Content:
Written in pencil at the bottom of a proof of "As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors," a
thirteen-line poem on President Grant's death, with a printed signature,
four words: "Harper's Weekly, May 16." On the verso in another hand is
"tr Nov 20
1885." Pasted on the verso is a small piece of paper, 5.25 x
10.75 cm, on which is written: "This fragment of Whitman's, Mr. (John)
Burroughs sent me recently, with a lot of old papers & letters. As
it has a memorandum in WW's hand, I know you will like to have it.
C(lara).B(arrus)." This poem, published first in 1885, was also published as "Death of General Grant."
Whitman Archive Title: As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors
Content:
Signed proof of the thirteen-line poem, "As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors,"
first published in 1885, later published as "Death of General
Grant."
Whitman Archive Title: As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors
Content:
Annotated proof of the thirteen-line poem, "As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors,"
first published in 1885, later published as "Death of General
Grant." This proof includes a notation suggesting the printed
signature be moved to the left and that three words, "in Harper's
Weekly," be inserted.
Content:
A draft of the poem "Death of
General Grant." The poem was first published in
Harper's Weekly Magazine
on May 16, 1885 under the title "As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors." It was later reprinted as "Grant" in the
Critic
on August 15, 1885. It finally appeared, in an altered form and under the title "Death of General Grant," in "Sands at Seventy" (first a part of
November Boughs
[1888] and then as an annex to the 1889 reprinting of
Leaves of Grass
). Since this manuscript is titled "Death of Gen. Grant" and does not contain the poem's second verse (which Whitman cut from the "Sands at Seventy" version) it is likely that this copy was written in or around 1888, despite the note (in another hand) placing the date at 1885.
Whitman Archive Title: As one by one withdraw the lofty actors
Content:
Printer's copy, annotated and lightly corrected, of the poem first
published under the title "As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors" in
Harper's Weekly
, 16 May 1885.
The poem was reprinted as "Grant" in the
Critic
, 15 August 1885 and revised as "Death of General
Grant" in the "Sands at Seventy" annex to
Leaves of Grass
(1888).
Whitman Archive Title: As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors
Content:
A page of
The Post
,
Camden, N.J., 15
May 1885. Written in pencil in the margin at the top of front
page are five words in Whitman's hand: "As one by one Withdraw." The
Library of Congress's description of the item mentions that page three
of the newspaper includes a reprint from
Harper's Weekly
of "As One by One Withdraw the
Lofty Actors"; however, only one page of the newspaper is currently in the
folder. "As One by One
Withdraw the Lofty Actors" was later published as "Death of General
Grant."
