27 Wagons Full of Cotton

Tennessee Williams's explosive theatrical debut - raw, violent, and unmistakably Southern. This 1945 New Directions hardcover collects early one-acts that established Williams's voice before "Glass Menagerie" made him famous. The title play's brutal exploration of sexual power and economic desperation introduced themes Williams would develop across his career: the predatory male, the vulnerable woman, the Southern landscape as both Eden and hell.

These plays - many set in Mississippi Delta cotton country - crackle with violence barely contained by social niceties. "The Last of My Solid Gold Watches" explores generational conflict and changing commerce, while "The Purification" experiments with poetic form and New Mexican settings. New Directions' decision to publish these apprentice works in 1945 hardcover signaled their faith in Williams as a major literary voice, not merely a playwright.

The book's rarity stems from its small print run before Williams achieved household-name status. For Williams scholars, this collection is foundational - here are the obsessions and techniques in formation, before fame required compromise. For collectors of modern American drama, it represents ground zero for the playwright who would define postwar American theatre, capturing the raw materials before they were refined into masterworks.