Nothing So Monstrous

New York: Pynson Printers, 1936.

Price: $1,750.00

Hardcover. First Separate Edition (originally published in *The Pastures of Heaven*, 1932). An unusually fine, fresh copy with the corners square and virtually unrubbed. Goldstone notes that the paper supply allowed only 370 copies to be printed. Published for subscribers to use as Christmas gifts, the colophon was customized with the subscriber's name following "made by the Pynson Printers of New York at the request of [blank] for presentation to [blank]." 50 copies were so designated for Elmer Adler, 100 for Frederick B. Adams, Jr., 150 for Ben Abramson, 50 for Edwin J. Beinecke, and 20 for antiquarian bookseller Howard Mott (although evidently fewer were issued with his name; only one is known). Unknown to Goldstone, there were six copies for Steinbeck as well. This copy has the subscriber's name, *The Colophon,* handwritten in for presentation to the noted printer Carl P. Rollins. Additionally this copy is Signed by the subscribers Adams and Adler, as well as by bookman John T. Winterich. All three were editors of *The Colophon,* a magazine for book collectors. Rollins was the first "University Printer" at Yale. *Goldstone* A2f.

Item #56139

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Item #56139 Nothing So Monstrous. John STEINBECK.
Nothing So Monstrous

John Steinbeck
birth name: John Ernst Steinbeck
born: 2/27/1902
died: 12/20/1968
nationality: USA

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Biography

American novelist, best known for The Grapes of Wrath (1939), one of several naturalistic novels with proletarian themes that he wrote in the 1930s. These works, with their rich symbolic structures, effectively convey the mythopoetic and symbolic qualities of his characters. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. - Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literaturemore

Collecting tips:

Yikes! Collecting tips for John Steinbeck could fill a book, rather than a tiny box on our website, so we're going to give you the Cliff Notes version. His first book, Cup of Gold (1929) is exceptionally scarce in jacket, especially when the spine is relatively unfaded. The Grapes of Wrath (1939 - which better not have the "first edition" statement clipped from the bottom of the front flap) is a case where there exists lots of supply, but even more demand, so prices can vary wildly depending on fairly minor variations in condition. Of Mice and Men (1937) invariably has a jacket that is slightly shorter than the book, apparently issued thus by the publisher, so fret not, or at least fret less than you might otherwise if this is the case with your copy. Cannery Row (1945) has to have buff-colored boards; copies in bright yellow boards are later (although still marginally collectible). His last few books are relatively common, but are usually well read, so fine copies are worth pursuing.

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