LITERATURE 42 Colorfully Inscribed By Ray Bradbury With A Sketch Of A Dandelion 47BRADBURY, Ray. Dandelion Wine. Garden City, 1957. Octavo, original yellow cloth, dust jacket, custom box. $4900 First edition of Bradbury’s semi-autobiographical novel, boldly inscribed by him using several colors of pencil: “For Matthew Stiller!?!!! This dandelion! [sketch] With good wishes! from Ray Bradbury, Oct. 4, ‘92.” “Dandelion Wine is one of Bradbury’s autobiographical fantasies, a novel that fully embodies Bradbury’s love for creating eccentric characters and exploring their lives. The novel is more autobiographical than fantasy... with the majority of events being daily moments of life in the Midwest in the late 1920s… Considered one of Bradbury’s strongest works, the novel has received a good deal of acclaim and critical attention” (Reid, 63). “Much of Bradbury’s work, whether in fantasy, science fiction, realistic fiction or even horror is infused with a pastoral nostalgia, and nowhere is this trait more pronounced than in Dandelion Wine” (Barron, Fantasy and Horror 7-45). Book and dust jacket near-fine. An excellent inscribed copy. “They Asked Me… If My Blackness, Would It Rub Off? I Said, Ask Your Mama” 48HUGHES, Langston. Ask Your Mama. 12 Moods for Jazz. New York, 1961. Oblong octavo, half white cloth, dust jacket, with stapled mimeographed 8-leaf typescript. $3800 First edition of Hughes’ epic poem, hailed as a milestone in its celebration of African American blues, jazz and the tradition of the “dozens,” together with a mimeographed typescript (presumably for performance) with occasional variations in musical cues from the book. Hughes had been reading his poetry with jazz musicians for decades before creating this innovative volume of jazz poetry, dedicated to Louis Armstrong. In this landmark work he “fused jazz and other black music with the form called the ‘dozens’, a ritual of genial insult rooted in African American culture. Each of the 12 sections of the poem is attended by musical cues that are integral to its poetic meaning.” Arna Bontemps early wrote Hughes with praise, declaring Ask Your Mama “a milestone in your writing career” (Selected Letters, 370n). The accompanying mimeographed typescript, presumably intended for performance, includes occasional variations in the musical cues for the poetry. These typescripts are quite uncommon, with only six noted in institutional holdings, including one held with Hughes’ papers at Yale. Fine condition.
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