Content:
A draft of the first five lines of "A Riddle Song," first published in 1880. The draft is written in ink on a surface made by pasting three smaller pieces together. Another small fourth scrap is pasted to the opposite side.
Content:
Written in ink on a proof of "The Dalliance of the Eagles,"
"Ah, little knows the
Laborer,"
"Hast never come to thee an
hour?," and "My
Picture-Gallery," are 14 words of notations in Whitman's
hand. The proof has been pasted to a heavy piece of paper, on the verso
of which is "A Riddle
Song," part of "Italian Music in Dakota," and a clipped headline reading
"The Society Articles Save Labor. Lighten the Labor for Mother."
Content:
Manuscript and corrected proof of "A Riddle Song," a poem which first appeared in the
Tarrytown Sunnyside Press
on 3 April 1880. It was reprinted in
Forney’s Progress
(Philadelphia) 2 (17
April 1880): 508, and then included in the 1881–82 edition of
Leaves of Grass
. Also included is a cover note that describes the contents and declares that Whitman presented them to Richard Bucke on 26 May 1880.
Content:
Clipping of the poem "A
Riddle Song" probably from the
Camden Daily Post,
as is suggested by writing on the verso. The reference to
the
Tarrytown Sunnyside
Press
in the bottom right corner serves to credit the newspaper in which Whitman's poem first appeared.
