{"product_id":"leaves-of-grass-including-a-fac-simile-autobiography-variorum-readings-of-the-poems-and-a-department-of-gathered-leaves-by-walt-whitman-later-printing-in-original-bards-and-scare-dust-jacket-1900","title":"Leaves of Grass: Including a Fac-simile, Autobiography, Variorum Readings of the Poems, and a Department of Gathered Leaves, by Walt Whitman, Later Printing, in Original Bards and Scare Dust Jacket, 1900","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass: Including a Fac-simile, Autobiography, Variorum Readings of the Poems, and a Department of Gathered Leaves. Philadelphia: David McKay, 1900. Reprint. Octavo. In original green cloth, front board stamped and titled in gilt and black, spine titled and stamped in gilt. Top edge gilt. In original, scarce dust jacket with green titles on front panel and spine. With frontispiece portrait of Whitman, four facsimile leaves, and three additional portraits. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePresented is Walt Whitman’s \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass: Including a Fac-simile, Autobiography, Variorum Readings of the Poems, and a Department of Gathered Leaves\u003c\/em\u003e. This reprint edition was published by David McKay in 1900 and is in its original green cloth and gilt and black stamped boards and scare dust jacket. A handsome copy, this is the final edition of \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass \u003c\/em\u003epublished in the 19th century. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe first edition of \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass\u003c\/em\u003e, self-published by Whitman on July 4, 1855, contained only twelve poems, together with a long preface. From 1865 to 1892, eight further editions were published under Whitman’s supervision, each incorporating revisions and additional poems. As the editor of this edition writes in the Preface, “Perhaps no author was given more to change than Walt Whitman. Many poems or parts of poems have been altered, or discarded for a time to reappear in a new form in later editions, and not a few have disappeared entirely.” \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass grew \u003c\/em\u003eacross the span of Whitman’s life; the last edition boasted more than 400 poems. In 1881, the permanent order of poems was established, with the seventh edition. Later, a standard text of \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass\u003c\/em\u003e was prepared by Whitman’s executors for the ten-volume edition in 1902. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis 1900 David McKay published edition “aims to give the growing as well as the grown Whitman. Each poem has been carefully compared with that appearing in all previous editions, and the changes have been inserted as footnotes. The lines have been numbered, by which the reader can readily compare the various readings and mark their transformations.” Although David McKay was one of Whitman’s publishers, Blanck notes this edition was unauthorized, “made up only of material on which the copyright had expired. Later printings are extended by the addition of further poems, all of which are reprints. The first printing…. has 496 pp., but later printings, all of which give the publisher's address as Washington Square, have been seen with 516, 526, 563, and 567pp.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThrough his poetry, Whitman sought to capture the essence of American life and identity, showcasing the beauty and complexity of both nature and humanity. Nicknamed the “father of free verse,” Whitman broke away from traditional poetry forms, favoring long lines and a candid style that mirrors the natural rhythms of speech. Whitman was “influenced by the long cadences and rhetorical strategies of Biblical poetry.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCritical and public reception for \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass\u003c\/em\u003e was mixed in Whitman’s lifetime, as many found Whitman’s style and subject matter unnerving. In a private letter to Whitman, Emerson wrote that the first edition of \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Glass\u003c\/em\u003e was “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed. I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” Whitman also published his own enthusiastic review of the first edition of \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass\u003c\/em\u003e, declaring “An American bard at last!” Yet, \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/em\u003e wrote of Whitman’s 1860 version, “If possible, he is more reckless and vulgar than in his two former publications. … Yet it would be unjust to deny the evidence of remarkable power which are presented in this work.” \"Whitman received little public acclaim for his poems during his lifetime for several reasons:  this openness regarding sex, his self-presentation as a rough working man, and his stylistic innovations”(\u003cem\u003eThe Longman Anthology of Poetry)\u003c\/em\u003e. Today, \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass\u003c\/em\u003e is considered one of the greatest books ever written. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCONDITION:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNear fine condition. Octavo. In original green cloth, front board stamped and titled in gilt and black, spine titled and stamped in gilt. Top edge gilt. Light wear to spine ends, corners of the front boards. Two inked gift inscriptions on front endpaper, dated 1929. With frontispiece portrait of Whitman with tissue guard, four facsimile leaves, and three additional portraits. Clean pages, save stain affecting upper margins of p.90-91. xiv, [11]-567, [5]pp. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGood+ condition. In original, scarce dust jacket,with green titles on front panel and spine. Losses and chips, nicks, creasing to the top and bottom of front and back panel. Spine with losses and chips to top and bottom. No text affected. Spine sunned and lightly dust-soiled. Very scarce in jacket. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions: 8 ⅜” H x 6” W x 1 ¾” D. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eREF: BAL 21452. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Great Republic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49501939433701,"sku":"BK1364","price":2000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0285\/3070\/files\/leaves-of-grass-including-a-fac-simile-autobiography-variorum-readings-of-the-poems-and-a-department-of-gathered-leaves-by-walt-whitman-later-printing-in-origin-8632150.jpg?v=1781763342","url":"https:\/\/www.great-republic.com\/products\/leaves-of-grass-including-a-fac-simile-autobiography-variorum-readings-of-the-poems-and-a-department-of-gathered-leaves-by-walt-whitman-later-printing-in-original-bards-and-scare-dust-jacket-1900","provider":"The Great Republic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}