Sundown by Mathews, John Joseph - 1934

NY: Longmans, 1934. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 8vo. 312pp. First edition. Dated, inscribed, and signed by Mathews on the front free end paper. Rust-colored cloth boards with black titles. Boards show some shelfwear. Sunning to spine panel. Bumping to top corner of textblock. Musty odor. Small abrasion to the cloth near the bottom corner of the rear board. Lacking the jacket. Though Mathews' script is somewhat difficult to parse, the inscription seems to read: 'Tulsa, April 30, 1937 For the "Little Girl at Smith," and in memory of the night at Walter Ferguson's AND in memory." Walter Ferguson was an Oklahoma politician/banker who, along with his strong wife Lucia, fought for a number of progressive issues, including women's suffrage. The Fergusons moved to Tulsa in 1928, where Walter died in 1936, which would explain the "AND in memory" at the end of the inscription. Mathews must have met the book's owner at a prior event or party at the Fergusons' home. An interesting copy of Mathews' autobiographical novel, one of the touchstones of 20th century Native American literature.