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Details
STEINBECK, John (1902-68). Cup of Gold. New York: Robert M. McBride & Company, 1929.
8o. Original mustard cloth, top edge stained blue; pictorial dust jacket (spine panel a bit faded with minor wear at ends, front and back panels lightly rubbed, slight wear to edges). Provenance: Paul Jordan-Smith, critic and collector (presentation inscription and bookplate); Jack E. Gindi (his sale, Christie's East, 20 April 1994, lot 77).
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of Steinbeck's scarce first book. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY STEINBECK on the front free endpaper: "For Paul Jordan-Smith with thanks John Steinbeck." Steinbeck wrote this historical romance about the life of the pirate Henry Morgan when he was 27 years old. It was reissued by Covici-Friede in 1936 from remainder sheets with new preliminaries, binding, and re-designed dust jacket. Steinbeck later reflected on the work: "Long ago I determined that anyone who appraised Cup of Gold for what it was should be entitled to a big kiss. The book was an immagure experiment written for the purpose of getting all the wise cracks (known by sophomores as epigrams) and all the autobiographical material (which hounds us until we get it said) out of my system. And I really did not intend to publish it. The book accomplished its purgative purpose. I am no more concerned with myself very much. I can write about other people..." (A Life in Letters,, p. 17).
AN IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY. Paul Jordan-Smith was a critic for The Los Angeles Times and close friend of Steinbeck in the Twenties and Thirties. Jordan-Smith was one of the few to give this work a favorable notice, which undoubtedly provided an encouragement to the young writer. Contemporary presentation copies are exceedingly rare, and the very few known copies were given by Steinbeck to his early supporters. Goldstone and Payne A1a.
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FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of Steinbeck's scarce first book. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY STEINBECK on the front free endpaper: "For Paul Jordan-Smith with thanks John Steinbeck." Steinbeck wrote this historical romance about the life of the pirate Henry Morgan when he was 27 years old. It was reissued by Covici-Friede in 1936 from remainder sheets with new preliminaries, binding, and re-designed dust jacket. Steinbeck later reflected on the work: "Long ago I determined that anyone who appraised Cup of Gold for what it was should be entitled to a big kiss. The book was an immagure experiment written for the purpose of getting all the wise cracks (known by sophomores as epigrams) and all the autobiographical material (which hounds us until we get it said) out of my system. And I really did not intend to publish it. The book accomplished its purgative purpose. I am no more concerned with myself very much. I can write about other people..." (A Life in Letters,, p. 17).
AN IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY. Paul Jordan-Smith was a critic for The Los Angeles Times and close friend of Steinbeck in the Twenties and Thirties. Jordan-Smith was one of the few to give this work a favorable notice, which undoubtedly provided an encouragement to the young writer. Contemporary presentation copies are exceedingly rare, and the very few known copies were given by Steinbeck to his early supporters. Goldstone and Payne A1a.