Is My Copy of The Grapes of Wrath a First Edition? How to Identify

You have a copy of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and you want to know if it’s a genuine first edition, first printing. This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel — which helped earn Steinbeck the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962 — is one of the most important and collected American first editions of the twentieth century.

The Quick Answer

A true first edition, first printing was published by The Viking Press in April 1939 with a cover price of $2.75. The essential identifier is the copyright page statement “First Published in April 1939” combined with the absence of later-printing designations.

Step-by-Step Identification

Step 1: Check the Publisher

The title page must read The Viking Press, New York. Other publishers indicate later editions.

Step 2: Check the Copyright Page

• “First Published in April 1939” — this statement appears on all first-printing copies
• No mention of “Second Printing,” “Third Printing,” etc. — if any additional printing notice appears, it is not a first printing
• “Copyright 1939 by John Steinbeck”

Step 3: Check the Binding

First printing binding:

• Beige/tan cloth over boards (sometimes described as “pictorial cloth”)
• The front board features a pictorial design — a depiction of a man and woman (the Joad family, essentially) stamped or printed in brown/rust
• Brown lettering on the spine
• The pictorial binding is distinctive and specific to the Viking first edition

Step 4: Check the Dust Jacket

The Elmer Hader–designed dust jacket:

• Features an illustration of a family with a loaded truck — the iconic image of the Dust Bowl migration
• $2.75 price on the front flap
• First-state jackets mention the novel’s selection by the Book-of-the-Month Club but do not mention the Pulitzer Prize (awarded in May 1940)
• Author biographical note on the rear flap

The jacket is exceptionally rare in fine condition. The novel was published in the year World War II began, and dust jackets from 1939 have a very low survival rate.

What Is My Copy Worth?

True First Edition, First Printing

Viking’s first printing of The Grapes of Wrath was substantial — Steinbeck was already a successful author (Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men), and the novel had been selected as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection before publication. The first trade printing was approximately 50,000 copies, supplemented by an additional 50,000+ copies for the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Despite the large first printing, survival in collectible condition is limited after eighty-five years, and jackets are genuinely scarce.

Signed Copies

Steinbeck signed copies throughout his career with moderate frequency. He did book signings, responded to fan mail, and was generally accessible. However, signed copies of The Grapes of Wrath specifically are less common than signed copies of his later works.

Steinbeck died in 1968. The supply of signed copies is permanently fixed.

Common Questions

My copy has the Book-of-the-Month Club notice. Is it a first edition?

The Book-of-the-Month Club (BOMC) distributed The Grapes of Wrath to its members, and these copies are sometimes confused with the trade first edition. BOMC copies typically:

• Lack a price on the dust jacket flap
• May have a small blind-stamped mark on the rear board
• May be slightly different in binding quality or paper stock

BOMC copies are significantly less valuable than trade first editions ($50–$200 vs. $2,000–$50,000).

How does the Pulitzer Prize affect identification?

The Grapes of Wrath won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in May 1940, more than a year after publication. First-printing dust jackets do not mention the Pulitzer. If your jacket mentions the Pulitzer, it is a later printing jacket or a later-state jacket replacement.

Is Of Mice and Men more or less valuable than Grapes of Wrath?

Of Mice and Men (1937, Covici-Friede) is Steinbeck’s other most collected title. It had a much smaller first printing than Grapes of Wrath and is generally scarcer. In Fine/Fine condition with jacket, Of Mice and Men first editions command $20,000–$60,000 — comparable to or slightly higher than Grapes of Wrath. The two are often collected as a pair.

Why is the pictorial binding important?

The pictorial cloth binding of Grapes of Wrath — with the printed image on the front board — is a distinctive feature that makes the book immediately recognizable. It also means that condition issues on the boards (fading, rubbing, staining) are more visible and more damaging to value than on a plain cloth binding. Collectors prize copies where the pictorial image remains bright and unfaded.

Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize. Does that affect first edition values?

Steinbeck’s Nobel Prize in Literature (1962) elevated the value of all his first editions, though the award was somewhat controversial — critics debated whether Steinbeck’s later work justified the prize, and Steinbeck himself said he did not deserve it. Regardless, the Nobel created institutional demand from libraries and literary archives worldwide, establishing a permanent price floor for major Steinbeck first editions.