COTTONMOUTH
Book Details + Condition: Charles Scribner's Sons (New York). First Edition with the Scriber's "A", 1941. Scarce inscribed and signed copy (on the front endpaper). By Julian Lee Rayford. 400 pages, with woodcuts. COTTONMOUTH is a somewhat autobiographical story of a boy growing up in Mobile, Alabama between World War I - World War II. Julian Lee Rayford (1908-1980), known to his friends as "Judy," was a novelist and poet and also wrote non-fiction works on folklore. In addition, he produced many sculptures, some of which can be seen in his native city of Mobile. Rayford also had a wide reputation as a storyteller and is credited with reviving the story ofJoe Cain's role in reestablishing Mobile's Mardi Gras celebration after the Civil War. COTTONMOUTH was published in March 1941, the same month he was inducted into the U.S. Army. He was discharged from the service the following December, however, when it was found that he suffered from narcolepsy. Rayford then found work making recruiting posters and later worked for Kaiser Shipbuilding Company in Vancouver, Canada, where he painted camouflage on warships. He returned to Mobile after the war and resided there for the rest of his life. Tight binding; rubbed corners and edges; light shelf wear to boards; toned endpapers; text is clean and unmarked save author's inscription.
