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Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
Hansberry, Lorraine (1930-1965) A Raisin in the Sun, inscribed first edition.
New York: Random House, 1959.
First edition, first printing, octavo; inscribed by Hansberry in blue ink on the half-title, "Best wishes to the Gellendrés" and dated August 26, 1959, alongside the added note, "We had ½ of 1% in the production," likely written by Herbert Gellendré; illustrated with three black-and-white photographs; bound in cloth-backed boards with a photo of Sidney Poitier mounted to front, stamped in black and gilt, yellow topstain; in the original publisher's pictorial jacket, unclipped and with "6/59" on the front flap (jacket lightly soiled, stain to lower panel, with minor edgewear, verso toned; two small red pen marks to margins); 8 x 5 3/8 in.
Hansberry's first play, a powerful portrayal of a family in pursuit of a dream deferred, made its Broadway debut in the spring of 1959. Not only is it the first play written by a Black woman to be performed on Broadway, but the cast featuring Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee was the first to include almost exclusively Black actors. Despite the controversy surrounding the subject matter and cast in 1950s America, the play's opening night ended with Hansberry being pulled on stage by Poitier, where she received an extended standing ovation. Raisin in the Sun was met with high critical acclaim and went on to run for more than 500 performances at New York's legendary Ethel Barrymore Theater. Inscribed presentation copies such as this are extraordinarily rare, due to Hansberry's early death from pancreatic cancer only six years after the first book edition was published.
Herbert Gellendré (1901?-1978), originally born in London, was a prominent member of the New York City theater scene. In addition to being an actor, director, and producer, he also taught drama at various institutions such as the Neighborhood Playhouse, the American Theater Wing and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He was one of the founders of the Repertory Playhouse in Vermont, through which he was able to form a repertory for Black actors in Manhattan beginning in 1932.
