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Walt Whitman to David Mckay, 17 May 1888

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to David Mckay, 17 May 1888
  • Date: May 17, 1888
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.03109
  • 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.

    Notes for this letter were created by Whitman Archive staff and/or were derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller, 6 vols. (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), and supplemented or updated by Whitman Archive staff.
  • Contributors to digital file: Ryan Furlong Ian Faith Stefan Schöberlein Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to David Mckay, 17 May 1888." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 09 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.03109.xml (TEI)
 loc.03109.001.jpg 328 Mickle Street Camden Evn'g May 17 '881 Dear D McK—

The bearer Horace Traubel2 is a valued young personal Camden friend of mine—American born German Stock—whom I wish to introduce to you with the best recommendation—He is of liberal tendencies & familiar with printing office matters & the run of books.—

Walt Whitman  loc.03109.002.jpg

Correspondent:
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).

Notes

  • 1. Whitman writes his letter on the back of an advertisement clipping for men's suits and other clothing from the company, Wanamaker & Brown, Oak Hall, S.E. Cor. Sixth and Market Sts., Philadelphia. [back]
  • 2. Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919) was an American essayist, poet, and magazine publisher. He is best remembered as the literary executor, biographer, and self-fashioned "spirit child" of Walt Whitman. During the late 1880s and until Whitman's death in 1892, Traubel visited the poet virtually every day and took thorough notes of their conversations, which he later transcribed and published in three large volumes entitled With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906, 1908, & 1914). After his death, Traubel left behind enough manuscripts for six more volumes of the series, the final two of which were published in 1996. For more on Traubel, see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. [1858–1919]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
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