In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck, Signed (7 results)

First Edition. Signed by the author in 1936; signature a little blotted; a good copy in a worn and mended dust jacket. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.

Signed limited first edition of this "dramatically intense, beautifully written novel" (The New Republic); the first book in Steinbeck's Dustbowl trilogy, which was followed by Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, number 39 of 99 examples. Octavo, original half morocco. Signed by John Steinbeck. In fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. On publication, New York Times reviewer Fred T. March compared it to the "genial gusto" of the "picaresque" Tortilla Flat. He commented that "You would never know that In Dubious Battle was by the same John Steinbeck if the publishers did not tell you so." He called it "courageous and desperately honest," "the best labor and strike novel to come out of our contemporary economic and social unrest," and "such a novel as Sinclair Lewis at his best might have done had he gone on with his projected labor novel.".

349 pp. 8vo, publisher's cloth in glassine wrapper and publisher's slipcase. First edition; No. 52 of 99 copies, signed by John Steinbeck. A fine copy. The glassine wrapper has some chipping to edges and a dime-sized hole to the center of the spine. The slipcase printed paper label is bright. The slipcase is complete but has some wear to the top which has resulted in some narrow areas of missing paper.

Full Description: STEINBECK, John. In Dubious Battle. New York: Covici Friede, [1936]. First edition, one of ninety-nine copies signed by the author of which this is number 57. Octavo (8 x 5 3/8 inches; 205 x 137 mm). 349, [3, blank] pp. With the signed limitation page inserted at rear. Original black cloth over grey buckram boards. Spine lettered in gilt. Top edge dyed red. Some minor rubbing to bottom of spine. Previous owner's ink inscription dated 1940 on half-title. In the original black paper slipcase with paper spine label. Some very minor rubbing to slipcase. A bright, fine copy. Goldstone & Payne A5a. HBS 69028. $6,500.

Condition: Very Fine. Limited Edition. #6/99 copies, specially bound in black and light grey buckram, top edge stained rose, in publisher's black paper covered slipcase with spine label, without jacket, as issued. SIGNED by Steinbeck and Numbered on the concluding colophon. Book is Very Fine. Slipcase is Very Good or better, with moderate fading to closed end, minor wear to edges of open end, but sound. 349pp. Enclosed in a custom made clamshell box. Q09641.

Condition: Fine. Limited Edition. A fine, clean and tight copy limited to 99 copies, Signed by John Steinbeck. A very nice copy in a very good slipcase. Book is sharp and straight. No bumped corners to book. Spine tips are very smooth. Comes with an acetate jacket. No tears or chips to jacket. Red top edge is very clean and bright. No offsetting or toning to pages. Slipcase is tight but has edge wear to corners. Label to spine of box is very nice. Copy number 96.

Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First edition. Octavo. Original orange cloth, lettering to spine in black, rules to covers and spine in red, top edge red. With dust jacket. Housed in a custom green morocco-backed folding box. An exceptionally Fine copy which is bright and crisp. Fine dust jacket with only the most trivial rubbing to extremities, otherwise extremely bright and fresh. Presentation copy inscribed by the author "For Guy G. B. Reedy, John Steinbeck" on front free endpaper. A signed limited edition was also issued by the publishers in 1936. Steinbeck met Reedy when he moved to New York in the early 1920s and both men worked on the construction of Madison Square Garden. Steinbeck left after seeing a co-worker fall to his death, but the two remained close, and Steinbeck inscribed first editions of all his books for Reedy. Historically overshadowed by Steinbeck's towering works East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath, his later novel In Dubious Battle has seen a resurgence of scholarly interest for its depictions of race and class. In developing the novel's central structure, "Steinbeck utilized episodes from the Tagus Ranch peach strike of 1933 and a cotton strike throughout the San Joaquin Valley that October"; while he "deviated from the particulars of these labor disputes to clarify the central themes of the novel.In Dubious Battle indicates that the primary responsibility for human suffering rests on the growers, since they preside over an economic framework that limits the opportunities available to the working class" predominantly composed of people of color (Dawson). Steinbeck's emphasis on laborers unionizing to fight back against their abusers -- predominantly powerful, white men -- are concerns that continue resonating today. In Dubious Battle made its appearance on the big screen in 2017, as a film directed by James Franco. Goldstone & Payne A5(b). Fine in Fine dust jacket.