A number of documents are important to understanding the 1855 Leaves of Grass, from the binder's statement and copyright materials to a series of early draft advertisements Whitman had printed. Here we provide a group of short essays that discuss the context and significance of several of these documents. Additional essays will be added to this section on topics relevant to the 1855 Leaves of Grass as materials are discovered or found to be significant to the edition. In the future, we also hope to provide more extensive editorial treatment of many of the items discussed in these essays, including links to transcriptions.