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ABOUT JOHN STEINBECK • ARCHIVES • COLLECTION OVERVIEW • BOOKS

Books by Steinbeck within our collection include first separate editions, later printings, limited editions, advance proof copies and galley proofs.

FIRST EDITIONS
First editions include the author's first book, Cup of Gold (Robert M. McBride & Co., 1929); a first edition of his second book, The Pastures of Heaven (Warren & Putnam, 1932) in the very scarce silver dustjacket; a first British edition The Grapes of Wrath (Heinemann, 1939); the first edition of the Sea of Cortez (Viking, 1941) signed by Steinbeck and Edward Ricketts; the first edition of East of Eden (Viking, 1952), and the first British and American editions of Travels With Charley (Heinemann, Viking, 1962).

LATER PRINTINGS
Later printings within our collection include the Collier and Armed Services Editions of Cup of Gold; the illustrated edition of Tortilla Flat (Viking, 1947); the Modern Library edition of The Grapes of Wrath (Modern Library, 1941); the New Avon Library edition of The Long Valley (New Avon Library, 1945); a British paperback edition of The Pearl (Pan Books, 1954), and various paperback and hardbound editions of other works.

LIMITED EDITIONS
Typically, a limited edition of a book has a finer binding than the trade edition, and is often issued in a slipcase. Limited editions within the collection include a limited and signed edition of “Saint Katy the Virgin ” (Covici-Friede, 1936), the first separate printing of 375 copies of “Nothing So Monstrous ” (Pynson Printers, 1936); the first edition, limited issue of In Dubious Battle (Covici-Friede, 1936) of only 99 copies signed and contained within a publisher's slipcase; the limited first and only separate edition of “The First Watch ” (Ward Ritchie Press, 1947) limited to only 60 copies, and the first separate edition of “Chapter thirty-four from the Novel East of Eden” (Privately Printed, 1952).

ADVANCE PROOF COPIES
Before a book's official publication, publishers often have advance proof copies available for distribution to editors and book reviewers. Usually bound in paper wrappers, proof copies are particularly scarce. Examples of proof copies in the Steinbeck Collection include, Cannery Row (Viking, 1945), The Log from the Sea of Cortez (Viking, 1951), The Short Reign of Pippin IV (Viking, 1957), and The Winter of Our Discontent (Viking, 1961).

GALLEY PROOFS
Printed in long strips, galley proofs are the early type proof which constitute a part of a complete canon of a book. Only a few sets of galleys exist of a title. Examples of galley proofs in the collection include, The Pearl (Viking, 1947), East of Eden (Viking, 1952), and Travels With Charley (Viking, 1961).

FOREIGN EDITIONS
Copies of foreign edition translations of Steinbeck works include, the mimeographed underground publication of The Moon Is Down, which was banned in Denmark as a subversive text; Steinbeck's first book to be published in Portuguese, Of Mice and Men, limited to 1,200 copies; the first Swedish edition of The Wayward Bus, with pictorial wrappers designed by Steinbeck's friend, Bo Beskow; the Japanese edition of The Winter Of Our Discontent with publisher's slipcase, and one of only three known copies of the Spanish translation of The Pearl published in Spanish medical journal which was sent out to pharmacies and doctors' offices.

Listed below is a sampling of books in the collection.

THE ACTS OF KING ARTHUR AND HIS NOBLE KNIGHTS (1976)
Steinbeck's first posthumously published work. In his reinterpretation of seven tales from Malory completed in 1959, Steinbeck attempts to render Malory “... into a modern English, while...trying to recreate a rhythm and tone... ” similar to the original Middle English.
AMERICA AND AMERICANS (1966)
Steinbeck's text accompanied by photographs renders the many faces of America, its scenic beauty as well as its human varieties. Detailed information
BOMBS AWAY (1942) Out of Print
A chronicle of six young men following their civilian life, through several training schools and describing how they become airmen.
BURNING BRIGHT (1950)
A play in novelette from presenting a dilemma of a heredity-possessed man Who discovers that he is sterile and must accept another man's child as his own.
CANNERY ROW (1945)
Steinbeck captures the characters and atmosphere of the row of shacks along the Monterey shoreline known as Cannery Row.
CUP OF GOLD (1929)
A tale which traces Henry Morgan's life from boyhood on the Welsh glen to his death as lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
EAST OF EDEN (1952)
The saga of two American families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, Steinbeck's own forbears. The scene is chiefly Salinas from the turn of the century through World War II. Detailed information
FORGOTTEN VILLAGE (1941)
An enlightening account which presents the elemental simplicity of daily pallerns in a Mexican village.
THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1939)
Steinbeck's epic account of the migration of sharecroppers from the Dust Bowl to the mirage of a free and happy life in California. Detailed information
THE HARVEST GYPSIES (1936)
Reprint of seven newpaper articles about migrant farm workers written by John Steinbeck in 1936.
IN DUBIOUS BATTLE (1936)
A labor and strike novel set in the California fruit country as seen through the eyes of a radical sympathizer.
JOURNAL OF A NOVEL (1969)
A day-by-day account of the writing of East of Eden; originally a series of letters to Pascal Covici, Steinbeck's friend and editor at Viking Press.
LETTERS TO ELIZABETH (1978)
Steinbeck's letters to Elizabeth Otis, his New York literary agent; published by the Book Club of California in a numbered limited edition of 500 copies.
THE LOG FROM THE SEA OF CORTEZ (1951)
A reissue of the narrative from The Sea of Cortez to which Steinbeck added a biographical sketch of Ed Ricketts.
THE LONG VALLEY (1938)
Thirteen Short stories which portray life in the Salinas Valley.
THE MOON IS DOWN (l942)
One of Steinbeck's shorter novels; describes the occupation of a small unnamed mining town by an unidentified army.
OF MICE AND MEN (1937)
The Salinas Valley is the setting for this tale of two drifting ranch hands who dream of a piece of land of their own.
ONCE THERE WAS A WAR (1958)
Set in England, Africa and Italy this collection of Steinbeck's World War II news correspondence was written for the New Yolk Herald Tribune in the latter part of 1943.
THE PASTURES OF HEAVEN (1932)
A series of short stories relating incidents in the lives of a group of people living in a secluded valley in Califoinia, Las Pastures del Cielo.
THE PEARL (1947)
A retelling of an old Mexican folk tale involving the discovery of a great pearl and the ensuing misfortune of the fisherman who found it.
THE RED PONY (1933)
A heartbreaking true picture of boyhood on a small Salinas Valley ranch. More information.
A RUSSIAN JOURNAL (1948)
An illustrated account of a brief tour of famous Russian cities; the photographs accompanying Steinbeck's text were taken by Robert Capa.
SEA OF CORTEZ (194l)
Ed Ricketts and Steinbeck present a scientific account of how marine invertebrates are killed, preserved, and classified. Steinbeck adds an explanation of his philosophy of life.
THE SH0RT REIGN OF PIPPIN IV (l957)
A satirical account of an unsuccessful French attempt at reviving the monarchy with a descendant of Charlemagne.
STEINBECK: A LIFE IN LETTERS (1975)
A large collection of some of Steinbeck's most important letters edited by his widow Elaine and family friend Robert Wallsten. Publisiled in a limited edition, trade edition, book club edition and paperback edition.
SWEET THURSDAY (1954)
In this comic, bawdy tale Steinbeck revisits several characters from Cannery Row after World War II.
TO A GOD UNKNOWN (1933)
A symbolic and mystical novel of Joseph Wayne and his family and their new land In the fertile hills of California.
TORTILLA FLAT (1935)
Set in a tumle-down section of Monterey, Steinbeck's humorous novel portrays the vagabond-type existence and exploits of Danny and his friends.
TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY: IN SEARCH OF AMERICA (1962)
Steinbeck's American voyage of rediscovery accompanied by a distinguished French poodle. More information
UNCOLLECTED STORIES OF JOHN STEINBECK (1986)
Contains “His Father, ” “The Summer Before, ” “How Edith McGillcuddy met R.L. Stevenson, ” “Reunion at the Quiet Hotel, ” “The Miracle of Tepayac, ” “The Gifts of Iban, ” and “The Time the Wolves Ate the Vice-Principal. ”
VIVA ZAPATA! (1975)
Script of the film. It is the story about the part played by Emiliano Zapata in the Mexican Revolution, championing the cause of the peasants during the years 1909-1919. It treats themes familiar to readers of The Grapes of Wrath and In Dubious Battle.
THE WAYWARD BUS (1947)
A “Grand Hotel' type novel in which a group of strangers are stranded ovenight at a roadside gas station and lunchroom in California.
THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT (1961)
Through the life of a New England patrician family the author portrays some of our shoddy attitudes toward honesty and success. The major theme of the novel is the loss of integrity in our world and the decline in our standards of personal, business, and political morality.
WORKING DAYS: THE JOURNALS OF THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1989)
Journal kept by Steinbeck during the composition and publication of his classic work with notes by Robert DeMott.

For a complete listing of Steinbeck's works, click here.
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