Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Letters
  3. Correspondence
  4. loc.02568

John H. Johnston to Walt Whitman, 9 September 1885

About This Item

  • Title: John H. Johnston to Walt Whitman, 9 September 1885
  • Date: September 9, 1885
  • Creator(s): John H. Johnston
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.02568
  • 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: Alex Kinnaman Stefan Schöberlein Ian Faith Kyle Barton Nicole Gray
  • Cite this page: Johnston, John H.. "John H. Johnston to Walt Whitman, 9 September 1885." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 10 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.02568.xml (TEI)
 loc.02568.001_large.jpg J. H. JOHNSTON,  
  JEWELER SPECIALTIES: DUPLICATE WEDDING PRESENTS. DIAMONDS, WATCHES, FINGER RINGS. THE REPAIRING OF FINE WATCHES AND JEWELRY A SPECIALTY. 150 BROWERY, COR. BROOME ST.  
 New York, Sept 9 1885 Dear Walt:

Glad to hear from you once more.

Many thanks for the books you sent. I inclose $2.00 for the two and for the balance all the thanks you desire.

Do you mind telling me how much of a Mortgage there is on your house?

Alma1 is well. She goes with me tonight to see Robson & Crane in the Comedy of Errors.2

Sincerely yours J H Johnston  loc.02568.002_large.jpg see notes July 5 1891

Correspondent:
John H. Johnston (1837–1919) was a New York jeweler and close friend of Whitman. Johnston was also a friend of Joaquin Miller (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 14, 1888). Whitman visited the Johnstons for the first time early in 1877. In 1888 he observed to Horace Traubel: "I count [Johnston] as in our inner circle, among the chosen few" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 3, 1888). See also Johnston's letter about Whitman, printed in Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1915), 149–174. For more on Johnston, see Susan L. Roberson, "Johnston, John H. (1837–1919) and Alma Calder," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. Alma Calder Johnston was an author and the second wife of John H. Johnston. [back]
  • 2. Stuart Robson (1836–1903) and William Henry Crane (1845–1928) were American stage actors and long-time collaborators. Their Broadway adaptation of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors was perhaps their most successful act. [back]
Back to top