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Catalog of the Walt Whitman Literary Manuscripts in the Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Original records created by Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library; revised and expanded by the Walt Whitman Archive and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. Encoded Archival Description completed with the assistance of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the University of Nebraska Research Council, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
- Title: Catalog of the Walt Whitman Literary Manuscripts in the Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Collection Number: pru.ead01
- Creator: Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892
- Repository: Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
- Abstract:
This catalog was created from the original finding aid obtained by The Walt Whitman Archive. The original papers and finding aid are held at Princeton University.
- Scope and Content:
Princeton University holds several Whitman manuscripts, including notes, letters, and drafts of poetry and prose. For this catalog, only items deemed poetry or prose manuscripts have been described at the item level.
- Biographical Information:
For additional biographical information, see "Walt Whitman", by Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, and the chronology of Whitman's Life.
- Subjects:
- Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892
- Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892--Manuscripts
- Poets, American--19th century
Individual items at this repository
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Whitman Archive Title: Of Emerson's 1st vol
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Whitman Archive ID: wwa.00008
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Date: 1860–1873
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Genre: prose
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Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
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Content:
A manuscript comprised of two separate sheets pasted together to make one leaf. Portions of this manuscript were used in "Emerson's Books, (The Shadows of them)," which first appeared in the 22 May 1880 issue of the
Boston Literary World
. Portions of the essay were reprinted in the
New York Tribune
on 15 May 1882 under the title, "A Democratic Criticism. By Walt Whitman." The essay finally appeared in
Complete Prose
(1892) as "Emerson's Books, (The Shadows of them)."
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Whitman Archive Title: [Chief Wapalingua]
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Whitman Archive ID: pri.00024
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Date: 1879–1880
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Genre: prose
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Physical Description: 4 leaves, handwritten
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Content:
Several pages of notes most likely composed during Whitman's trip west in the fall of 1879. Portions of this manuscript were later used in "The Prairies and Great Plains in Poetry. (
After traveling Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado.
),"
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882). This prose piece appeared unchanged in
Complete Prose
(1892).
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Whitman Archive Title: [I had just before been for a time in Kansas]
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Whitman Archive ID: pri.00032
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Date: 1879–1882
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Genre: prose
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Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
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Content:
A short note in which Whitman refers to his 1879 railroad trip to Kansas. Whitman travelled west to attend the quarter-centennial celebration of the Kansas settlement and to visit his brother Jeff in St. Louis. Whitman journeyed as far as Denver and the Rockies before returning to Camden on January 5, 1880. Though no direct lines from this manuscript can be traced to Whitman's published prose, it is clear that this note is related to portions of
Specimen Days
, specifically the section titled, "Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas." Whitman first published this short piece in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882), and reprinted it unchanged in
Complete Prose
(1892).
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Whitman Archive Title: [Returned from my four months]
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Whitman Archive ID: pri.00035
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Date: 1879–1882
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Genre: prose
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Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
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Content:
A short note in which Whitman refers to his 1879 railroad trip to Kansas. Whitman travelled west to attend the quarter-centennial celebration of the Kansas settlement and to visit his brother Jeff in St. Louis. Whitman journeyed as far as Denver and the Rockies before returning to Camden on January 5, 1880. A portion of this manuscript was used in "Upon Our Own Land," a short piece Whitman included in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882). "Upon Our Own Land" appeared unchanged in
Complete Prose
(1892).
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Whitman Archive Title: Going Somewhere
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Whitman Archive ID: pri.00003
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Box: 22
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Folder: 9
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Date: 1887
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Genre: poetry
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Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
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Content:
Signed draft, with several corrections and instructions to the printer, of "'Going Somewhere'," which was published in
Lippincott's Magazine
in November 1887. It was reprinted in
November Boughs
(1888) and in the "Sands at Seventy" annex of
Leaves of Grass
(1891–92).
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Whitman Archive Title: America
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Whitman Archive ID: pri.00002
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Box: 22
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Folder: 9
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Date: 1888
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Genre: poetry
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Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
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Content:
Lightly corrected and signed draft, six lines, of "America," a poem published first in the New York
Herald
on March 12, 1888. It was reprinted in
November Boughs
(1888) and in the "Sands at Seventy" annex of
Leaves of Grass
(1891–92). The manuscript is written on the reverse of a letter fragment from an unknown correspondent, dated January 27, 1888.
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Whitman Archive Title: As I sit writing here
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Whitman Archive ID: pri.00001
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Box: 22
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Folder: 9
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Date: 1888
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Genre: poetry
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Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
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Content:
Draft, with several corrections, of the four-line poem "As I Sit Writing Here," which was published first in the New York
Herald
, May 14, 1888. It was reprinted in
November Boughs
(1888) and in the "Sands at Seventy" annex of
Leaves of Grass
(1891–92).
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Whitman Archive Title: [Had been simmering]
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Whitman Archive ID: pri.00005
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Date: 1889–1891
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Genre: prose
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Physical Description: 1 leaf, handwritten
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Content:
Draft of "Some Personal and Old-Age Jottings," first published in the March 1891 issue of
Lippincott's Magazine
under the title, "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda." This prose piece remained largely unchanged between its first printing in
Lippincott's
and its appearance in
Complete Prose
(1892). However, the version published in
Lippincott's
includes a transcription of
Ralph Waldo Emerson's 21 July 1855 letter
in praise of
Leaves of Grass
, along with a short commentary on Emerson's relationship to Whitman—both of which Whitman did not include in
Complete Prose
. On the verso of this manuscript is a letter addressed to Whitman, dated 19 June 1889. Based on the date of this incoming letter and the date "Some Personal and Old-Age Jottings" was first published, this manuscript must have been composed between 1889–1891.
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