Inscribed to Capote's Collaborator with a Lyric from their Iconic Song
A Tree of Night.
New York: Random House, [1949].
Price: $8,500.00
About the item
Stated first printing. viii, 209, [1] pp. 1 vols. 8vo. Publisher's black cloth; lightly bumped to top and bottom of spine, cloth slightly dulled, else Fine. Inscribed to ffep. With loosely inserted newspaper clipping. In custom clamshell box.
Item #376363
A copy of Capote's short story collection inscribed to his collaborator, friend, surrogate father and mentor, Harold Arlen. The inscription reads, "Ah, Harold- I have found a Love True Sweet Golden as a Crown Truman Feb. 1954." It borrows from the lyrics of a song the two created together, Sleepin' Bee, introduced in their musical House of Flowers which began playing in December of the same year as this inscription.
Sleepin' Bee would become a standard of the American songbook, inspiring renditions by Julie Andrews, Ernestine Anderson, Tony Bennett, and Bill Evans. Barbara Streisand called it her favorite song, recorded it several times, and performed it in her national television debut in 1961 on the "Jack Paar Show"
