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Talcott Williams to Walt Whitman, 14 September 1891

About This Item

  • Title: Talcott Williams to Walt Whitman, 14 September 1891
  • Date: September 14, 1891
  • Creator(s): Talcott Williams
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.04884
  • 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 Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Williams, Talcott. "Talcott Williams to Walt Whitman, 14 September 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 03 May 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.04884.xml (TEI)
 loc_vm.01382_large.jpg Sep 14. '91 1833 SPRUCE STREET PHILADELPHIA. My dear Mr Whitman

I should like to bring Dr. de Schweinitz1 one of the very best oculists in the city to look at your eyes on Wednesday at about 3 30 You will like him. He is your kind of man & I hope the hour suits you. Please let me know as above

Yours cordially Talcott Williams2  loc_vm.01383_large.jpg Sands—20 | Good Bye 20 | Backward Glance 18

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. Dr. George de Schweinitz (1858–1938) was an expert opthamologist and educator who served as the oculist to President Woodrow Wilson. When de Schweinitz passed away, a portion of his estate was used to establish a chair of opthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania. For more on de Schweinitz, see his obituary, "Dr. De Schweinitz, Eye Expert, Dies," New York Times (August 23, 1938), 17. Dr. de Schweinitz's calling card is mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). [back]
  • 2. Whitman has written "Sands—20 Good Bye 20 Backward Glance 18," estimating the number of pages for his annexes and final essay in the 1891–91 “deathbed” edition of Leaves of Grass, on the verso of this letter. [back]
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