1888. First Edition . Signed. WHITMAN, Walt. Complete Poems and Prose. (Camden: no publisher [printed for the author in Philadelphia by Ferguson Brothers], 1888). Quarto, original three-quarter green cloth, original brown mottled paper boards, original paper spine label, uncut. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $14,500.First edition of the first collected edition of Whitman's works, one of only 600 copies signed by Whitman on the Leaves of Grass title page, in original cloth, presentation copy from Whitman's literary executor inscribed on the front free endpaper six months after Whitman's death, ""To G. Garson Freund, Philada. Oct. 11, 1892. through Horace Traubel.""Published only four years before the poet's death, this edition was referred to by Whitman as his ""big book… essentially the book, irrespective of expensive binding: it has portraits, notes, title page—all the guarantees of my personality: it is as clearly the book as anything could make it."" Whitman also called it his ""pet edition"" going ""straight from my hands into the hands of the reader: from my heart to your heart…"" Issued for Whitman by the publisher, with four portraits of the author, including a photographic title page. Contains Leaves of Grass, Specimen Days and Collect, and November Boughs. Binding A, priority assumed. Without a hand-written limitation number by Traubel on the leaf opposite the Leaves of Grass title page, as is sometimes the case in copies in this binding. Myerson A2.7m. BAL 21431 (binding A). Wells & Goldsmith, 31-32. Bookplate of the recipient. In addition to being a close friend of Whitman, Horace Traubel, who presented this copy, served as his literary executor and biographer; he is considered one of the leading forces in insuring Whitman's stature as a great American poet.Interior generally fine, text block and inner paper hinges expertly reinforced, light wear to extremities of original binding. An extremely good copy.

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Bookseller: Bauman Rare Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 126143
Title: Complete Poems and Prose
Author: WHITMAN Walt
Book Condition: Used
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Date Published: 1888

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Cloth: "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Spine Label: The paper or leather descriptive tag attached to the spine of the book, most commonly providing the title and author of the...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Text Block: Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
Clamshell Box: A protective box designed for storing and preserving a bound book or loose sheets. A clamshell box is hinged on one side, with...
Inscribed: When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
G: Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
Bookplate: Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Leaves: Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
Quarto: The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
BAL: Bibliography of American Literature (commonly abbreviated as BAL in descriptions) is the quintessential reference work for any...
Title Page: A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...