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Walt Whitman to C.H. Sholes, 12 March [1880]

March 12 pm—Yours duly rec'd—I send you by mail to-day, to same address as this card, my Two Vols, Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets—Please send me a card informing me if they reach you safely—2

Walt Whitman

Notes

  • 1. This letter bears the following address: C H Sholes | Glenwood | Mills Co: Iowa. It is postmarked: Philadelphia PA | Mar | 12 | 5 PM. C. H. Sholes was a shorthand reporter in Iowa. On Decoration Day, May 30, 1880, he published an article entitled "Ashes of Soldiers" in the Iowa State Register, commending Whitman for his service during the Civil War. See Ted Genoways, "'Ashes of Soldiers': Walt Whitman and C. H. Sholes, a New Letter and a Newspaper Article," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 18 (Spring 2001), 186–187. [back]
  • 2. Sholes received the package—an 1876 edition of Two Rivulets was offered for sale in the early 2000s by D & D Galleries of Somerville, New Jersey, with the inscription: "C. H. Sholes | from the author"—but if he sent a postcard confirming the shipment, Whitman did not note it in the daybooks. [back]
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