“The Olden Time,” in The New-York Mirror, Vol. XII, No. 22 (Nov. 29, 1834), pp. 169-176.
Title
“The Olden Time,” in The New-York Mirror, Vol. XII, No. 22 (Nov. 29, 1834), pp. 169-176.
Subject
Walt Whitman
Description
“The Olden Time,” in The New-York Mirror, Vol. XII, No. 22 (Nov. 29, 1834), pp. 169-176.
The Journalism volumes in the Collected Writings of Walt Whitman recognize a short three-paragraph article, “The Olden Time,” in the November 29, 1834, issue of the New-York Mirror as Whitman’s first published work. Signed “W.,” it appears in the “Original Communications” section of the paper and was published when Whitman was only fifteen years old.
Shown are two copies of this very rare seven page newspaper. One copy is apparently a former subscription issue that was previously folded by the publisher and mailed/delivered to a subscriber who later had his loose issues bound. This issue of the Mirror contains the first published work of Walt Whitman.
In Specimen Days (1882), Whitman reminisced about his early journalism career and the delight he experienced upon seeing his first published articles in print:
[W]hen I was but a boy of eleven or twelve . . . I had a piece or two in George P. Morris’s then celebrated and fashionable ‘Mirror’ of New York city. I remember with what half-suppress’d excitement I used to watch for the big, fat, red-faced, slow-moving, very old English carrier who distributed the ‘Mirror’ in Brooklyn; and when I got one, opening and cutting the leaves with trembling fingers. How it made my heart double-beat to see my piece on the pretty white paper, in nice type.
The Journalism volumes in the Collected Writings of Walt Whitman recognize a short three-paragraph article, “The Olden Time,” in the November 29, 1834, issue of the New-York Mirror as Whitman’s first published work. Signed “W.,” it appears in the “Original Communications” section of the paper and was published when Whitman was only fifteen years old.
Shown are two copies of this very rare seven page newspaper. One copy is apparently a former subscription issue that was previously folded by the publisher and mailed/delivered to a subscriber who later had his loose issues bound. This issue of the Mirror contains the first published work of Walt Whitman.
In Specimen Days (1882), Whitman reminisced about his early journalism career and the delight he experienced upon seeing his first published articles in print:
[W]hen I was but a boy of eleven or twelve . . . I had a piece or two in George P. Morris’s then celebrated and fashionable ‘Mirror’ of New York city. I remember with what half-suppress’d excitement I used to watch for the big, fat, red-faced, slow-moving, very old English carrier who distributed the ‘Mirror’ in Brooklyn; and when I got one, opening and cutting the leaves with trembling fingers. How it made my heart double-beat to see my piece on the pretty white paper, in nice type.
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
November 29, 1834
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
Newspaper
Language
English
Type
Still Image
Files
Citation
““The Olden Time,” in The New-York Mirror, Vol. XII, No. 22 (Nov. 29, 1834), pp. 169-176.,” DeGolyer Library Exhibits, accessed April 27, 2024, https://degolyer.omeka.net/items/show/832.