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Henry M. Alden to Walt Whitman, 1 November 1873

About This Item

  • Title: Henry M. Alden to Walt Whitman, 1 November 1873
  • Date: November 1, 1873
  • Creator(s): Henry M. Alden
  • Whitman Archive ID: uva.00359
  • Source: Papers of Walt Whitman (MSS 3829), Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Albert H. Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia . 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: Alex Kinnaman Elizabeth Lorang Kevin McMullen Ashley Lawson John Schwaninger Caterina Bernardini Cristin Noonan Marie Ernster Amanda J. Axley Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Alden, Henry M.. "Henry M. Alden to Walt Whitman, 1 November 1873." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 09 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: uva.00359.xml (TEI)
 uva.00359.001_large.jpg Franklin Square, New York, November 1 1873. Mr Walt Whitman, Dear Sir,

I send enclosed Messrs Harper & Brothers'1 check for One Hundred Dollars ($100–), in payment for your poem, "Song of the Redwood Tree."2

The Messrs Harpers do not object to the subsequent publication of the poem in book–form,  uva.00359.002_large.jpg  uva.00359.003_large.jpg provided such publication is not made until six months after the appearance of the poem in their Magazine.

With thanks for your poem (of which I will send you proof in a few days), & the best wishes for your welfare, I am

Sincerely yours H.M. Alden, Ed.​ Harper's Mag.​

PS. The poem will appear in an early number.

HMA  uva.00359.004_large.jpg

Correspondent:
Henry Mills Alden (1836–1919) was managing editor of Harper's Weekly from 1863 to 1869 and editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine from 1869 until his death.

Notes

  • 1. Harper's Monthly Magazine (sometimes Harper's New Monthly Magazine or simply Harper's) was established in 1850 by Henry J. Raymond and Fletcher Harper. The magazine published several of Whitman's poems, including "Song of the Redwood-Tree" and "Prayer of Columbus." In 1857, Fletcher Harper founded Harper's Weekly (subtitled "A Journal of Civilization"), which gained its fame for its coverage of the Civil War and its publication of cartoonist Thomas Nast's (1840–1902) work. For Whitman's relationship with these two publications, see Susan Belasco's "Harper's Monthly Magazine" and "Harper's Weekly Magazine." [back]
  • 2. "Song of the Redwood Tree" was first published in Harper's Monthly Magazine (February 1874): 366–367. [back]
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