Leaves of Grass

Philadelphia: David McKay, 1884.

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Hardcover. Reprint of the 1882 Rees Walsh & Co. edition, binding A (no priority), the fifth printing issued by McKay, who had taken over Rees Walsh and Co.'s publishing. Yellow cloth gilt. Engraving of Whitman following page 28. Many pages roughly opened with resulting chips, small nicks and tears to the cloth, hinges tender, a good only copy. Boldly Signed by the author ("Walt Whitman") on the title page. *BAL* 21630.

Item #318022

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Item #318022 Leaves of Grass. Walt WHITMAN.

Walt Whitman
birth name: Walter Whitman
born: 5/31/1819
died: 3/26/1892
nationality: USA

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Biography

American journalist, essayist, and poet whose style of writing in such works as Leaves of Grass (first edition, 1855) revolutionized American literature. Such poems as "I Sing the Body Electric" and "Song of Myself" asserted the beauty of the human body, physical health, and sexuality. - Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literaturemore

Collecting tips:

Whitman may well be the great American poet. Because he published so much of his own work, his bibliography can be complicated and detailed. Leaves of Grass (first edition, 1855 - but which he continued to expand upon for most of the rest of his life) exists in two states, and at least three bindings, but suffice it to say that any copy dated in 1855 is desirable, and will be commensurately expensive.more