431 Stevens st—Camden—N Jersey
U S
America—
Aug 221
I send you2 to-day the Vol. specified for "Mrs. Mathews, Birmingham"3—As this is too indefinite, I have directed it to your care,
to forward to Mrs. M. The other Vols. will be sent by mail to the addresses given—All about as usual—
W W
Notes
- 1. This letter's envelope bears the address:
"Wm Michel Rossetti | 56 Euston Square | London N W | England." It is
postmarked: "Camden | Aug | 22 | N.J.; London (?)| C 1(?)| Paid | Sp 7 |
76." [back]
- 2. William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother
of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of
Whitman's work. In 1868, Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems,
selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Whitman referred
to Rossetti's edition as a "horrible dismemberment of my book" in his August 12, 1871, letter to Frederick S. Ellis. Nonetheless,
the edition provided a major boost to Whitman's reputation, and Rossetti would
remain a staunch supporter for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in
subscribers to the 1876 Leaves of Grass and fundraising
for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see
Sherwood Smith, "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 3. Walt Whitman sent a copy of Leaves of Grass (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg
Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.). [back]