Document Type
Catalog
Publication Date
7-2005
Abstract
This booklet accompanied the exhibit which marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass (1855). The items on display were drawn chiefly from the Thomas Cooper Library's Joel Myerson Collection of Nineteenth-Century Literature, and this booklet records the arrangement and explanatory text of the exhibit as actually mounted. The exhibit is arranged chronologically, to show the growth and development of Whitman's poetry, and the effects on his books of his own close involvement in their production. Included are all the major editions in the development of Leaves of Grass, from two variants of the 1855 first edition through to three inscribed copies of the 1889 Birthday edition and the 1891-92 Deathbed edition. Also included are early magazine and newspaper publications; books that Whitman originally published separately, such as the Civil War poems Drum-Taps, and its Sequel; the advertising poster for his books that Whitman designed in 1871; and some manuscript material. Also on display are the Whitman poetic manuscript, "Veil with their lids" and the rare edition of Whitman's 1876 Centenary edition.
Recommended Citation
University of South Carolina, "University of South Carolina Libraries - Leaves of Grass at 150, August 2005". http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/rbsc_pubs/41/
Comments
As noted above, this booklet records the arrangement and explanatory text of the exhibit as actually mounted. The library has also issued a more formal catalogue for the exhibition, compiled by Professor Myerson, which summarizes the poem's remarkable bibliographical history and provides an up-to-date record of the library's combined holdings of Leaves of Grass editions, both those in the Myerson Collection and earlier acquisitions. The bibliographical headings in this booklet derive from Professor Myerson's more formal catalogue, as do important passages in the text. Professor Myerson's catalogue is cross-referenced to his authoritative Walt Whitman: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993).