WHITMAN, Walt (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn: [Printed for the author], 1855.

First edition, first issue, in a fine Cosway-style binding by Bayntun. First state frontispiece on heavy paper, second state of the copyright page as usual.

“The poet and prophet of democracy […] The whole of Leaves of Grass is imbued with the spirit of brotherhood and a pride in the democracy of the young American nation. In a sense, it is America’s second Declaration of Independence: that of 1776 was political, that of 1855 intellectual” (PMM).

“Whitman was spending nearly every day there [at the printing office of James and Thomas Rome in Brooklyn] that spring [of 1855], writing, revising, reading proof, even working at the type case, just as he had done twenty years earlier as an apprentice printer. Altogether he set in type about ten of the ninety-five pages of a book that he also designed, produced, published, promoted [...] The 795 copies the Romes ran off on their hand press and delivered to the binder were all there were or could be of the first edition. No plates were made; the book was printed from type, and the type distributed" (Kaplan, Whitman (1982), p. 198). Grolier American 67; Myerson A2.1.a; PMM 340.

Folio (279 × 186mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait (light offsetting). Binding: Green morocco signed by Bayntun, covers tooled in gold with single fillets enclosing panel borders of double fillets with stylized flower corner ornaments of onlaid purple morocco with gold-tooled line stems and dark green painted morocco leaves, upper cover with a large oval portrait of Whitman painted on ivorine (81 × 63 mm) within a gold-tooled triple fillet frame, highlighted with a beaded border and an outer frame of stylized flower ornaments of onlaid purple morocco with gold-tooled line stems and dark green painted morocco leaves, the corners of the upper cover and each purple flower of the upper cover highlighted with inset stones (the upper left corner stone is a later replacement); spine in six compartments with five gold-tooled raised bands, one compartment lettered in gold, flower ornaments as on covers in the rest; board edges gold-tooled with dashed fillet, turn-ins tooled in gold with corner ornaments as on covers with added gold-tooled fillets and dotting, green watered silk linings (free endpapers cockled), edges gilt; custom gold-tooled green morocco box by Asprey.

Mike Stanton & Harriet Toni Stanton Christensen (bookplate)
Christie’s New York, 8 December 1989, lot 114