Signed 1981 first edition of Sandra Lieb’s Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey — cornerstone of blues and African American music scholarship.

First edition hardcover of Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey by Sandra Lieb, published by the University of Massachusetts Press (1981). Signed and inscribed by the author in 1982 to Chicago jazz historian Dick Wang.

This landmark study traces Ma Rainey’s life, performance legacy, and cultural influence as one of the earliest recorded blues artists. Includes analysis of her lyrics, themes of gender and independence, and her pivotal role in the development of early 20th-century African American music.

Includes bibliography, discography, and index. Dust jacket protected in mylar. A scarce signed first edition of one of the most significant works on blues history.