A Raisin In the Sun.

HANSBERRY, Lorraine .

Item Number: 101995

New York: Random House, 1959.

Early printing of this groundbreaking play, the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Warm Regards, Lorraine Hansberry University Hospital May 4, 1964.” Early in April 1963, Hansberry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was in and out of University Hospital in New York until she passed away on January 12, 1965 at the age of 34. Near fine in a near fine jacket. Jacket design by Stan Phillips and Mel Williamson. Rare and desirable signed.

The first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway, this groundbreaking play starred Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands in the Broadway production which opened in 1959. Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased husband's insurance money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans, however: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama. Winner of the Drama Critic's Award as Best Play of the Year, it has been hailed as a "pivotal play in the history of the American Black theatre" by Newsweek and "a milestone in the American Theatre."