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Talcott Williams to Walt Whitman, 5 December 1890

About This Item

  • Title: Talcott Williams to Walt Whitman, 5 December 1890
  • Date: December 5, 1890
  • Creator(s): Talcott Williams
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.04881
  • 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: Cristin Noonan Amanda J. Axley Marie Ernster Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Williams, Talcott. "Talcott Williams to Walt Whitman, 5 December 1890." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 10 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.04881.xml (TEI)
 loc_vm.01376_large.jpg Dec 5, '90. My dear Mr. Whitman

I am expecting to bring Prof Royce1 of Cambridge over next Sunday, 7th inst. at about 1130 to see you. You may remember I spoke of him before when I was over. He is a metaphysician.

Cordially yours Talcott Williams  loc_vm.01377_large.jpg T. Williams

Correspondent:
Talcott Williams (1849–1928) was associated with the New York Sun and World as well as the Springfield Republican before he became the editor of the Philadelphia Press in 1879. His newspaper vigorously defended Whitman in news articles and editorials after the Boston censorship of 1882. For more information about Williams, see Philip W. Leon, "Williams, Talcott (1849–1928)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. Professor Royce is the American idealist philosopher Josiah Royce (1855–1916), who was born in California and received degrees from the University of California and Johns Hopkins University. Royce wrote numerous philosophical works, including The Religious Aspects of Philosophy (1885) and The Spirit of Modern Philosophy (1892), as well as a historical work, California: A Study of American Character (1886). He accepted a position at Harvard University in 1882, and he remained there, serving as the Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity until his death in 1916. For more on Royce, see his obituary, "Death of Prof. Josiah Royce," in the September 22, 1916, issue of The Harvard Crimsom. [back]
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