Content:
Handwritten notes about Abraham Lincoln, most likely intended for use in
Whitman's lecture, "Death of Abraham
Lincoln." The page numbers refer to Samuel Penniman Bates'
book,
The Battle of Gettysburg
(Philadelphia: T.H. Davis & Co., 1875). Bates had quoted a letter from Lincoln to General Joseph
Hooker, making note of Lincoln's characteristic "homely but pointed
similes" (13–14). Whitman also notes pages reproducing the Gettysburgh
Address, as well as Edward Everett's remark to Lincoln about the power of his twenty lines (213–15). Whitman delivered his lecture about Lincoln
in New York in 1879 and would deliver it at least eight other times over
the succeeding years. Whitman would later publish a version of the
lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln"
in
Specimen Days
(1882–1883), which was retained in
Complete Prose Works
(1892).
Content:
This manuscript contains what could be a preparatory note for the
lecture "Death of Abraham Lincoln"
delivered in New York in 1879, in Philadelphia in 1880 and in Boston in
1881. Portions of this lecture had been originally published as "Abraham Lincoln's Death. Walt Whitman's Account
of the Scene at Ford's Theatre," in the
New York Sun
(12 February
1876) and were included in
Memoranda
During the War
(1875-1876).
"Abraham Lincoln's Death" was
revised and published as "A Poet on the
Platform" in the
New York Daily
Tribune
(15 April 1879) and was subsequently
reprinted as "Death of Abraham
Lincoln" in
Specimen Days &
Collect
(1882-1883)
before finally appearing in
Complete Prose
Works
(1892).
Content:
Handwritten notes about a lecture on Abraham Lincoln, most likely "Death of Abraham Lincoln". These appear
to be fairly early notes about the general structure of the talk, rather
than an actual draft. Whitman first delivered this lecture in New York
in 1879 and
would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeedings years,
delivering it for the last time on April 15, 1890. Whitman would later
publish a version of the lecture as "Death of
Abraham Lincoln" in
Specimen
Days
(1882–1883), which was retained in
Complete Prose Works
(1892).
Content:
Manuscript notes and clippings of printed prose gathered by Whitman in a
homemade notebook created from a copy of John Dunbar Hylton's,
Bride of Gettysburg
(1878).
Whitman appears to have used this book as a notebook in preparation for
his lecture, "Death of Abraham Lincoln." Portions of this speech were
originally published as "Abraham Lincoln's
Death. Walt Whitman's Account of the Scene at Ford's
Theatre,"
New York Sun
(12 February
1876) and were included in
Memoranda
During the War
(1875–1876). "Abraham Lincoln's Death" was revised and
published as "A Poet on the Platform,"
New York Daily Tribune
(15 April 1879) and was subsequently reprinted as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882–1883) before finally appearing in
Complete Prose Works
(1892).
Whitman Archive Title: [The subject or text of my]
Content:
Manuscript notes attached to a scrap of printed prose, both of which
relate to Whitman's Lincoln lecture, titled "Death of Abraham Lincoln."
Whitman published this address in
Specimen Days
& Collect
(1882–1883) before
including it in
Complete Prose Works
(1892).
Whitman Archive Title: How often since that dark and chilly Saturday
Content:
A late draft of "Death of Abraham Lincoln. Lecture deliver'd in New York, April 14, 1879—in Philadelphia, '80—in Boston, '81," published in
Specimen Days
(1882). Though Whitman delivered this lecture for the first time in April 1879, based on the letters which comprise the versos of this manuscript, this draft was not composed until some time after March 1880.
Whitman Archive Title: Lecture by Walt Whitman on Abraham Lincoln
Content:
Notes for the lecture on the death of Abraham Lincoln that Whitman
delivered in Philadelphia on April 15, 1886. The notes consist of
clippings from earlier printings of the lecture with a few handwritten
revisions. The lecture was first published as "Death of Lincoln" in the
New York Sun
on February 12,
1876. A revised version appeared as "A Poet on the Platform" in the
New York Daily Tribune
on April 15, 1879. In
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882–83) and in
Complete Prose
Works
(1892) it was titled "Death of Abraham Lincoln. Lecture
deliver'd in New York, April 14, 1879—in
Philadelphia, '80—in Boston, '81.
" The notes
are mounted in a bound volume along with the letter that Whitman sent
with them to Thomas Donaldson, a note written by Donaldson, an engraving of
Whitman, and a ticket to a performance of the lecture on April 14, 1887.
Content:
This manuscript contains a passage that appears almost verbatim in "Walt Whitman's Last Public," included within the
Memoranda
section of
Complete Prose Works
published in 1892. In the piece, written in third person, Whitman describes the speech he gave on the 25th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's death at the Art Rooms, in Philadelphia, on April 15, 1890, and the passage appearing in this manuscript is reported to be the literal opening address of the talk. We don't have certainty that this is true, though, as we do not have a written version of the talk. Some phrases in this version also bear resemblance with the printed version of the lecture "Death of Abraham Lincoln," delivered in New York in 1879, in Philadelphia in 1880 and in Boston in 1881 . Portions of this lecture were also originally published as "Abraham Lincoln's Death. Walt Whitman's Account of the Scene at Ford's Theatre", in the
New York Sun
on 12 February 1876 and were included in
Memoranda During the War
(1875-1876). "Abraham Lincoln's Death" was revised and published as "A Poet on the Platform" in the
New York Daily Tribune
on 15 April 1879 and was subsequently reprinted as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882-1883) before finally appearing in
Complete Prose Works
in 1892.
