The Walt Whitman Archive
Life & Letters
Correspondence
About this Item
Title: Charles F. Wingate to Walt Whitman, 18 April 1890
Date: April 18, 1890
Whitman Archive ID: loc.04501
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: Blake Bronson-Bartlett, Ian Faith, and Stephanie Blalock
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CHARLES F. WINGATE,
CONSULTING SANITARY ENGINEER,
No. 119 PEARL STREET,
NEW YORK.
New York,1
April 18th,
1890
Dear Sir,
As an old admirer will you permit me to ask what book or books have you found in your experience to supply comfort or consolation to the sorrowing.
I am compiling a little memorial volume2—
Yours truly
C. F. Wingate
Correspondent:
In March 1870, Charles Frederick Wingate
(1848–1909) was serving as a New York correspondent for the Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts. In the 1880s
and 90s, he became Sanitary Engineer in New York City, delivering lectures and
writing newspaper columns about the city's sanitation practices and
problems.
Notes:
1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Apr23 | 11 AM | P; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 23 | 4PM | 1890 | Rec'd. [back]
2. Wingate enclosed a flyer with information about the Twilight Club, including the organization's "Principles." He also sent a printed summary of the club's recent "173d Dinner" that was held on April 10, 1890, when the question discussed for the evening was "Do you believe in Ghosts?." [back]