CANNERY ROW by Steinbeck, John - 1945

New York: The Viking Press, 1945. Very good plus in very good dust jacket. First edition, first state of a collection of vignettes about the earnest and sometimes comedic characters of CANNERY ROW as they live through the Depression. Steinbeck dedicated CANNERY ROW to his friend and mentor Ed Ricketts, who also served as the inspiration for Doc, the marine biologist with a temper. CANNERY ROW is on the BBC's list of "100 Novels That Shaped Our World," included in the section "Class & Society." Though many of the characters would be considered down on their luck, their sense of community takes the edge off the difficulties of the Great Depression. Printed at the close of WWII, the first state of CANNERY ROW was still subject to materials rationing: the second state sports a bright yellow cloth, as the printer had run out of the original "buff" cloth that adorns this first state copy. 7.5'' x 4.75''. Original light buff cloth with blue lettering. Original unclipped ($2.00) color pictorial dust jacket designed by Arthur Hawkins, Jr. Black topstain. 208 pages. Jacket with some little chips and edgewear, offsetting from tape repairs (now removed) to verso. Binding with mild soil, light bumping to spine ends. Sound and bright.