Literary Firsts and Other Notable Editions from Whitmore Rare Books

If there is any book that sums up the Great Depression, surely it is this one: The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck writes about the plight of the Joad family, Oklahoma farmers, “Okies” forced from their land during the Dust Bowl. So, they loaded up the truck and moved to... not Beverly, but to the farmland of California. They suffer through the abuses and indignities endured by the migrants of that terrible time, though the book does leave us with a glimmer of hope for the future. Steinbeck's novel was quite controversial at the time, at times banned by those who were doing well, but appreciated by the poor who could well understand what the Joad family had to endure. Item 49. $2,950.

Here is another horror story from the Midwest, worse still than that of the Joads: In Cold Blood. In 1959, two ex-convicts, following up on a story they had heard that a prosperous Kansas farmer kept a substantial amount of cash in his rural home, crossed the state to commit robbery. Their plan was to seize the cash, leave no witnesses, and escape to Mexico. As it turned out, he kept no cash at home, and the criminals did not make it to Mexico. They did, however, leave no witnesses. They murdered the farmer, his wife, and two teenage children. Truman Capote heard about the crime and determined to write about it. He traveled to Kansas and conducted detailed research, interviewing both the residents of the area, and later the killers. Capote's account of the crime is generally regarded as one of the greatest true crime tales ever written. Item 9. $950.

Whitmore Rare Books may be reached at 626-297-7700 or info@whitmorerarebooks.com. Their website is www.WhitmoreRareBooks.com.