Pub Year

Title

Author

Publisher

Original Price

Pages

- 1942 +

Dragon's Teeth

Sinclair, Upton

Viking

$3.00

631

The first printing states "FIRST PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 1942" on the copyright page. There should be no other printing statements. Boards are red cloth with silver lettering and publisher's logo on the front. The first printing of Dragon's Teeth was probably less than 10,000. We base this on a printing statement from A World to Win where it says that by 1946, the total amount printed of Dragon's Teeth including later printings and book club editions was 49,174.

There is also a self-published advance copy. The book itself looks similar to the Viking first printing, but it lacks the Viking logo on the front board, and the title page states "Published by the Author, New York City and Pasadena, California". The advance edition dust jacket lacks the Viking logo on the spine, and states that it is published by the author on the back panel. The advance edition dust jacket also lacks a price on the front flap (see photos).

Dragon's Teeth book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.



To find the market value for this book, click on the pre-filled eBay, AbeBooks, or Biblio links to the right and look for comparable listings that have all of these first edition points.



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Picture of the 1942 first edition dust jacket for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the 1942 first edition dust jacket for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the first edition copyright page for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the first edition copyright page for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of dust jacket where original $3.00 price is found for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of dust jacket where original $3.00 price is found for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the first edition Viking boards for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the first edition Viking boards for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the back dust jacket flap for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the back dust jacket flap for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the title page for Dragon's Teeth.

Picture of the title page for Dragon's Teeth.

Back, spine, and front of dust jacket.  Thank you James Cahill/Rare Books, Inc.

Back, spine, and front of dust jacket. Thank you James Cahill/Rare Books, Inc.

Back, spine, and front of the advance edition dust jacket. (Thank you PBA Galleries).

Back, spine, and front of the advance edition dust jacket. (Thank you PBA Galleries). Notice that the jacket is nearly identical to the first edition, but it lacks the Viking Logo on the spine, and it says "PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR" on the bottom of the back panel.

This is the top of the front flap from the advance edition dust jacket.  It lacks the

This is the top of the front flap from the advance edition dust jacket. It lacks the $3.00 price. Otherwise, the front and back flaps are identical to the first edition flaps. (Thanks PBA Galleries)

On the left is the first edition.  On the right is the advance edition, which was self

On the left is the first edition. On the right is the advance edition, which was self published. The advance copy looks like the first edition but it does not have the Viking logo.

The advance copy states that it was published by the Author.

The advance copy states that it was published by the Author.

This is a pre-order slip for Dragon's Teeth.  Thanks again to PBA Galleries

This is a pre-order slip for Dragon's Teeth. Thanks again to PBA Galleries.

This is a gift copy of Dragon's Teeth that the author distributed to friends and

This is a gift copy of Dragon's Teeth that the author distributed to friends and acquaintances. The binding is paperback with the dust jacket (including flaps) as the wrapper. Notice the statement on the top that says GIFT COPY - NOT FOR SALE.

This the back wrapper from the gift copy of Dragon's Teeth.

This the back wrapper from the gift copy of Dragon's Teeth.

Autograph: Signature of Upton Sinclair.

Autograph: Signature of Upton Sinclair.


Guest
September 22, 2009, 12:50 pm
The self published advance edition did indeed have a dust jacket, it too lacked the Viking imprint from the spine as well as at the foot of the rear panel. A copy is scheduled to be offered at PBA Galleries on 10/22/09
Joseph
October 5, 2009, 10:54 pm
I have seen an advanced copy that does have a dj. The dj is the same as the regular printing except the colophon is missing from the spine of the dj and "PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR/NEW YORK CITY AND PASADENA, CALIFORNIA" is on the back of the dj instead of "THE VIKING PRESS - Publishers - NEW YORK CITY" There is no price on the front flap, but the back flap has the $3.00 price. The book also had a pre-order slip tucked inside. Attached are the pictures I took.
Tom
January 11, 2010, 10:35 pm
A belated thank you for this information. I just discover a bunch of posts that were never approved for posting, so I missed seeing this until now. These are great pics and I will get them up ASAP.
Josh
August 14, 2011, 2:26 am
In later editions the publishers omitted a passage from Chapter 5 - Part II "From the Vast Deep" - (page 94 in the 1944 edition). This passage was apparently only printed in the original edition, and I would be grateful to know the content of the text, missing over what appears to be a paragraph or two of about 20 lines.
Tom
August 16, 2011, 1:55 pm
HI Josh,
There are five paragraphs in Part II. Here are the beginnings of each:
- Nina was her usual kind and lovely self - The families had planned a match for these two - There had been dancing in Marceline's home ever since - No Wonder Marceline could dance rings all around a lad - Lanny would see them sitting apart from the others Which one is missing on your copy?


Disclaimer: This website is intended to help guide you and give you insight into what to look for when identifying first editions. The information is compiled from the experience of reputable collectors and dealers in the industry. Gathering and updating information about these books is more an art than a science, and new points of issue are sometimes discovered that may contradict currently accepted identification points. This means that the information presented here may not always be 100% accurate. If you spot a mistake, drop us an e-mail and we will do our best to investigate and correct it.
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