East Of Eden

East of Eden’s true first edition (Viking Press; New York, 1952) is a limited edition of only 1,500 copies signed by Steinbeck. This signed limited first edition has dark green boards and came in a slipcase. 750 copies of this signed limited first edition were for private distribution. The original cloth binding is stamped in gilt and brown, in a faux-wood grain slipcase. 

The first trade edition states "First published by The Viking Press in September 1952" on the copyright page with no statements of subsequent printings, and the year 1952 on the title page. Boards are light green. Dust jacket has Steinbeck's photo on the rear with no blurbs. The first state has "bite" on page 281, line 38.

East of Eden was an immediate success and topped the US fiction bestseller list. Every working day, Steinbeck began his writing ritual for East of Eden by penning a letter to his late friend and Viking Press editor, Pascal Covici. After Steinbeck’s death, this collection of letters was published under the title Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (Viking; New York, 1969). 

The letters themselves were written on the left-hand pages of a notebook, while the right-hand pages were dedicated to the manuscript of East of Eden. These letters provide a unique perspective on Steinbeck's creative process and offer a fascinating glimpse into his personal life. 

Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters first edition has 600 copies, specially bound, with seven plates that are facsimiles of pages from the original manuscript, and a frontispiece photo of the box that Steinbeck carved to house the manuscript.