Camden1
Dec: 10 Evn'g: '91
Y'rs & J W W[allace]'s2 rec'd3—thanks both—I send you each copies of the
new complete L of G.4 (for y'r Xmas presents)—It has been
35 y'rs making & as here as near finish'd as may be. Am ab't same & badly
enough5—
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
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).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is posmarked:
Camden, N.J. | Dec 11 | 12 M | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | (?) | 3 PM | (?)d. [back]
- 2. 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). [back]
- 3. Whitman may be referring to
Johnston's letter of November 28, 1891 and
Wallace's letter of the same date. [back]
- 4. Whitman wanted to have a
copy of the final Leaves of Grass before his death, and
he also wanted to be able to present copies to his friends. A version of the
1891–1892 Leaves of Grass, often referred to as the
"deathbed edition," was bound in December of 1891 so that Whitman could give the
volume to friends at Christmas. The following year, the 1891–1892 Leaves of Grass was published by Phildelphia publisher
David McKay. This volume reprints, with minor revisions, the 1881 text from the
plates of Boston publisher James R. Osgood. Whitman also includes his two
annexes in the book. The first annex consisted of a long prefatory essay
entitled "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads" and sixty-five poems; while the
second, "Good-Bye my Fancy," was a collection of thirty-one short poems taken
from the gathering of prose and poetry published under that title by McKay in
1891. For more information on this volume of Leaves, see
R.W. French, "Leaves of Grass, 1891–1892 edition,"
Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 5. Whitman's condition would
continue to worsen during the month of December 1891. On December 17, Whitman
came down with a chill and was suffering from congestion in his right lung.
Although the poet's condition did improve in January 1892, he would never
recover. He was confined to his bed, and his physicians, Dr. Daniel Longaker of
Philadelphia and Dr. Alexander McAlister of Camden, provided care during his
final illness. Whitman died on March 26, 1892. [back]