Letter to Carl Sandburg (SIGNED BY JOHN WEIGEL AND JAKE ZEITLIN); After Reading His Autobiography "Always the Young Strangers" Published on His 75th Birthday, January 6, 1953

New York: Joseph Halle Schaffner (Mallette Dean, printer), 1968. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Number 31 of 50 numbered copies, quarto size, [44] pp. Carl August Sandburg (1878-1967), poet, writer, editor, and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes was (and still is) considered a "major figure in contemporary literature" (per Wiki). This book is a sort of "shared memory", being a lengthy letter to Sandburg in which the author, John Conrad Weigel, recounts his own boyhood memories which were apparently remarkably like Sandburg's. Mr. Weigel recounts the hard times his family went through, before social programs and when hard work and self-reliance were cherished ideals; when chickens were hatched beneath the stove, mattresses were made from corn husks, and "if underwear gave out, flour sacks filled the bill". This copy contains a photograph of Mr. Weigel at the opening of the lengthy letter and is signed by him on the half-title. Mr. Weigel gave his manuscript copy of the letter to Joseph Halle Schaffner, a collector of Sandburgiana and a friend of Sandburg's for nearly 50 years.

Mr. Schaffner asked Mallette Dean, renowned illustrator and printer, to take the MSS and print it on his behalf; a dummy copy of the nascent book being presented to Mr. Weigel at a birthday party for him on November 18, 1966. Of additional interest is that the book carries the signature of Jake Zeitlin on the flyleaf preceeding the half-title. Jacob Israel Zeitlin (1901-1987) was a rare bookseller for over 60 years, being a huge influence in southern California culture and intellectual life; he co-founded the Rounce & Coffin Club, exhibited the woodcuts of Paul Landacre and the photographs of Edward Weston, and founded the Primavera Press, which produced fine press books.

___DESCRIPTION: Quarter mustard-yellow cloth with decorated paper boards designed by Mallette Dean, printed title label affixed to backstrip, frontisportrait printed from a photo by Edward Steichen or Dana Steichen, facsimile of a manuscript letter written by the author, two additional photos by Ruth S. Shaffner and Edward Steichen; type Goudy Modern, dampened handmade F.J. Head "Tovil" paper by J. Barcham Green, with saint's head watermark, quarto size (10.5" by 7.75"), paginatino: [1-4] 5-43 [44] [1 colophon], limited edition, this number 31 of 50 copies (total edition 450), signed by John C. Weigel on the half-title, and Jake Zeitlin on the flyleaf.

___CONDITION: Overall near fine, with a strong, square text block, solid hinges, straight corners with absolutely no rubbing, the interior is clean and bright, and it is entirely free of prior owner markings; small chip to the paper at the upper fore-edge corner, else fine.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply, please inquire for details.

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