Cannery Row

New York: The Viking Press, 1945 First edition, first printing; first issue binding, with light-buff (tan) cloth. Publisher's tan cloth, lettered in dark blue; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Arthur Hawkins, Jr., with an illustration of Cannery Row to the front panel, lettered in yellow. About fine book, with very light toning to spine, some darkening along front joint, and a hint of rubbing to spine ends; very good unclipped dust jacket, with some wear to spine ends including a small closed tear to top of rear spine edge, light toning to spine, some edgewear to panels, and a small split to top of rear flap fold. Overall, a sturdy copy, very clean internally. Cannery Row is a Depression-era novel set in Monterey, California. The story takes place on a grungy street with "the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots, junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses." The plot features an unlikely cast of characters, including a marine biologist, a grocer, a restaurateur, and a group of local vagabonds. Much of the inspiration for this novel and its 1954 sequel Sweet Thursday were drawn from the author's own life; Steinbeck was born in Monterey County, grew up knowing fishermen and other laborers, and was close friends with a marine biologist, Ed Ricketts, who worked on the real Cannery Row and served as the inspiration for the character Doc. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.