The Grapes of Wrath First Edition — Identification, Points & Collecting Guide

America’s Great Social Justice Novel

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, published by The Viking Press on April 14, 1939, is the most powerful American protest novel — a book that changed government policy, won the Pulitzer Prize, was banned and burned across the country, and remains the defining literary document of the Great Depression. For collectors, it represents one of the most important and accessible American first editions of the 20th century.

The novel sold 430,000 copies in its first year — an extraordinary number for 1939 — and the large first printing (approximately 50,000 copies) means that Fine/Fine copies appear at auction with some regularity. This makes The Grapes of Wrath unusually accessible for a book of its canonical stature: a Fine/Fine first can be acquired for $8,000–$15,000, placing it within reach of serious collectors who cannot afford Gatsby or Sun Also Rises.

First Edition Identification

The Viking Press, New York, April 14, 1939

Physical description:

• Binding: Beige/tan cloth with brown decoration on front board (stylized “JOL” device) and brown lettering on spine
• Size: 8vo (approximately 8 × 5.5 inches)
• Pages: [vi], 619 pp.
• Dust jacket: Illustrated by Elmer Hader — yellow/orange with migrant family scene
• Price: $2.75 (on front flap)
• Endpapers: Tan/cream

First edition identification points:

1. “First Published in April 1939” on copyright page
2. “First Edition” stated (varies by copy — some have this, some use the “First Published” language)
3. Beige/tan cloth (correct color)
4. $2.75 price on jacket flap
5. Elmer Hader jacket illustration (migrant family walking toward distant horizon)
6. 619 pages

Critical note: Viking rapidly printed multiple runs. The first printing statement (“First Published in April 1939”) is essential. Later printings add printing notices (“Second Printing,” “Third Printing,” etc.).

Print Run and Values

First Printing: Approximately 50,000 Copies

Viking anticipated strong sales — Steinbeck’s previous novel Of Mice and Men (1937) had been a bestseller and Broadway hit. The large first printing makes this more available than most trophy books:

Current Market Values

Why Fine copies are scarce despite the large printing: The book was read intensively during 1939–1940. It was a social phenomenon — passed from hand to hand, discussed in reading groups, carried to political meetings. The utilitarian beige cloth shows every mark, and the yellow jacket tans readily.

The Elmer Hader Jacket

One of the Most Iconic American Book Jacket Designs

The jacket illustration — showing a migrant family trudging toward a distant horizon under a yellow/orange sky — is one of the most recognized jacket designs in American publishing:

Design elements:

• Yellow-orange background suggesting drought and heat
• Silhouetted figures of family (echoing Depression-era FSA photography)
• Title in bold sans-serif lettering
• Viking ship colophon

Jacket condition factors:

• The yellow paper is prone to tanning (yellow turns brown with age)
• Spine panel fading is extremely common
• Edge chips at spine head and tail
• Front panel retains color better than spine

Jacket impact on value: Without jacket: $500–$1,500. With jacket: $2,000–$25,000. The jacket represents approximately 80% of value.

Signed Copies

Available but Increasingly Expensive

Steinbeck (1902–1968) signed a reasonable number of copies:

Factors:

• Steinbeck lived in New York from the early 1940s onward (accessible)
• He was a public intellectual — gave speeches, attended events
• He won the Nobel Prize in 1962 (increasing signing opportunities)
• He lived to 66 — a full career spanning the 1930s–1960s
• He was generally willing to sign for personal acquaintances and at bookshops

Estimated signed population (Grapes of Wrath): 200–500 copies

Signed copy values:

• Signed first edition (F/F): $30,000–$50,000
• Signed first edition (VG/VG): $15,000–$25,000
• Inscribed to a known figure: $40,000–$80,000
• Signed later edition: $2,000–$5,000

The Steinbeck Bibliography

Major First Editions

The Debut: Cup of Gold (1929)

Steinbeck’s actual first book — a historical adventure novel about Henry Morgan:

• Robert M. McBride & Company
• Approximately 1,500 copies
• Bear no resemblance to his later realistic/social fiction
• Green cloth, gilt spine
• Value: $5,000–$15,000 (scarce in jacket)

Of Mice and Men (1937)

The second most valuable Steinbeck:

• Covici-Friede, New York
• Approximately 2,500 copies first printing
• Beige cloth (prone to soiling, like Grapes)
• Value: $8,000–$20,000 (F/F)
• The Broadway adaptation (November 1937) makes this culturally significant beyond the novel

Historical Context and Impact

The Book That Changed America

The Grapes of Wrath had immediate, tangible political effects:

Government response:

• Eleanor Roosevelt cited it as informing New Deal policy
• Congressional hearings were held on migrant worker conditions
• The Farm Security Administration expanded its programs
• It directly influenced public opinion about Dust Bowl refugees

Censorship history:

• Banned in multiple California counties (the setting of the novel)
• Burned in public by farm owners’ associations
• Banned in Buffalo, New York
• Challenged in libraries continuously from 1939 to the present
• The Associated Farmers of California called it “communist propaganda”

Pulitzer Prize: 1940 (amid ongoing controversy)

Nobel Prize: 1962 (for Steinbeck’s entire body of work, with Grapes as centerpiece)

The Ford Film (1940)

Immediate and Permanent Cultural Impact

John Ford’s film adaptation (starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad) appeared within a year of publication:

• Academy Award for Best Director (Ford)
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Jane Darwell)
• Henry Fonda’s career-defining role
• The film further cemented the novel’s cultural position

Market effect: The film ensures perpetual public awareness — any collector of American literature has The Grapes of Wrath on their want list.

Collecting Strategies

Strategy 1: The Grapes of Wrath First Edition (~$2,000–$25,000)

One of the most accessible major American literary first editions:

• Entry level (Good/Good): $2,000–$4,000
• Investment grade (Fine/Fine): $10,000–$25,000
• A practical goal for collectors with moderate budgets

Strategy 2: The Steinbeck Seven (~$25,000–$75,000)

The major novels:

• Of Mice and Men (1937)
• The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
• Cannery Row (1945)
• East of Eden (1952)
• Plus: Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle, The Pearl

Strategy 3: The American Social Novel (~$20,000–$60,000)

Grapes alongside other protest/social justice novels:

• Sinclair: The Jungle (1906) — meatpacking industry exposé
• Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath (1939) — migrant workers
• Wright: Native Son (1940) — racial injustice
• Ellison: Invisible Man (1952) — Black American experience
• Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) — racial justice in the South

Strategy 4: The 1930s American Literature (~$15,000–$40,000)

Depression-era masterworks:

• Faulkner: As I Lay Dying (1930) or Light in August (1932)
• Hammett: The Maltese Falcon (1930)
• West: Miss Lonelyhearts (1933)
• Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
• Chandler: The Big Sleep (1939)

Buying Advice

What to Verify

1. “First Published in April 1939” on copyright page (NO later printing notices)
2. Beige/tan cloth: Correct color (not a later binding variant)
3. $2.75 unclipped: Price on jacket flap
4. Elmer Hader jacket: The correct illustrated jacket (not a later jacket design)
5. 619 pages: Correct page count

Common Condition Issues

• Cloth soiling: The beige cloth marks extremely easily. Truly clean copies are uncommon.
• Jacket tanning: The yellow jacket background turns brown/dark with age. Bright copies are scarce.
• Spine fading on jacket: Almost universal to some degree
• Text block browning: The 1939 paper is acidic and browns at the edges
• Foxing on endpapers: Common for books of this era

The $2,000 Entry Point

The Grapes of Wrath is one of very few books of this canonical importance where a genuine first edition in collectible condition can be acquired for $2,000–$4,000. This makes it an ideal “first serious purchase” for collectors entering the modern American literature market.