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Lot 24

A PRINTER'S PAGE FROM SAINT KATY THE VIRGIN, SIGNED EXCESSIVELY BY JOHN STEINBECK.
STEINBECK, JOHN. 1902-1968.
Single printer's sheet, pages 13-[28] of Steinbeck's short story "Saint Katy the Virgin," folded but not trimmed, featuring multiple examples of Steinbeck's signature and scribbles as well as a signature of Carol Steinbeck,

25 October 2023, 14:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$2,304 inc. premium

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A PRINTER'S PAGE FROM SAINT KATY THE VIRGIN, SIGNED EXCESSIVELY BY JOHN STEINBECK.

STEINBECK, JOHN. 1902-1968. Single printer's sheet, pages 13-[28] of Steinbeck's short story "Saint Katy the Virgin," folded but not trimmed, featuring multiple examples of Steinbeck's signature and scribbles as well as a signature of Carol Steinbeck, matted and housed in double-sided frame. Dampstaining to lower half of pp 14, 28, 26 and 15, spotting and toning to 14/19 and at extremities.
Provenance: gift of John Steinbeck to David Heyler; by descent.

This seems to be a relic of the fine press process, likely part of the "incunabula" (March 13, 1953) or "bunch of junk" (November 19, 1956) that Steinbeck mentions sending to Joan and David Heyler in his correspondence. The full page is a single sheet, the second half of the signature for Saint Katy the Virgin, but with a large dampstain at the lower margin affecting half the pages, rendering it unusable. Instead, Steinbeck seems to have used the page as a blotter, working the kinks out of his nibbed pen and perfecting the signature he intends to leave in each of the 199 copies of the work.

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