Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Williams, Tennessee - 1955

New York: New Directions, 1955 First edition, first issue. Publisher's light brown-orange cloth, lettered in black to spine, book designed by Stefan Salter; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Alvin Lustig. About fine with a touch of fading to the upper spine, and a crease and tiny closed tear to fore edges of pp. 17-21; in a very good price-clipped jacket with light fading to spine, light edgewear, a chip to top of front panel, and a few shallow chips to top of rear panel. Overall, an attractive copy in a bright dust jacket. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was first produced on Broadway under the direction of Elia Kazan. The play focuses on the Pollitt family as they gather on their cotton plantation on the Mississippi Delta to celebrate the birthday of patriarch "Big Daddy." The plot explores the complicated structure of Southern social etiquette as the tragically flawed characters struggle to reconcile their issues with themselves and one another. This 1955 first edition includes two different versions of Act Three- the original rendition imagined by Williams and a "Broadway Version" that included Kazan's plot changes. When Williams first showed Kazan Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the script was unfinished, as opposed to earlier collaborations between the two in which the script was completed prior to production development. Williams included both versions in this edition so that the "Reader can, if he wishes, make up his own mind about it." Tennessee Williams is part of the Southern Renaissance of the early 20th century that saw the revival of American Southern literature and art.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included.