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Walt Whitman to Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe, 18 November 1890

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe, 18 November 1890
  • Date: November 18, 1890
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.01398
  • Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Andrew David King Cristin Noonan Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe, 18 November 1890." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 09 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.01398.xml (TEI)
 loc.01398.002_large.jpg Camden NJ US America1 Nov: 18 '90—

Seems a long time since I have heard f'm or written to you—Am still here (still holding out after a fashion)—am writing a little, mentality—(sort o') & good right arm—I sent you my "Old Poets" essay,2 & shall send bits when printed—

Love to the childer & all Walt Whitman  loc.01398.001_large.jpg

Correspondent:
Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe (1864–1945) was a political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." For more information about Costelloe, see Christina Davey, "Costelloe, Mary Whitall Smith (1864–1945)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. This letter is addressed: Mrs. Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | The Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 19 | 6 AM | 90; 2. [back]
  • 2. Whitman sent "Old Poets" to the North American Review. He returned proof on October 18 and was paid $75 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The article appeared in the November 1890 issue. [back]
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