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Cyrus C. Miller to Walt Whitman, 21 March 1892

About This Item

  • Title: Cyrus C. Miller to Walt Whitman, 21 March 1892
  • Date: March 21, 1892
  • Creator(s): Cyrus C. Miller
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.03100
  • 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: Cristin Noonan Amanda J. Axley Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Miller, Cyrus C.. "Cyrus C. Miller to Walt Whitman, 21 March 1892." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 20 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.03100.xml (TEI)
 loc.03100.001_large.jpg JACOB F. MILLER CYRUS C. MILLER MILLER & MILLER, 
 COUNSELLORS AT LAW, 
 NO. 120 BROADWAY, EQUITABLE BUILDING. NEW YORK,1 March 21st 1892 Mr Walt Whitman Dear Sir:

Can you let me have "November Boughs"2 and "Good Bye My Fancy"3 published by David McKay4 1888 and 1891 respectively with your autograph in the same?

I wish to have the first editions of these books with your autograph.

If you have them and will part with them to an admirer, I will send the money to you by cheque, money order or C.O.D.

Hoping to hear from you soon, I am

Yours Respectfully Cyrus C. Miller  loc.03100.002_large.jpg  loc.03100.003_large.jpg  loc.03100.004_large.jpg  loc.03100.005_large.jpg  loc.03100.006_large.jpg

Correspondent:
Cyrus Chace Miller (1866–1956) of Claverack, New York, was a lawyer and a lacrosse player. Miller attended Columbia University law school, graduating in 1891. He worked for most of his life at the law firm established by his father, Jacob F. Miller. Cyrus Miller also played college lacrosse and later played for amateur athletic clubs, as well as serving as a coach for the Columbia University team. From 1910 until the end of 1913, he served as the Third Borough President of the Bronx; he became a member of the Real Estate Board, and, later, he was appointed as the Bronx Borough Historian, a position he held until 1953.

Notes

  • 1. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Mar 21 | 4PM | 92; Camden N.J. | Mar22 | 6AM | 92 | Rec'd. This letter arrived four days before Whitman's death on March 26, 1892. [back]
  • 2. Whitman's November Boughs—a book of prose and poetry—was published in 1888 by David McKay. The book included a long prefatory essay, "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads," a collection of sixty short poems under the title "Sands at Seventy," and reprints of several articles already published elsewhere. For more information on November Boughs, see James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 3. Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was his last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy" in Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 4. David McKay (1860–1918) took over Philadelphia-based publisher Rees Welsh's bookselling and publishing businesses in 1881–82. McKay and Rees Welsh published the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass after opposition from the Boston District Attorney prompted James R. Osgood & Company of Boston, the original publisher, to withdraw. McKay also went on to publish Specimen Days & Collect, November Boughs, Gems from Walt Whitman, Complete Prose Works, and the final Leaves of Grass, the so-called deathbed edition. For more information about McKay, see Joel Myerson, "McKay, David (1860–1918)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
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