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William Robinson to Walt Whitman, On or Before 6 December [1891?]

About This Item

  • Title: William Robinson to Walt Whitman, On or Before 6 December [1891?]
  • Date: On or Before December 6, [1891?]
  • Creator(s): William Robinson
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.03635
  • 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: Erel Michaelis Marie Ernster Cristin Noonan Stephanie Blalock Paige Wilkinson
  • Cite this page: Robinson, William. "William Robinson to Walt Whitman, On or Before 6 December [1891?]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 11 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.03635.xml (TEI)
 loc.03635.001_large.jpg Boston, 6th December Walt. Whitman Dear Sir–

I have read with pleasure, your "Leaves of Grass," and admire their impudence and beauty,—but can't say which I admire most. I have lent my copy to others. Some are in ecstasies over it, while others think no man should be allowed to print, write, buy, sell or read so wicked a book.

Now you may call me a fool for my request, but if you will comply with it, I shall be just as well satisfied. I want your autograph attached to an extract from your leaves,  loc.03635.002_large.jpg or, to a fresh Leaf. I wish to frame it, to hang in my room, in company with a autograph of Charles Mackay,1 another of my favorites. Please write me on a half-sheet of note paper,—this size—&return according to the endorsed envelope.

Truly yours, Wm Robinson Wm Robinson (ask'g autograph)

Correspondent:
As yet we have no information about this correspondent.

Notes

  • 1. Charles Mackay (1814–1889) was a Scottish poet and journalist. He published Songs and Poems (1834) and a three-volume work on history and crowd psychology, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841). He is best known for the latter work, which covered (and debunked) such topics as alchemy, fortune-telling, and relics. [back]
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