Cannery Row

New York: The Viking Press, 1945. 1st Edition, 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very good +/good +. First state (buff) cloth, duodecimo size, 215 pp. John Steinbeck (1902-1968), considered "a giant of American letters", was best known for his portrayals of families in California, often exploring themes of alienation and injustice through "everyman" characters (n. b., info from Wikipedia).

This novel, "Cannery Row", is one of Steinbeck's most enduring stories. Set in Monterey, California, during the Great Depression, the plot "evolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group (truncated) of derelict people" (n.b., quote from Wiki). The publisher perhaps put it best, on the blurb on the back panel of the dust jacket: "The story that builds up around this group of people is suffused witih warmth and understanding and a great grasp of human values. It is also very, very funny...".

This volume the first state with buff cloth. It was published at the end of WWII when wartime shortages required the publisher to switch from the buff cloth to the more common canary yellow, thus, first state copies can easily be identified by the colour of the book cloth.

___DESCRIPTION: Buff colored cloth boards with navy blue lettering on the front and spine, silver gilt narrow wavy rules on front and spine, top edge stained blue, one page of publisher's ads at the rear listing other books by Steinbeck; duodecimo size (7 1/2" by 5"), pagination: [i-vi] 1-208 [1, ad]. Dust jacket by Arthur Hawkins, Jr. depicts Cannery Row in a small vignette on the front on a navy blue background, yellow lettering on front and spine, summary of novel on the back panel, author bio on front panel with original $2.00 price, publisher's summary/ad on back panel.

___CONDITION: Overall, somewhat better than very good: the buff cloth exceptionally clean other than a few minor spots of soil, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, and internally clean and bright; the corners, head and tail lightly bumped and just beginning to rub, some old spots on the top edge of the text block, the first signature is somewhat sprung but remains solidly bound in, and a recent (2003) prior owner name and address written in ink at the top edge of the front free endpaper. The dust jacket is good+ only; while it is unclipped and the colours on the front panel and spine remain strong (not sunned) there is some overall edgewear including a closed tear at the tail of the spine about an inch long, several small chips, overall dustiness with a few darker spots of soil including one at the bottom of the front panel that extends into the bottom of the front flap. Overall a very good copy of the first state of this seminal Steinbeck story.

___CITATIONS: Goldstone & Payne A22b.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply, please contact seller for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help. (Inventory #: 24100607)