Zane Grey – First Edition Books Identification Guide

Pearl Zane Grey (1872 – 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier. Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) was his best-selling book.

Zane Grey was a major force in shaping the myths of the Old West; his books and stories were adapted into other media, such as film and TV productions. He was the author of more than 90 books, some published posthumously or based on serials originally published in magazines. His total book sales exceed 40 million.

Zane Grey wrote not only Westerns, but two hunting books, six children’s books, three baseball books, and eight fishing books. Many of them became bestsellers. It is estimated that he wrote more than nine million words in his career. From 1917 to 1926, Grey was in the top ten best-seller list nine times, which required sales of more than 100,000 copies each time. Even after his death, Harper had a stockpile of his manuscripts and continued to publish a new title each year until 1963. During the 1940s and afterward, as Grey’s books were reprinted as paperbacks, his sales exploded.

Grey co-founded the “Porpoise Club” with his friend, Robert H. Davis of Munsey’s Magazine, to popularize the sport of hunting of dolphins and porpoises. They made their first catch off Seabright, New Jersey, on September 21, 1912, where they harpooned and reeled in a bottlenose dolphin.

Grey also helped establish deep-sea sport fishing in New South Wales, Australia, particularly in Bermagui, which is famous for marlin fishing. Patron of the Bermagui Sport Fishing Association for 1936 and 1937, Grey set a number of world records, and wrote of his experiences in his book An American Angler in Australia.

In addition to the success of his printed works, his books have second lives and continuing influence adapted for films and television. Grey started his association with Hollywood when William Fox bought the rights to Riders of the Purple Sage for $2,500 in 1916. The ascending arc of Grey’s career matched that of the motion picture industry. It eagerly adapted Western stories to the screen practically from its inception, with Bronco Billy Anderson becoming the first major western star. Legendary director John Ford was then a young stage hand and Tom Mix, who had been a real cowhand, was defining the persona of the film cowboy. The Grey family moved to California to be closer to the film industry and to enable Grey to fish in the Pacific.

After his first two books were adapted to the screen, Grey formed his own motion picture company. This enabled him to control production values and faithfulness to his books. After seven films he sold his company to Jesse Lasky who was a partner of the founder of Paramount Pictures. Paramount made a number of movies based on Grey’s writings and hired him as advisor. Many of his films were shot at locations described in his books.

Many famous actors got their start in films based on Zane Grey books. They included Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, William Powell, Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen, Buster Crabbe, Shirley Temple, and Fay Wray. Victor Fleming, later director of Gone with the Wind, and Henry Hathaway, who later directed True Grit, both learned their craft on Grey films.

His novels and short stories were adapted into 112 films, two television episodes, and a television series, Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre. Grey became one of the first millionaire authors.

Zane Grey died of heart failure on October 23, 1939, aged 67 at his home in Altadena, California.

Zane Grey- First Editions Identification Guide

Please refer to the Dust Jacket section for First Edition Dust Jackets Identification Guide.

Zane Grey- First Printing Dust Jackets Identification Guide 1903-1919

Gallery of First state Dust Jackets of ‘s works. Only includes the first appearance in book form.

Zane Grey- First Printing Dust Jackets Identification Guide 1920-1929

Zane Grey- First Printing Dust Jackets Identification Guide 1930-1939

Zane Grey- First Printing Dust Jackets Identification Guide 1940-1949

Zane Grey- First Printing Dust Jackets Identification Guide 1950-1963

Reference:

• Wikipedia
• Edward Meyers – A Bibliographical Check List of the Writings of Zane Grey, 1986