Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn [printed by Rome Brothers]. 1855.
Title
Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn [printed by Rome Brothers]. 1855.
Subject
Walt Whitman
Description
Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn [printed by Rome Brothers]. 1855.
First edition, first issue. Original blind-stamped green cloth, title in rustic letters, also triple line border, gilt on front and and back covers. Gold ornaments and lettering on back strip. Marbled end papers. Frontispiece engraved portrait of Whitman by Hollyer. Author’s name on verso of title page (in copyright notice) and on page 29. This edition contains twelve untitled poems.
Whitman’s life-long labor began here in this slim, yet impressive volume of verse, destined to grow steadily in length and influence in succeeding years. Initially greeted in some quarters with an air of alarm due to its robust, personal theme and language, Leaves of Grass managed to find appreciative readers in the right quarters (viz. Ralph Waldo Emerson), and today there remains no question that between these gilt plated covers speaks the authentic American voice.
This copy is of special interest because pasted in at the front are three press notices in galley form, representing articles from Putnam’s Monthly, The United States Review, and The American Phrenological Journal. Also present is the broadside printing of Emerson’s famous letter to Whitman, reading in part, “I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” These four pieces of ephemera have been glued to the front endpapers. All four pieces were prepared for publicity purposes by Whitman and it is at least possible that this material may have been placed here by the author himself. Of these ephemeral pieces, the Emerson broadside is best known. Whitman was elated on receiving the now-famous letter from Emerson, as well he might have been, and immediately used it for promotional purposes, taking care only to head this broadside issue, “Copy for the convenience of private reading only.”
While Emerson’s enthusiasm may have carried him away in writing the letter, time has justified both the enthusiasm and the prediction. Copies of the broadside are exceedingly rare. The press notices are unusual in one important respect: the two reprinted from The American Phrenological Journal and The United States Review were written by Whitman himself, a fact well substantiated by the contents. They are set differently from their printings in the third issue of Leaves of Grass, the second edition of 1856, and the Leaves of Grass Imprints (1860), and so must be presumed first separate printings rather than galley forms of any of their later appearances. It may be safely said that in Leaves of Grass modern poetry was born.
First edition, first issue. Original blind-stamped green cloth, title in rustic letters, also triple line border, gilt on front and and back covers. Gold ornaments and lettering on back strip. Marbled end papers. Frontispiece engraved portrait of Whitman by Hollyer. Author’s name on verso of title page (in copyright notice) and on page 29. This edition contains twelve untitled poems.
Whitman’s life-long labor began here in this slim, yet impressive volume of verse, destined to grow steadily in length and influence in succeeding years. Initially greeted in some quarters with an air of alarm due to its robust, personal theme and language, Leaves of Grass managed to find appreciative readers in the right quarters (viz. Ralph Waldo Emerson), and today there remains no question that between these gilt plated covers speaks the authentic American voice.
This copy is of special interest because pasted in at the front are three press notices in galley form, representing articles from Putnam’s Monthly, The United States Review, and The American Phrenological Journal. Also present is the broadside printing of Emerson’s famous letter to Whitman, reading in part, “I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” These four pieces of ephemera have been glued to the front endpapers. All four pieces were prepared for publicity purposes by Whitman and it is at least possible that this material may have been placed here by the author himself. Of these ephemeral pieces, the Emerson broadside is best known. Whitman was elated on receiving the now-famous letter from Emerson, as well he might have been, and immediately used it for promotional purposes, taking care only to head this broadside issue, “Copy for the convenience of private reading only.”
While Emerson’s enthusiasm may have carried him away in writing the letter, time has justified both the enthusiasm and the prediction. Copies of the broadside are exceedingly rare. The press notices are unusual in one important respect: the two reprinted from The American Phrenological Journal and The United States Review were written by Whitman himself, a fact well substantiated by the contents. They are set differently from their printings in the third issue of Leaves of Grass, the second edition of 1856, and the Leaves of Grass Imprints (1860), and so must be presumed first separate printings rather than galley forms of any of their later appearances. It may be safely said that in Leaves of Grass modern poetry was born.
Publisher
Please cite DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University as the source of this file. A high-resolution version of this file may be obtained for a fee. For details, see the https://www.smu.edu/libraries/degolyer/research/permissions web page. For more information, contact degolyer@smu.edu.
Date
1855
Rights
Please cite DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University as the source of this file. A high-resolution version of this file may be obtained for a fee. For details, see the https://www.smu.edu/libraries/degolyer/research/permissions web page. For more information, contact degolyer@smu.edu.
Format
Book
Language
English
Type
Still Image
Files
Citation
“Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn [printed by Rome Brothers]. 1855.,” DeGolyer Library Exhibits, accessed May 5, 2024, https://degolyer.omeka.net/items/show/799.