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Leaves of Grass: Authoritative Texts, Prefaces, Whitman on His Art, Criticism
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Leaves of Grass: Authoritative Texts, Prefaces, Whitman on His Art, Criticism Paperback - 1973

by Walt Whitman; Harold W. Blodgett (Editor); E. Sculley Bradley (Editor)

About this book

Leaves of Grass (1855) is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman. Among the poems in the collection are "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking," and in later editions, Whitman's elegy to the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd. " Whitman spent his entire life writing Leaves of Grass, revising it in several editions until his death. The first edition published in 1855 contained 12 poems on 95 pages. The final edition published contained almost 400 poems. 

First Edition Identification

On May 15, 1855, Whitman registered the title Leaves of Grass with the clerk of the United States District Court, Southern District of New Jersey, and received its copyright. The first edition was published on July 4, 1855, in Brooklyn, at the printing shop of two Scottish immigrants, James and Andrew Rome, whom Whitman had known since the 1840s. Whitman paid for and did much of the typesetting for the first edition himself. The book did not include the author's name, and instead offered an engraving by Samuel Hollyer depicting Whitman in work clothes and a jaunty hat, arms at his side. Early advertisements for the first edition appealed to "lovers of literary curiosities" as an oddity. Sales on the book were few, but Whitman was not discouraged.

The first edition was very small, collecting only twelve unnamed poems in 95 pages. Whitman once said he intended the book to be small enough to be carried in a pocket. "That would tend to induce people to take me along with them and read me in the open air: I am nearly always successful with the reader in the open air", he explained.  About 800 were printed, though only 200 were bound in its trademark green cloth cover.  The only American library known to have purchased a copy of the first edition was in Philadelphia The poems of the first edition, which were given titles in later issues, were "Song of Myself", "A Song for Occupations", "To Think of Time", "The Sleepers", "I Sing the Body Electric", "Faces", "Song of the Answerer", "Europe: The 72d and 73d Years of These States", "A Boston Ballad", "There Was a Child Went Forth", "Who Learns My Lesson Complete?", and "Great Are the Myths".

Details

  • Title Leaves of Grass: Authoritative Texts, Prefaces, Whitman on His Art, Criticism
  • Author Walt Whitman; Harold W. Blodgett (Editor); E. Sculley Bradley (Editor)
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 1008
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher W. W. Norton & Company, New York
  • Date 1973
  • ISBN 9780393093889 / 0393093883
  • Weight 1.49 lbs (0.68 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.35 x 5.15 x 1.59 in (21.21 x 13.08 x 4.04 cm)
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 00000000
  • Dewey Decimal Code 811.3

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Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass

by Walt Whitman, ed. by Sculley Bradley, Harold W. Blodgett

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W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1973. Soft cover. Poor. 1008 pages (of which SIX NUMBERED PAGES MISSING) + 60 pages of introduction and front matter, with Whitman's other poetic writings, index of titles, selected bibliography, chronology of Whitman's life and work, the poet's comments on his own work, and criticism by William Dean Howells, Van Wyck Brooks, D.H. Lawrence, Lewis Mumford, Randall Jarrell, William Carlos Williams, Anthony Burgess, Kenneth Rexroth and others. Trade paperback (5-1/8" x 8-1/4"), wraps creased, curled and slightly soiled, spine creased and cracked in two places, foxing to top edge. From the library of Prof. Warner Berthoff (not stated), his marginalia observed on approximately 25 pages, the majority in the "Calamus" section. Condition of the book would be "Good," except for the fact that PAGES 205-210 (THREE DOUBLE-SIDED PAGES) ARE MISSING, being the last few stanzas of "Song of the Exposition" and the whole of "Song… Read More
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy

by Whitman, Walt / edited by Bradley, Sculley and Blodgett, Harold W.

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UsedGood. We flipped through this book and didn't notice any notes or underlines. The cover has visible markings and wear. There may be stickers or sticker residue on the cover. The book is slightly cocked. Fast Shipping - Each order powers our free bookstore in Chicago and sending books to Africa!
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy

by Whitman, Walt / edited by Bradley Sculley and Blodgett Harold W.

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W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Trade Paperback. Very Good. Light crease to spine, light edgewear, else tight and clean.
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy

by Whitman, Walt / edited by Bradley, Sculley and Blodgett, Harold W.

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W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.. 2nd Edition. Acceptable. Acceptable. Heavy wear. Ship within 24hrs. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed. APO/FPO addresses supported
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Leaves of Grass, a Textual Variorum of the Printed Poems, 1855-1856 Vol. I-III
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Leaves of Grass, a Textual Variorum of the Printed Poems, 1855-1856 Vol. I-III

by Whitman, Walt

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Leaves of Grass, a Textual Variorum of the Printed Poems, 1855-1856 Vol. I-III
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Leaves of Grass, a Textual Variorum of the Printed Poems, 1855-1856 Vol. I-III

by Whitman, Walt

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Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
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WALT WHITMAN LEAVES OF GRASS
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WALT WHITMAN LEAVES OF GRASS

by Bradley, Sculley & Blodgett, Harold

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W.W. Norton, 1973. W.W. Norton, 1973, 8vo, 1008 pages, illustrations. Softcover edition in very good+ condition.. Paperback. Very Good+/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall.
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Leaves of Grass, a Textual Variorum of the Printed Poems, 1855-1856 Vol. I-III

Leaves of Grass, a Textual Variorum of the Printed Poems, 1855-1856 Vol. I-III

by Walt Whitman

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Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W., 1973. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy
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Leaves of Grass / Norton Critical Edition, Instructor's Desk Copy

by Whitman, Walt / edited by Bradley, Sculley and Blodgett, Harold W

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Leaves of Grass (Norton Critical Edition)
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Leaves of Grass (Norton Critical Edition)

by Whitman, Walt. Sculley Bradley & Harld W. Blodgett (Editors)

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W. W. Norton & Company, 1973. Paperback. Very Good. 993 pp. Wrappers handled, page edges tanned.
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