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Camden1
'89
Jan 23—after 9 P M—
Horace2 has bro't the costlier binding specimen copy—a
handsome substantial volume—not that I am overwhelmed or even entirely
satisfied by it, but as I had not put my calculations high & was even expecting
to be disappointed I shall accept it, & have some bound after it—It is
dark green half calf, gilt top, rough bottom & front, plain & sufficiently
rich, the stitching & all else strong & durable (as I am told)—price
of binding each copy $1.243—back lettering simply
"Walt Whitman's Complete Works," then half way down "Poems and Prose" and then at
bottom "Edition 1889"4—
I have felt easy & comfortable the last four hours—sent you a letter &
papers by the 8 p m mail5—also a few words to O'C6—Rec'd a letter from Rice7 asking me to write for the N
A Review8
Jan: 24—With me ab't "the same subject continued"—a partial bowel
dejection this forenoon—cloudy, still, raw, coolish weather—I keep a
good fire—quiet here—I have seen the Feb: Harper's, with Howells's notice
of Nov: Boughs9—it is
friendlyish & sort o' caressing but perhaps guarded10—I suppose you get the mag:—if not I will send you mine—Yours of
22 rec'd11—(read the last Critic's notice again—I am not sure but it is the best of
all)—I finish sitting alone in the room by the fire—the afternoon half
passed, & all well—
Walt Whitman
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Correspondent:
Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) was a
Canadian physician and psychiatrist who grew close to Whitman after reading Leaves of Grass in 1867 (and later memorizing it) and
meeting the poet in Camden a decade later. Even before meeting Whitman, Bucke
claimed in 1872 that a reading of Leaves of Grass led him
to experience "cosmic consciousness" and an overwhelming sense of epiphany.
Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt
Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and he later served as one
of his medical advisors and literary executors. For more on the relationship of
Bucke and Whitman, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed: Dr
R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. |
Jan 24 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | JA 25 | 89 | Canada. [back]
- 2. Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919)
was an American essayist, poet, and magazine publisher. He is best remembered as
the literary executor, biographer, and self-fashioned "spirit child" of Walt
Whitman. During the late 1880s and until Whitman's death in 1892, Traubel visited
the poet virtually every day and took thorough notes of their conversations,
which he later transcribed and published in three large volumes entitled With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906, 1908, & 1914).
After his death, Traubel left behind enough manuscripts for six more volumes of
the series, the final two of which were published in 1996. For more on Traubel,
see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. [1858–1919]," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 3. In his letter to Whitman
of January 26, 1889, Bucke was concerned that
"$1.24 is a big slice off $6. The price of the book should have been
more than $6. I would not have put it a cent below $10" (Syracuse;
Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 30, 1889). [back]
- 4. Whitman often referred to Complete Poems & Prose (1888) as his "big book." The
volume was published by the poet himself in an arrangement with publisher David
McKay, who allowed Whitman to use the plates for both Leaves
of Grass and Specimen Days—in December
1888. With the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding
decisions, and Frederick Oldach bound the volume, which included a profile photo
of the poet on the title page. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom,
Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and
Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). [back]
- 5. See Whitman's letter to
Bucke of January 23, 1889. [back]
- 6. William Douglas O'Connor
(1832–1889) was the author of the grand and grandiloquent Whitman pamphlet
The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication, published in 1866.
For more on Whitman's relationship with O'Connor, see Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 7. Charles Allen Thorndike Rice
(1851–1889) was a journalist and edited and published the North American Review in New York from 1876 until his
death. His Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by Distinguished
Men of His Time (1888) was published by The North American Review
Publishing Company. [back]
- 8. In his letter to Whitman
of January 18, 1889, Charles Allen Thorndike Rice
requested "an article of two thousand words, or less," on "The American Ideal in
Fiction" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden,
Thursday, January 24, 1889). Rice died on May 16, 1889; see Horace
Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 16, 1889 and Friday, May 17, 1889. [back]
- 9. Whitman's November Boughs was published in October 1888 by Philadelphia
publisher David McKay. For more information on the book, see James E. Barcus
Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 10. See William Dean
Howells's "Editor's Study," Harper's New Monthly Magazine
78 (February 1889): 488–9. [back]
- 11. See Bucke's letter to
Whitman of January 22, 1889. [back]