About this Item
First edition, third printing denoted at copyright page: "Copyright 1939 by John Steinbeck. First published in April 1939. Third printing before publication." Exactly matches first printing in design, materials, and sizing. Preserved in beautiful and accurate facsimile of first edition dust wrapper. Oatmeal colored full cloth pictorial boards, clean with moderate corner wear, rub. Features the unique wrap-around pictorial illustration similar to dust jacket with the forced pioneers looking out upon the trail west through mountains awaiting them. Pages very good, clean; no writing. Light tan top-stain. Tan pictorial endpapers with sheet music in reddish-brown to old plantation melody "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Julia Ward Howe. Stylish bookstore label in maroon with cream font and shapely border: "Woodworth's Book Store, Stationery, Books, Typewriters, Sporting Goods, 1311 E. 57th St., Chicago." Bind good, square. Dust wrapper of the original with "First Edition" at lower front flap corner. This facsimile of first printing dust wrapper is fine and matches the original; unclipped 2.75, protected in new clear sleeve. Classic wrap-around cover art of caravans headed west in their rudimentary 1930s vehicles. Rare very good clean third printing in fine facsimile wrapper. The classic American novel of the Depression era and struggles of the Joad family as they move west through the Dust Bowl. John Steinbeck focuses on the Joads, a family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural practices and bank foreclosures, forcing them to the road. Steinbeck's most popular novel was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the basis for the classic 1940 John Ford Academy Award-winning film starring Henry Fonda. The novel while depicting hardship and tragedy is sheer delight, heightened for the reader by the presence of a few gently satirical notes - almost as though Steinbeck was poking occasional fun at his characters and himself. Beneath the theme, the reader finds subtle and poignant patterns which will give a grateful awareness of why John Steinbeck occupies his eminent position among novelists. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s lasted from 1928 to 1942 as the plains and prairies of America were left intensely dry with many years receiving less than half the normal precipitation. The phenomenon was caused by this severe drought and also the failure to prevent erosion. Dryland farming practices were a leading cause along with the depletion of the natural topsoil by settlers. Devestatingly, the Dust Bowl nearly exactly coincided with and contributed to the severity and duration of the Great Depression. These events lead many to migrate from the midwest to California. Printed in the U. S. A. by Stratford Press. 619 pages. Insured post. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Seller Inventory # 022786
Contact seller
Report this item
