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James W. Wallace to Walt Whitman, 22 August 1891

About This Item

  • Title: James W. Wallace to Walt Whitman, 22 August 1891
  • Date: August 22, 1891
  • Creator(s): James W. Wallace
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.04378
  • 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: Lauren Claeys Amanda J. Axley Cristin Noonan Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Wallace, James W.. "James W. Wallace to Walt Whitman, 22 August 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.04378.xml (TEI)
 loc_vm.00881_large.jpg Anderton, nr Chorley Lancashire, England 22 August 1891 My dear Walt Whitman,

I am prevented again from writing to you as I intended. As you will already know I am coming to Camden per SS. British Prince,1 sailing from Liverpool next Wednesday August 26th2—I have had a busy time this week, & this afternoon my time is again taken up.

So I content  loc_vm.00882_large.jpg myself with the briefest line, to convey my continued love & good wishes.

I will try to write for next mail.

Love to all your household.

Yours affectionately J.W. Wallace.  loc_vm.00883_large.jpg  loc_vm.00884_large.jpg

Correspondent:
James William Wallace (1853–1926), of Bolton, England, was an architect and great admirer of Whitman. Wallace, along with Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician in Bolton, founded the "Bolton College" of English admirers of the poet. Johnston and Wallace corresponded with Whitman and with Horace Traubel and other members of the Whitman circle in the United States, and they separately visited the poet and published memoirs of their trips in John Johnston and James William Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). For more information on Wallace, see Larry D. Griffin, "Wallace, James William (1853–1926)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. The British Prince was the steamer that Wallace sailed on from Liverpool to Philadelphia when he visited the United States and Canada in 1891. In Whitman's letter of September 6–8, 1891, to Dr. John Johnston, he stated that Wallace had arrived on September 8. [back]
  • 2. James W. Wallace arrived at Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). After spending a few days with Whitman, Wallace traveled to London, Ontario, Canada, where he visited with Dr. Bucke and his family and friends, and then continued his tour in New York and New Jersey before returning to England. [back]
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