one tiny chip to spine foot. Book with just a touch of spotting to fore-edge. Overall sharp. The Viking Press unknown books
1945rif. 108060The Viking Press 1945. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. First. One of 52 signed and lettered copies in addition to a stated limitation of 699 signed and numbered copies this is letter "FF" of the lettered issue signed by Steinbeck. There were likely 52 lettered copies since double lettered copies such as this have appeared on the market. 1937 1937. FIRST EDITION. SIGNED. STEINBECK John. The Red Pony. New York: Covici-Friede 1937. Octavo original pictorial beige cloth uncut original numbered cardboard slipcase. Housed in a custom clamshell box. The three interconnected stories in this volume a fourth was added in the 1945 edition "examine the nature of life and of death and the relationship of the individual to the whole" Benson 288. Without original glassine. Goldstone & Payne A9a. Salinas Public Library 27. Valentine 78. Interior fine. Cloth with slightest toning. Original slipcase lightly worn with a small piece of the top edge of the case detached but present. A lovely copy in very nearly fine condition. The Viking Press hardcover books
1937rif. 2306078New York: Covici-Friede 1937. First. hardcover. Fine/Fine. A fine first edition first issue "pendula" in a fine first issue dust jacket $2.00 price present on front flap with spine very slightly sunfaded but much less than usual. Housed in a custom-made slipcase. A brilliant unread copy. Covici-Friede unknown
1937rif. 2306078New York: Covici-Friede 1937. First. hardcover. Fine/Fine. A fine first edition first issue "pendula" in a fine first issue dust jacket $2.00 price present on front flap with spine very slightly sunfaded but much less than usual. Housed in a custom-made slipcase. A brilliant unread copy. Covici-Friede unknown books
1945rif. 301618New York: Viking 1945. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good in a Very Good slipcase. Slight bumping to slipcase.; Signed by John Steinbeck on the front end page.; Signed by Author. Viking hardcover
rif. JD28137n.p. 20th Century-Fox 1940 first edition. A complete set of 11X14-inch color lobby card posters for the original release of this classic story and classic film which was directed by the famed John Ford and which starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad Jane Darwell as Ma Joad and John Carradine as Casy the set also includes its original printed housing envelope which is probably even more scarce than the posters the fragile housing envelope is plain brown and is printed with the film title Steinbeck's name Fonda's name etc. none of these posters were in the Adrian H. Goldstone collection but see Goldstone & Payne E6 not recorded by Morrow extremely scarce especially as a complete set and with the housing envelope. While there are pin holes in some corners from theatre mounting as usual these posters are uniformly clean bright and fine. n.p., 20th Century-Fox, 1940, first edition. unknown
rif. JD28137n.p. 20th Century-Fox 1940 first edition. A complete set of 11X14-inch color lobby card posters for the original release of this classic story and classic film which was directed by the famed John Ford and which starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad Jane Darwell as Ma Joad and John Carradine as Casy the set also includes its original printed housing envelope which is probably even more scarce than the posters the fragile housing envelope is plain brown and is printed with the film title Steinbeck's name Fonda's name etc. none of these posters were in the Adrian H. Goldstone collection but see Goldstone & Payne E6 not recorded by Morrow extremely scarce especially as a complete set and with the housing envelope. While there are pin holes in some corners from theatre mounting as usual these posters are uniformly clean bright and fine. n.p., 20th Century-Fox, 1940, first edition. unknown books
rif. JD30882NY Covici Friede 1936 first edition. With publisher's black paper-covered slipcase with orange spine label this is No. 23 of just 99 copies Signed by Steinbeck this is also the best strike novel of the 20th Century Steinbeck's best friend and philosophical mentor Ed Ricketts makes his first of many appearances in a Steinbeck novel he appears as Doc Burton Steinbeck would use Ricketts and their shared philosophy in many other novels this was also Steinbeck's first foray into agricultural politics through his literature which ultimately led to his writing The Grapes of Wrath the use of another character in In Dubious Battle a communist would lead to the untrue allegation that Steinbeck was a communist that allegation would have negative effects on Steinbeck's life from then to the end of his life in 1968 Goldstone & Payne A5a Morrow 43. Bookplate else as fine as the day this book was made in a as usual very good original slipcase. NY, Covici Friede, 1936, first edition. unknown
rif. JD30040NY Marguerite and Louis Henry Cohn 1947 first edition wrappers. Softcover. First and only edition No. 7 of only 60 copies printed by Ward Ritchie with its original white paper envelope which is also No. 7 the first 10 copies went to Steinbeck with the remainder going to the Cohns House of Books for Christmas gift presentation this elusive "A" item is a letter from Steinbeck to Arnold Gingrich editor of "Esquire" thanking him for sending a watch as a gift the letter is full of Steinbeck's typical humor noting that he had expected a watch when he graduated from high school but none was forthcoming and since he didn't actually graduate from Stanford University he likewise hadn't received a watch as a gift Goldstone & Payne A26a Morrow 199 and 200. Fine. NY, Marguerite and Louis Henry Cohn, 1947, first edition, wrappers. Softcover. paperback
rif. JD30882NY Covici Friede 1936 first edition. With publisher's black paper-covered slipcase with orange spine label this is No. 23 of just 99 copies Signed by Steinbeck this is also the best strike novel of the 20th Century Steinbeck's best friend and philosophical mentor Ed Ricketts makes his first of many appearances in a Steinbeck novel he appears as Doc Burton Steinbeck would use Ricketts and their shared philosophy in many other novels this was also Steinbeck's first foray into agricultural politics through his literature which ultimately led to his writing The Grapes of Wrath the use of another character in In Dubious Battle a communist would lead to the untrue allegation that Steinbeck was a communist that allegation would have negative effects on Steinbeck's life from then to the end of his life in 1968 Goldstone & Payne A5a Morrow 43. Bookplate else as fine as the day this book was made in a as usual very good original slipcase. NY, Covici Friede, 1936, first edition. unknown books
rif. JD30040NY Marguerite and Louis Henry Cohn 1947 first edition wrappers. Softcover. First and only edition No. 7 of only 60 copies printed by Ward Ritchie with its original white paper envelope which is also No. 7 the first 10 copies went to Steinbeck with the remainder going to the Cohns House of Books for Christmas gift presentation this elusive "A" item is a letter from Steinbeck to Arnold Gingrich editor of "Esquire" thanking him for sending a watch as a gift the letter is full of Steinbeck's typical humor noting that he had expected a watch when he graduated from high school but none was forthcoming and since he didn't actually graduate from Stanford University he likewise hadn't received a watch as a gift Goldstone & Payne A26a Morrow 199 and 200. Fine. NY, Marguerite and Louis Henry Cohn, 1947, first edition, wrappers. Softcover. paperback books
1939rif. 26543New York: The Viking Press 1939. First Edition. 8vo publisher’s original pictorially decorated tan cloth in original first issue dustjacket with price and "First Edition" statement both present. vi 619 pp. A handsome bright and clean copy the dustjacket whole and without tears light evidence of shelving over time the backstrip of the dustjacket just a touch mellowed by age clean and bright internally solid and very well preserved. AN IMPORTANT FIRST EDITION AND PERHAPS THE GREATEST BOOK WRITTEN BY THIS NOBEL PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR. John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel of migrant workers in America. The story of the Joad family simple people living close to nature whose lives are disrupted by the malevolent forces of drought market conditions and human greed. The novel graphically demonstrates the dangers to society when the vital like between rural man and the Earth is broken. The condition of this copy in the pictorial jacket is quite pleasing indeed. The Viking Press hardcover
1939rif. 160735New York: Viking Press 1939. First Edition. First Edition. First issue dust jacket with first edition statement at the bottom front jacket flap. Wraparound jacket art by Elmer Hader whose work graced four Steinbeck titles. Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece literature's lasting testament to the Great Depression singled-out in his citation for the Nobel Prize decades later. Basis for the 1940 John Ford film starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad. Ford and supporting actress Jane Darwell won Academy Awards for their work. Near Fine in a bright Near Fine dust jacket. Small tap on the top edge of the rear board. Jacket is lightly toned along the top edges of the flaps and spine with a touch of rubbing on the flap folds and two tiny chips on the crown. An attractive copy. Ahearn APG 014d. Viking Press unknown
