Grapes of Wrath by STEINBECK, John - 1939

New York: The Viking Press, 1939. New York: The Viking Press, [1939].

First edition, first issue with "First Published in April 1939" on copyright page and first edition notice on front flap of dust jacket. Octavo (8 x 5 3/8 inches; 203 x 137 mm). [vi], 619, [3, blank] pp. In publisher's dust jacket illustrated by Elmer Hader.

Publisher's original beige cloth. Boards and spine pictorially stamped and lettered in reddish-brown. Top edge dyed yellow. Endpapers with a portion of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" printed in reddish-brown. Cloth spine just slightly sunned. Top edge with some dust soiling. Some minor toning to endpapers. Previous owner's old ink signature on front free endpaper, dated 1939. A very good copy. Jacket with "First Edition" slug on front flap and with the printed price of $2.75. Jacket edges a bit rubbed and flaky. Jacket with strengthening on backside, and some paper replacement along folds and at spine tips. Still overall a very good copy.

This novel, about the trials and tribulations of the Joad family, forced to migrate from the Depression-era "dust-bowl" of Oklahoma to California. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1940, and remains one of the most beloved American novels of all time.

Goldstone & Payne A12a.

HBS 68515.

$3,500.