The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Modern Library Reprint) - Unique Boston & Indianapolis Provenance 🍇📚🇺🇸

This volume is an authenticated later printing of John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, published as a Modern Library edition.

The book is a core piece of 20th-century American literary and social history. While a common reprint, its collectible status is significantly secured by its unique dual-city historical markings.

It contains a bookplate from a private library in Indianapolis and a sticker from the famous Old Corner Book Store in Boston, establishing a powerful and traceable human history. This piece is a strong acquisition for collectors who prioritize documented cultural history over pure bibliographical scarcity.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

The Grapes of Wrath is the devastating narrative of the Joad family, impoverished tenant farmers forced off their Oklahoma land by the Dust Bowl. The story details their arduous journey west to California in search of a better life, only to encounter exploitation, hostility, and systemic injustice. The novel serves as a powerful indictment of the social and economic policies of the Great Depression.

The volume belongs to The Modern Library series, known for publishing unabridged editions of the world’s best books at an unusually low price. This edition features the characteristic Art Deco endpapers designed with the repeating Modern Library "ML" colophon. The publishers state they will send an illustrated folder setting forth the purpose and scope of the series upon request.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) was one of the most important American authors of the 20th century, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 for this novel and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. Steinbeck was a chronicler of the working class and a champion of the marginalized.

His struggle to write The Grapes of Wrath was intense, driven by a deep moral outrage after personally observing the deplorable conditions of migrant worker camps in California. The novel's creation was rooted in his meticulous research and powerful journalistic instincts, which transformed a regional tragedy into a national moral reckoning. This Modern Library edition allowed his politically charged narrative to reach a massive post-war audience, cementing its status as a timeless classic.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

The book was copyrighted in 1939, a year marking the transition from the depths of the Great Depression to the beginning of World War II. Its publication came at a moment of extreme national tension, fueled by economic uncertainty and rising global conflict.

The novel itself became a powerful political tool, sparking national debates about agrarian reform, capitalism, and social justice. The book was controversial and even banned in some areas, reflecting the deep fear and backlash its unflinching portrayal of poverty evoked. This reprint, produced by Random House for The Modern Library, kept the revolutionary content in circulation for a generation navigating the post-war economic boom, serving as a tangible reminder of America's recent economic and social traumas.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning American Literature and a Scholar of the Great Depression Era. The Ideal Collector seeks editions that document the consumption and circulation of major literary works within the American populace.

The book belongs in a collection that prioritizes unique historical documentation and bookseller ephemera. The distinct association with both a renowned Boston bookseller and a specific private library in Indianapolis makes this a verifiable artifact of the American reading public in the mid-20th century

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is a later Modern Library reprint published under the 1939 copyright. As a common, mass-market reprint, it holds a low base value. The scarcity premium is reserved for the scarce Viking First Edition. This later printing status mandates a mandatory deduction from the top-tier collectible price.

The book's value is secured by its high Aesthetic Premium (the striking Modern Library design) and the Ephemera Premium. The verifiable historical markings—the "Joan Palmer Hall" bookplate and "The Old Corner Book Store" sticker—transform the item into a non-replicable historical document. This documented history overrides the inherent discount for the reprint status, justifying a significant premium price.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is a Modern Library hardcover reprint lacking a dust jacket. The volume's condition is consistent with an antique book that has been protected within a private library.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The green cloth binding is square and tight.

  • The gilt lettering and design on the spine are crisp and highly legible.

  • The distinctive Modern Library endpapers and bookplate/sticker are perfectly preserved.

• Imperfections:

  • The spine shows minor shelf wear and slight darkening to the green cloth.

  • The fore-edges of the text block are lightly age-toned.

  • The handwritten markings on the front free endpaper are noted.

  • The absence of the original dust jacket triggers a significant deduction.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The novel was so controversial upon its release that it was banned and burned in the city of St. Louis, Missouri.

• Steinbeck wrote the book in a period of intense focus, completing it in just five months in his California home.

• The Modern Library edition was owned by Random House, whose publishers, Bennett A. Cerf, Donald S. Klopfer, and Robert K. Haas, are listed on the title verso.

• The presence of the sticker from The Old Corner Book Store connects the book to one of the oldest and most famous independent bookstores in the United States, founded in Boston in 1828.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: The Grapes Of Wrath

• Author: John Steinbeck

• Year of Publication: 1939 (Copyright Date)

• Publisher: The Modern Library, New York (Published by Random House)

• Place of Origin: Manufactured in the United States of America

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Green Cloth Boards

• Edition: Modern Library Reprint

• Rarity: Common Edition, Unique Historical Ephemera

• Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking:

  • Bookplate: “Joan Palmer Hall, 635 Park Avenue, Indianapolis, Ind. 40220”.

  • Sticker: “The Old Corner Book Store, Inc. Boston, Mass. 114.”.

  • Handwritten Markings: “$7.00”, “#350”, “’98”.