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Walt Whitman ALS Re: 1876 Author's Edition of "Leaves of Grass" & "Two Rivulets"
Walt Whitman ALS Re: 1876 Author's Edition of "Leaves of Grass" & "Two Rivulets"
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Description:

Walt Whitman ALS Re: 1876 Author's Edition of "Leaves of Grass" & "Two Rivulets"

A postcard entirely engrossed by American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892), and signed by him by his initials "W.W." verso. Written in Camden, New Jersey on September 5, [1876]. With a cancelled pre-printed 1-cent U.S. stamp and no fewer than four hand-stamped philatelic markings. Expected overall toning, weathering, and some grubbiness. Isolated corner folds and possibly professionally repaired corners. Scattered minor loss, most notably along the top edge of the address section, not affecting any text. The postcard measures 5.125" x 3." Also accompanied by a black and white photograph portrait of Whitman after George C. Cox, © 1887, measuring 9.375" x 10.5."

This exact letter can be found and cross-referenced in two authoritative texts compiling Walt Whitman's known correspondence. It is listed as Letter #763 in editor Edwin Haviland Miller's "The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman, Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, Volume III, 1876-1885" (New York: New York University Press, 1964), p. 57; and also included in the digital archive, The Walt Whitman Archive, Life & Letters, Correspondence, as Whitman Archive ID: med.00447. Both editorial sources provide us with invaluable historical context for understanding this September 5, 1876 letter.

Whitman addressed this letter to Moncure D. Conway (1832-1907), an American minister and writer who had lived abroad since 1863. Conway served as leader of the South Place Ethical Society (now the Conway Hall Ethical Society) in London, England between 1864 and 1886. An abolitionist and advocate for women's suffrage, Conway was a fellow radical sympathetic to Whitman's cause (more on this below.)

Whitman wrote in full:

[recto]

"Camden - New Jersey - US America

Sept 5 - I send to-day, same address as this card, my Two Volumes. Please notify me by postal card soon as they reach you safely. Mrs Taylor's and Mr Ireland's sets have also been sent

WW

{Condition with me much the same}.

[verso]

M D Conway / 2 Pembroke Gardens / Kensington / London England."

The two-volume set Whitman had shipped to England included both "Leaves of Grass" and "Two Rivulets." Twenty years after "Leave of Grass" was first issued, to scandalized outrage, it was being published for the sixth time (1855, 1856, 1860, 1867, 1871-1872, 1876). The sale of Whitman's works by subscribing well-wishers was a godsend to the financially strapped poet. This income was the direct result of a very controversial and very public literary debate raging in the American, Canadian, and British press at the time. At question was Walt Whitman's merit as a poet, and whether or not he was appreciated, and by whom.

In January 1876, Whitman had published an unsigned letter called "Walt Whitman's Actual American Position" in the "West Jersey Press," alleging that he had been abandoned by American readers, publishers, and a society wholly unprepared to accept his revolutionary prose and poetry. Whitman had suffered a debilitating stroke in 1873, and he characterized himself elsewhere as "old, poor, and paralyzed." Sympathy for Whitman ran high abroad, especially among the less prudish readers of the United Kingdom. In March 1876, Scottish poet Robert Buchanan (1841-1901) took up Whitman's cause in the "London Daily News," arguing that Whitman's mistreatment was shameful but also unsurprisingly consistent with the American character. Buchanan urged British men and women of letters to subscribe to a fund to support Whitman through the purchase of a new 1876 limited edition author's edition of his works.

Copies of Whitman's complete works, in two-volume autographed sets, could be purchased for $10. The first volume of the 1876 author's edition contained "Leaves of Grass," and the other volume included a new collection called "Two Rivulets." As Whitman explained in a May 16, 1876 letter to his champion, Robert Buchanan: "I shall (I see now) continue to be my own publisher & bookseller. Accept all subscriptions to the New Edition. All will be supplied upon remittance. There are Two Volumes. Leaves of Grass, 384 pages, poems, $5, has two portraits. Then "Two Rivulets," poems & prose, (including 'Memoranda of the War') with photos, altogether 359 pages--also $5…I wish the particular address of each generous friend given, so as he or she can be reach'd by mail or express…" The Alexander Ireland and Clementia Taylor referred to in our letter were two of Whitman's "generous friends."

Alexander Ireland (1810-1894) was a Scottish author, newspaper editor, and publisher. He wrote a biography of his personal friend, the American Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, and also helped establish the Manchester Free Library.

Clementia "Mentia" Taylor (1810-1908) was a British intellectual and activist. She and her husband hosted literary salons in addition to meetings of the "Pen and Pencil Club," gatherings of aspiring young artists and writers. Taylor, like Conway, was an ardent abolitionist and women's rights advocate.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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