LIVE LOTS 17,750,525 HOUSES 866 UNSOLD RECORDED 4,679,484 UPDATED NIGHTLY
TheBasis.Art

1902–1968

Steinbeck, John. 1902-1968.

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268results on record
75%sell-through
$1,768median result (USD, incl. premium; 100% observed, 0% estimated from hammer)
$45,246record in our coverage

Drawn from 268 recorded results (207 sold · 61 passed) across 2 auction houses, 2009–2026. What we cover

Median sold price by year typical estimate range median result USD, incl. premium; 100% observed, 0% estimated from hammer method · log scale

$1.4K$2.7K$4.0K2012: $1.4K median, 51 sold2013: $781 median, 14 sold2014: $2.1K median, 11 sold2015: $5.0K median, 11 sold2016: $2.2K median, 29 sold2017: $739 median, 16 sold2018: $2.8K median, 13 sold2019: $2.4K median, 23 sold2020: $3.6K median, 1 sold2021: $408 median, 1 sold2022: $2.1K median, 18 sold2023: $1.5K median, 12 sold2024: $461 median, 3 sold2025: $1.2K median, 1 sold2026: $2.8K median, 2 sold201220152018202120242026

Where does a value land in this market?

$

The same figure also answers the seller's question: which house clears a work like this, and for how much — expected proceeds by house, from the sell-through the rest of this page is built on.

$1.8K$88$45K

Every sold result for this market, low to high (log scale) — the dashed line is the median. Enter a value to see where it lands.

By medium where medium is recorded or stated in the catalog line

MediumResultsSell-throughMedian result (USD)
other 229 74% $1,750

Medium is recorded for 229 of 268 results (85%) — rows above cover that subset; the rest of the record is in the full ledger below.

Compared with Hemingway, Ernest. 1899-1961. Steinbeck, John. 1902-1968. Hemingway, Ernest. 1899-1961.

$5.1K$10K$15K1999: $3.0K median2001: $940 median2012: $2.8K median2013: $1.4K median2014: $3.7K median2015: $3.9K median2016: $1.8K median2017: $4.8K median2018: $4.7K median2019: $5.1K median2020: $19K median2021: $4.1K median2022: $1.9K median2023: $2.2K median2024: $5.0K median2025: $2.2K median2026: $1.5K median2012: $1.4K median2013: $781 median2014: $2.1K median2015: $5.0K median2016: $2.2K median2017: $739 median2018: $2.8K median2019: $2.4K median2020: $3.6K median2021: $408 median2022: $2.1K median2023: $1.5K median2024: $461 median2025: $1.2K median2026: $2.8K median19992005201120172023
MetricSteinbeck, John. 1902-1968.Hemingway, Ernest. 1899-1961.
Median result$1,768$2,778
Record price $45,246 $83,050
Results on record268203
Years active at auction 2009–2026 1999–2026

Related artists: Hemingway, Ernest. 1899-1961.Faulkner, William. 1897-1962.Joyce, James. 1882-1941.Dickens, Charles. 1812-1870.

Market strength liquidity score, 0–100 · method

69/ 100
  • Sell-through75%
  • Meets estimate47%
  • Market depth268 results

How readily and near-estimate this market clears — sell-through, estimate reliability, and depth, blended into one score. "Meets estimate" is the share of sold lots hammering at or above the low estimate, over catalogs that print a real appraisal: a house whose printed low is a starting bid would meet its estimate on every lot, so those lots are excluded from this term only — their prices and outcomes still count in the other two. Method →

Where this artist sells best

HouseResultsSell-throughMedianvs. estimate
Bonhams 239 75% $1,750 0.75×
Sotheby's 29 83% $1,974 0.78×

The same artist across every house we cover — hammer-vs-estimate side by side. A dash in the estimate column can mean withheld rather than unpublished: the house publishes no hammer price, or its printed low is a starting bid rather than an appraisal. Method →

Prices realized 268 recorded lots — sold, passed, and upcoming — results in USD incl. premium; est. marks a premium estimated from the house's schedule ✓ Includes 61 passed lots

DateLotMediumvs. estimateEstimate USDResult USD, incl. premiumHouse
68 realized prices on this page are locked. A Research Pass reads 50 of them for $19, once — buy a pass
2012·10 The Short Reign of Pippin IV. New York: The Viking Press, [1957]. $2,500–$3,500 Bonhams
2012·10 Typed Manuscript with annotations in various hands, 46 pp, 4to, n.p., [1945], being the original draft of "The Pearl of the World" as published in Woman's Home Companion, $8,000–$12,000 Bonhams
2012·10 SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 3 Mimeographed Manuscripts, approx 477 pp, 4to, Beverly Hills, CA, July 31, 1953 to June 18, 1954, being 3 drafts of Saroyan's screenplay for The Wayward Bus, $1,200–$1,800 Bonhams
2012·09 FAULKNER, WILLIAM. 7 first editions. $150–$200 Bonhams
2012·08 The Winter of Our Discontent. New York: The Viking Press, 1961. $1,500–$2,500 Bonhams
2012·07 Once There Was a War. London: Heinemann, [1958]. $200–$300 Bonhams
2012·07 Cup of Gold. London: William Heinemann, [1936]. $300–$500 Bonhams
2012·07 Travels with Charley in Search of America. London: Heinemann, [1962]. $200–$300 Bonhams
2012·07 The Winter of Our Discontent. London: Heinemann, [1961]. $300–$500 Bonhams
2012·06 The Winter of Our Discontent. New York: The Viking Press, 1961. $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·06 The Grapes of Wrath. New York: The Viking Press, [1939]. $1,500–$2,500 Bonhams
2012·02 Mimeograph Manuscript, 128 pp, 4to, Los Angeles, May 16, 1951, being the final shooting script of Viva Zapata! $1,500–$2,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Mimeographed Manuscript, 85 pp, legal folio, [Los Angeles, 1949], being the cutting continuity script of The Red Pony, $800–$1,200 Bonhams
2012·02 East of Eden. New York: Viking Press, 1952. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 The Short Reign of Pippin IV. New York: Viking Press, 1957. $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·02 The Short Reign of Pippin IV. London: Heinemann, [1957]. $300–$500 Bonhams
2012·02 2 Autograph Letters Signed and 2 Typed Letters Signed, $5,000–$7,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Speech Accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature. New York: Viking, 1962. $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Die Früchte des Zornes. Zürich: Humanitas Verlag, [1940]. $1,500–$2,500 Bonhams
2012·02 The Grapes of Wrath. Toronto: Macmillan, [April, 1939]. $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·02 In Dubious Battle. London: William Heinemann, [1936]. $800–$1,200 Bonhams
2012·02 Cup of Gold. London: William Heinemann, [1936]. $500–$800 Bonhams
2012·02 Cup of Gold. New York: Robert M. McBride, 1929. $10,000–$15,000 Bonhams
2012·02 1. Welcome Reveille Chapter, No. 47. N.p.: April 15, 1909. $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 Travels with Charley. New York: The Viking Press, [1962]. $1,500–$2,000 Bonhams
2012·02 JOHNSON, NUNNALLY. Mimeographed Manuscript, 183 pp, 4to, [Los Angeles], 1940, $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 Bombs Away. The Story of a Bomber Team. New York: Viking Press, 1942. $3,000–$5,000 Bonhams
2012·02 How Edith MacGillicuddy met RLS. Cleveland: The Rowfant Club, 1943. $1,500–$2,000 Bonhams
2012·02 BUTLER, FRANK. Mimeographed Manuscript, 119 pp, 4to, [Los Angeles], June 5, 1944, being a shooting copy of A Medal for Benny, $800–$1,200 Bonhams
2012·02 Typed Manuscript with annotations in various hands, 46 pp, 4to, n.p., [1945], being the original draft of "The Pearl of the World" as published in Woman's Home Companion, $15,000–$20,000 Bonhams
2012·02 SAROYAN, WILLIAM. 3 Mimeographed Manuscripts, approx 477 pp, 4to, Beverly Hills, CA, July 31, 1953 to June 18, 1954, being 3 drafts of Saroyan's screenplay for The Wayward Bus, $2,500–$3,500 Bonhams
2012·02 The Short Reign of Pippin IV. New York: The Viking Press, [1957]. $5,000–$7,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Once There Was a War. London: Heinemann, [1958]. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 The Winter of Our Discontent. New York: Viking Press, 1961. $2,500–$3,500 Bonhams
2012·02 The Winter of Our Discontent. London: Heinemann, [1961]. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 Travels with Charley in Search of America. London: Heinemann, [1962]. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 America and The Americans. New York: The Viking Press, 1966. $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 Mimeographed Manuscript, 22 pp, 4to, [Washington, DC], 1942, being an internal government publication reviewing Steinbeck's book Bombs Away, $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 Message of the President of the United States ... concerning the outrages lately committed against the family of Mr. Dickson, an American citizen residing at Jaffa, in Palestine. Washington: May 1, 1858. $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 Typed Letter, 1 p, 4to, Salinas, April 20, 1921, to Bob, regarding recent work he's done on a ranch, $1,000–$1,500 Bonhams
2012·02 [STEINBECK, JOHN. 1902-1968.] The Stanford Lit. Volume 1, number 4 (March 1926). $600–$900 Bonhams
2012·02 The Pastures of Heaven. New York: Robert O. Ballou, 1932. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 The Pastures of Heaven. London: Philip Allan, [1933]. $600–$900 Bonhams
2012·02 The Pastures of Heaven. New York: Covivi-Friede, [1935]. $600–$800 Bonhams
2012·02 Typed Carbon with emendations, 2 pp, 4to, n.p., [c.1933], titled "Phalanx," $3,000–$5,000 Bonhams
2012·02 To a God Unknown. New York: Robert O. Ballou, [1933]. $1,000–$2,000 Bonhams
2012·02 To a God Unknown. London: William Heinemann, [1935]. $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 To a God Unknown. London: William Heinemann, [1935]. $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 Tortilla Flat. New York: Covici Friede, [1935]. $800–$1,200 Bonhams
2012·02 In Dubious Battle. London: William Heinemann, [1936]. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 The Red Pony. New York: Covici Friede, 1937. $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·02 1. Typed Letter, 1 p, 4to, Los Gatos, [stamped June 26, 1939], to Pat Covici, $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·02 The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking Press, [1939]. $10,000–$15,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Sea of Cortez. [New York: Viking, 1941.] $3,000–$5,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Sea of Cortez. A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research. New York: Viking Press, 1941. $800–$1,200 Bonhams
2012·02 Sea of Cortez. A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research. New York: Viking Press, 1941. $1,000–$1,500 Bonhams
2012·02 Sea of Cortez. A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research. New York: Viking Press, 1941. $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Sea of Cortez. A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research. New York: Viking Press, 1941. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 Sea of Cortez New York: The Viking Press, 1941. $2,000–$3,000 Bonhams
2012·02 The Forgotten Village World Premiere. New York: [1941]. $400–$600 Bonhams
2012·02 Autograph Letter, 1 p, 4to, n.p., c.1942, to his agent Mavis McIntosh, on yellow lined paper, $1,500–$2,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Mimeographed Manuscript with annotations in another hand, approx 150 pp, 4to, [Los Angeles], March 26, 1943, being the novel version of Lifeboat, $5,000–$7,000 Bonhams
2012·02 Mimeographed Manuscript, 29 pp, 4to, Culver City, December 7, 1944, $1,000–$1,500 Bonhams
2012·02 The Pearl. New York: The Viking Press, 1947. $3,000–$5,000 Bonhams
2012·02 The Wayward Bus. New York: The Viking Press, 1947. $1,500–$2,000 Bonhams
2012·02 MOFFAT, IVAN. Mimeographed Manuscript, 126 pp, 4to, [Los Angeles], August 27, 1956, $500–$700 Bonhams
2012·02 The First Watch. Los Angeles: Printed by Ward Ritchie, Christmas, 1947. $2,500–$3,500 Bonhams
2009·04 grappes d'amertume.bruxelles, les editions de kogge, s.d. $662–$794 Sotheby's

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