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Poetry Manuscripts
Finding Aids for Manuscripts at Individual Repositories
Guide to the Walt Whitman Poetry Manuscripts in The Walt Whitman Collection, Boston Public Library
Original records created by Boston Public Library; revised and expanded by the Walt Whitman Archive and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. Encoded Archival Description completed through the assistance of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the University of Nebraska Research Council, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
Title: Walt Whitman Poetry Manuscripts in The Walt Whitman Collection, Boston Public Library
Collection Number: N/A
Creator:
Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892
Repository: Rare Books & Manuscripts
Abstract:
This finding aid was created from catalog cards and digital images of the original manuscripts obtained by The Walt Whitman Archive. The original papers and catalog cards are held in the Special Collections of the Boston Public Library.
Scope and Content:
Boston Public Library's Walt Whitman collection contains more than 300 volumes relating to and by Walt Whitman. The collection was founded by Whitman's earliest biographer, Dr. Richard M. Bucke. In 1896, four years after the poet's death, Bucke gave to the Library a large group of Whitman's material, much of which he had received as one of Whitman's literary executors. Included with the collection were 17 photographs and 20 manuscripts. Additions to the original gift include the collections of two other executors, gifts from several of Whitman's publishers, and another group of volumes from Bucke.
Biographical Information:
For additional biographical information, see
"Walt Whitman," by Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, and the
chronology of Whitman's Life.
Subjects: Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892;
Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892--Manuscripts;
Poets, American--19th century;
Series Description and Item Lists
Item: 1
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00007
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.1
Title: "Eidólons"
Date: ca. 1876
Physical Description: 5 leaves
View Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Several pages of a draft of "Eidólons," first published in 1876.
Item: 2
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00006
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.1
Title: "To a Locomotive in Winter"
Date: ca. 1876
Physical Description: 2 leaves
View Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
A two-page draft of "To a Locomotive in Winter," first published in 1876. It appears that originally the two leaves were pasted together as one piece, but have since come apart. On the verso of page two is a draft of an unpublished poem entitled "The Soul and the Poet" which may be a draft of the poem "Come, said my Soul," the epigraph for the 1876, 1882, and 1891-1892 editions of Leaves of Grass.
Item: 3
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00001
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.1
Title: "Out from Behind this Mask"
Date: ca. 1876
Physical Description: 1 leaf
View Images: 1 | 2
A draft of "Out From Behind This Mask," first published in 1876. This draft contains only a version of Part 1 of the poem and has Whitman's signature at the bottom.
Item: 4
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00002
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.4
Title: "[p 287]"
Date: 1891
Physical Description: 1 leaf
View Images: 1 | 2
A list of corrections in Whitman's hand, including page numbers and notes, probably corresponding to a proof of the 1891-1892 edition of Leaves of Grass. On the verso is a letter of solicitation from Henry Romeike's clipping bureau dated September 10, 1891.
Item: 5
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00003
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.7
Title: "Religions—Gods"
Date: undated
Physical Description: 2 leaves
View Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Two pages of notes on various world religions and religious figures. Included are lists of names, definitions, quotations, descriptions, and dates. Some notes were written on small sheets of paper and then attached to the larger sheets. The relationship of these notes to Whitman's published material is unknown.
Item: 6
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00004
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.3
Title: "[most poets finish single specimens of]"
Date: 1856
Physical Description: 1 leaf
View Images: 1 | 2
Notes regarding Whitman's ambitions as a poet, including a list of seven attributes written in a large, bold hand that one assumes are Whitman's list of poetic virtues (including "Perfect Sanity," "Breadth of Vision," "Healthy rudeness of Body," and "Sun-Tan & Air-Sweetness"). Also included are a clipping about Hungarian nationalism and a note on the German poet Heinrich Heine. Whitman notes the date, 1856, twice on the page.
Item: 7
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00005
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.6
Title: "Corrections in Plates"
Date: ca. 1888
Physical Description: 1 leaf
View Images: 1 | 2
A list of corrections in Whitman's hand, including page numbers and notes, possibly corresponding to a proof of the 1891-1892 edition of Leaves of Grass and related to "[p 287]" above. The bottom of the page has Whitman's corrections to "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads" (first published in 1888).
Item: 8
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00008
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.8
Title: "[There should be men's &]"
Date: undated
Physical Description: 1 leaf
View Images: 1 | 2
A prose note in Whitman's hand which reads, in full, "There should be men's & women's schools, as well as children's." The relationship of this note to Whitman's published work is unknown.
Item: 9
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00009
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.1
Title: "[Whitman lately wrote to a friend]"
Date: undated
Physical Description: 1 leaf
View Images: 1 | 2
A prose draft in Whitman's hand which describes his poetic ambitions and is written in the third person, suggesting that the manuscript is related to one of Whitman's self-reviews that he published anonymously to promote his books.
Item: 10
Whitman Archive ID: bpl.00010
Manuscript ID: Whitman MSS.9
Title: "[You don't want something to wrestle with you]"
Date: undated
Physical Description: 2 leaves
View Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
A prose draft in Whitman's hand which appears to be an interview with himself, suggesting that the manuscript is related to one of Whitman's self-promoting articles that he published anonymously. Also included is a handwritten draft of an advertisement for "Books to be had of David McKay, Publisher & Bookseller" written on similar paper with similar ink.
Restrictions on Original Materials: Please consult with repository.
Preferred Citation: To identify this finding aid as a source, see the Archive's "Conditions of Use" page.
Repository Contact Information:
Rare Books & Manuscripts
Boston Public Library
P.O. Box 286
Boston, MA 02117