Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 78, no. 309, July-September, 1965 / Hillbilly Issue [Inscribed and Signed by Greenway; Typed Letter Signed Laid in with Carbon Copy Response]

[Richmond, VA]: American Folklore Society, 1965. First Edition. Octavo (25.5cm.); publisher's red pictorial card wrappers; [193]-286pp. Some shelf wear, corners slightly curled, spine darkened, else Very Good, internally fine. Contents include Archie Green's "Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol"; Norman Cohen's "The Skillet Lickers: A Study of a Hillbilly String Band and Its Repertoire"; and L. Mayne Smith's "An Introduction to Bluegrass." Inscribed and signed by Greenway on first leaf: "For Sophie -- in hope of *seducing her into a new field of interest / John Greenway / 15 August 1965 / *And if I had the opportunity of singing some hillbilly songs to her I could do it, too." Offered together with a substantial two-page typescript letter, signed by Greenway, to "Dearest Sophie" on Journal letterhead, promising that "This number [of the Journal] is a bombshell kind of thing; remember this is the first formal notice in the JOURNAL of the huge and enormously interesting (and pleasurable to the ear, much of it--I am listening at the moment to the Carter Family singing 'Maple on the Hill') field of hillbilly music." The letter goes on to mention a break up with the "Spy Lady," "over politics for Christ's sake"; and backlash he was currently facing regarding a guest editorial published in the "Boulder Daily Camera" in which he discussed, among other things, "Martin Luther King's association with the Highlander Folk School." Present also is a carbon copy of Sophie's response, promising Greenway "Now about Politics: you can't lose me over them, because I have a maddening tendency to see both sides. I can't, for instance, imagine that Johnson is unaware of how undesirable a third WW is! Also, in the past, a ruler or President might have been tempted into war because it would strengthen his position. But Johnson's position, his mandate, can't be stronger. He's got everything, in peace.