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Walt Whitman to Ainsworth R. Spofford, [1 August 1882]

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Ainsworth R. Spofford, [1 August 1882]
  • Date: August 1, 1882
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.05082
  • Source: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 299. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Nima Najafi Kianfar Stefan Schoeberlein Nicole Gray
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Ainsworth R. Spofford, [1 August 1882]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 18 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.05082.xml (TEI)

In your letter to me of Sept. '81, (herewith enclosed) you tallied all my several copyrights for "Leaves of Grass"—except the 1860–61 edition of Thayer & Eldridge, Boston—saying that one was not "entered" in your office. I enclose it herewith to show that it was taken out regularly, & is in existence.

What I send now for is to ask you to enter that edn for the extension of fourteen years further from expiration & send me certificate of such entry—find $1 enc.1

Notes

  • 1. This is a draft letter. It is endorsed: "Aug 1 '82 | sent to Librarian of Congress | ans'd—see note | copyright entrance of | 1860–'61—acknowledged | & on file." On August 2, 1882, Spofford, the Librarian of Congress, acknowledged that the 1860 edition had been entered, but the request for renewal of copyright could not be made until May 24, 1888 (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). [back]
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