the original wrappers for the 1855 Leaves of Grass, preserved by Whitman for scrap paper
(WHITMAN, WALT.). Leaves of Grass: the original printed paper wrappers
[Brooklyn], [1855]
Conjugate front and back salmon wrappers, 7 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. Excellent condition.
Although the green cloth bindings for the 1855 first edition of Leaves of Grass are familiar, the rare paper wrappers are little known. This set survived only because Whitman preserved them until his death in 1892.
According to the bookbinder’s records, 795 copies were bound; Whitman reported that 800 were printed. The first 200 were bound in June 1855 in binding A (green cloth with extra gilt stamping and all edges gilt). In December 1855 to January 1856, another 262 copies were bound in binding B (green cloth with less ornate stamping), and at this same time another 150 copies were bound in binding C (paper wrappers).
Almost all examples in the fragile wrappers were lost or rebound, with only a handful of copies existing in institutions. A few institutions (Princeton, Duke) owned examples of the unused wrappers, as the present example.
Whitman evidently preserved these wrappers for decades, leaving them to be discovered by his literary executor Richard Maurice Bucke. Several examples were sold at the Bucke sale in 1936.
“These wrappers were probably later trimmed by Whitman for use as writing paper” (Joel Myerson, Walt Whitman: A Descriptive Bibliography, p. 19.).
$5,500