F. S. Ryman to Walt Whitman, 31 May 1888

About This Item

Title: F. S. Ryman to Walt Whitman, 31 May 1888
Date: May 31, 1888
Creator(s): F. S. Ryman
Whitman Archive ID: loc.03558
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: Jeannette Schollaert Ian Faith Stefan Schöberlein Stephanie Blalock
Cite this page: Ryman, F. S.. "F. S. Ryman to Walt Whitman, 31 May 1888." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 11 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: loc.03558.xml (TEI)

loc.03558.001_large.jpg Boston May 31st 1888 Dear Mr. Whitman:—

I send you a little token of my esteem as a birthday present. I am very glad you are again able to write in your old style a little. I hope we may yet have a second volume of Leaves of Grass from you if such is compatible with 69 years.

I wish you many happy returns of this day.

Your friend F.S. Ryman

Will you please let me know if this reaches you safely.

loc.03558.002_large.jpg F.S. Ryman

Correspondent:
This might be Shakespeare scholar F. S. Ryman, who likely worked for the Boston Public Library. Ryman published, for instance, on Ignatius Loyola Donnelly's controversial book The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays (1888), which argued that Shakespeare's works were written by Francis Bacon. Whitman and his disciples took great interest in Donnelly's book.