Walt Whitman by Mathew Brady, ca. 1867
Of this image, Horace Traubel recalled: "W. gave me a Broadway picture of himself: 'How do you like that for free and easy?' Laughing mildly. 'Some of the fellows in Washington said no—they wouldn't have it on any terms: they said to me: "you like to make yourself look tough." One fellow said: "You do all you can to encourage the people in their belief that you are a tough." Is that the picture of a tough? Maybe I am not sensitive—maybe I am a tough—maybe the people who don't like toughs, don't like me, are right.' He called my attention to the dent in the hat. 'Somebody once called it a sauce-pan—said I wore sauce-pan hats'" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, June 7, 1888).
For more information on Mathew Brady, see "Notes on Whitman's Photographers."
Photographer: Brady, Mathew B., 1823–1896
Date: ca. 1867
Technique: photograph
Place: Washington (D.C.)
Subject: Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 | Washington (D.C.)
Instance(s):
Metadata for Digital Item
Creator of master digital image: J. Paul Getty Museum
Rights: Public Domain. This image may be reproduced without permission.
Work Type: digital image
Date: ca. 1995–ca. 2000