Signed Always the Young Strangers by Carl Sandburg For Sale

[SIGNED / HISTORIC PROVENANCE] Always the Young Strangers by Carl Sandburg (First Edition with Dust Jacket, 1953)
SPECIFICATIONS; IDENTIFICATION:
• Author: Carl Sandburg
• Title: Always the Young Strangers
• Publisher: Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York
• Year: 1953
• Edition: True First Edition, First Printing (Verified by single "1952, 1953" copyright line and no subsequent printing statements).
• Binding: Hardcover octavo in publisher's original green cloth.
• Dust Jacket: Includes the original, unclipped first-issue pictorial dust jacket ($5.00 price intact on front flap).
IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION INSCRIPTION:
Flat-signed and personalized by Carl Sandburg in bold black fountain pen ink on the half-title page to a prominent mid-century cultural figure. The inscription reads:
"Ben Josephson / with salutations to you / on the bright program / of events Nov 21 1953 / & thoughtfulness then / which to me is beyond / any forgetting = / Carl Sandburg"
HISTORICAL PROVENANCE:
This copy boasts stellar literary history. The recipient, Ben Josephson, was the long-time General Manager of Camp Tamiment in Pennsylvania—a legendary cultural hub for American labor history, political discourse, and the arts. This volume was inscribed and gifted by Sandburg on November 21, 1953, at the annual Tamiment Institute Book Award luncheon, where Sandburg was presented with the Tamiment Book Award for this exact autobiography.CONDITION; TRANSPARENCY DISCLAIMERPlease read carefully before purchasing. This copy features world-class provenance and a rare award-day presentation inscription, but exhibits notable physical wear to the underlying hardcover binding:
• The Inscription; Interior: Good. The interior pages are crisp, and firmly bound. Some light water stains at the bottoms of some pages. Most importantly, Carl Sandburg's hand-written presentation inscription and signature are perfectly preserved, dark, sharp, and entirely unaffected by any exterior wear.
• The Dust Jacket: Good. The original jacket is unclipped and vibrant. It shows typical age-toning, edge creasing, and minor fractional chipping at the spine tips, but presents remarkably well.
• The Hardcover Binding Flaws: Fair to Good. The underlying green cloth spine exhibits severe fraying and cloth loss at both the head (top) and tail (bottom), completely exposing the cardboard structural backing underneath.
• The Page Edges: Fair. Shows historic moisture exposure to the outer block edges, causing the green cloth dye to bleed slightly onto the bottom text edge, alongside minor spotting on the top stained edge. This did not penetrate into the text block or touch the interior signature.