Camden N J—U S America1
Nov: 15 '91
Congratulations on y'r safe arrival2 after the (I hope) satisfactory
trip here,3 & look at us even but for a day or two
face to face—All ab't as usual—Traubel4 here last
evn'g—Sunny fine weather—aff:
regards to Dr J[ohnston]5
& all the friends6—
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
James William Wallace
(1853–1926), of Bolton, England, was an architect and great admirer of
Whitman. Wallace, along with Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician in
Bolton, founded the "Bolton College" of English admirers of the poet. Johnston
and Wallace corresponded with Whitman and with Horace Traubel and other members
of the Whitman circle in the United States, and they separately visited the poet
and published memoirs of their trips in John Johnston and James William Wallace,
Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two
Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). For more
information on Wallace, see Larry D. Griffin, "Wallace, James William (1853–1926)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
J W Wallace | Anderton n'r Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked:
Camden, N.J. | Nov 16 | 6 AM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Nov 16 | 9 AM |
Paid. [back]
- 2. See Wallace's letter to
Whitman of November 14, 1891. [back]
- 3. Wallace visited Whitman in
Camden, New Jersey, and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's
home in London, Ontario, Canada, in the fall of 1891. He also spent time in New
York during the trip. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John
Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in
1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd.,
1917). [back]
- 4. Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919)
was a close acquaintance of Walt Whitman and one of the poet's literary
executors. He met Whitman in 1873 and proceeded to visit the aging author almost
daily beginning in the late 1880s. The result of these meetings—during which
Traubel took meticulous notes—is the nine-volume collection With Walt Whitman in Camden. Later in life, Traubel also
published Whitmanesque poetry and revolutionary essays. He died in 1919, shortly
after he claimed to have seen a vision of Whitman beckoning him to 'Come on'.
For more on Traubel, see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. (1858–1919), Walt Whitman:
An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998), 740–741. [back]
- 5. Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927)
of Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, was a physician, photographer, and avid
cyclist. Johnston was trained in Edinburgh and served as a hospital surgeon in
West Bromwich for two years before moving to Bolton, England, in 1876. Johnston
worked as a general practitioner in Bolton and as an instructor of ambulance
classes for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways. He served at Whalley Military
Hospital during World War I and became Medical Superintendent of Townley's
Hospital in 1917 (John Anson, "Bolton's Illustrious Doctor Johnston—a man
of many talents," Bolton News [March 28, 2021]; Paul
Salveson, Moorlands, Memories, and Reflections: A Centenary
Celebration of Allen Clarke's Moorlands and Memories [Lancashire
Loominary, 2020]). Johnston, along with the architect James W. Wallace, founded
the "Bolton College" of English admirers of the poet. Johnston and Wallace
corresponded with Whitman and with Horace Traubel and other members of the
Whitman circle in the United States, and they separately visited the poet and
published memoirs of their trips in John Johnston and James William Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire
Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). For more information on
Johnston, see Larry D. Griffin, "Johnston, Dr. John (1852–1927)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 6. The "Bolton College" was a
group of Whitman admirers located in Bolton, England. Founded by Dr. John
Johnston (1852–1927) and James William Wallace (1853–1926), the
group corresponded with Whitman and Horace Traubel throughout the final years of
the poet's life. For more information on Johnston, see Larry D. Griffin, "Johnston, Dr. John (1852–1927)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more information on Wallace, see Larry D.
Griffin, "Wallace, James William (1853–1926)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]