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books sent May 4 & rec'd
PROGRESSIVE PUBLISHING HOUSE.
A. J. DAVIS & CO.,
Standard Books on Harmonial Philosophy, Free Religion and General Reform.
24 EAST FOURTH ST., NEW YORK.
P.O. BOX 82, STATION D.
New York
27 Apl 1876
Brother Walt Whitman
Please send us by Express (address as above) 2 sets your books,1 $10. each,
for which find $20. enclosed.
The books are for my wife "Mary F. Davis"2 & for her brother Tracy
Robinson3—both great admirers and lovers of you & your works.
Mrs
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Davis bids me give you her most cordial regards, and love.
Accept the same with a 1,000 greetings
from Your friend
A. J. Davis
Correspondent:
Andrew Jackson Davis (1826–1910) was
an American Spiritualist. He described himself as "the Poughkeepsie Seer" and
published approximately 30 books in his lifetime.
Notes
- 1. During the centennial
celebration of the U.S. in 1876, Whitman reissued the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass in the repackaged form of a "Centennial Edition" and
"Author's Edition," with most copies personally signed by the poet. Two Rivulets was published as a companion volume to the
book. Notable for its experimentations in form, typography, and printing
convention, Whitman's two-volume set marks an important departure from previous
publications of Leaves of Grass. For more information,
see Frances E. Keuling-Stout, "
Leaves of Grass, 1876, Author's Edition," "Two Rivulets, Author's Edition [1876],"
and "Preface to Two Rivulets [1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 2. Tracy Robinson
(1833–1915) was an official with the Panama Railroad Company and a
longtime resident of Panama. He was the author of
Panama: A Personal Record of Forty-six Years,
1861–1907 (New York: Star and Herald Company, 1907) and
Song of the Palm and Other Poems, Mostly Tropical
(New York: Brentanos, 1888). [back]
- 3. Mary Fenn Robinson (1824–1886) was an
American Spiritualist and the second wife of Andrew Jackson Davis. The couple
founded the Herald of Progress, a Spiritualist newspaper,
in 1860. Robinson also wrote and lectured on such subjects as Harmonial
Philosophy, temperance, and women's rights. [back]