Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass First Edition 1855 | CA 🇺🇸

Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass First Edition 1855 Price: 222,000 USD • International shipping available Customs duties and taxes may apply. Ships from: New York, United States • Taxes not included VAT and other taxes are not reflected in the listed pricing. • Authenticity guaranteed We guarantee the authenticity of this item. Description A first edition, first issue of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Walt Whitman (American). New York, 1855. Small folio. xii, [13]–95 pages. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Whitman by Samuel Hollyer after a photograph, printed on thick paper. Bound in the original green cloth, boards with blind-stamped floral decorations, title and triple-fillet border gilt, spine with title and floral ornaments gilt, marble endpapers, all edges gilt, housed in a custom half morocco folding case. “He was and is the poet and prophet of democracy, and the intoxication of his immense affirmative, the fervor of his ‘barbaric yawp,’ are so powerful that the echo of his crude yet rhythmic song rings forever in the American air” (Grolier One Hundred). The self-published Leaves was at least partially personally type-set by the author on a small handpress in Brooklyn. The portrait of Whitman is here in superior condition, without the foxing often encountered. This copy bears the printed copyright statement on the verso of the title page and has the first version of line 2 of page 49 (“And the night is for you and me and all”) identified by Schmidgall in his article, “1855: a Stop-Press Revision.” Of the original 795 copies, only 337 were issued in this first binding with extensive gilt stamping, marbled end-sheets, and gilt edges (in the second binding only the title was gilt, and plain yellow end-sheets were used). Condition Report: Very Good Some expert restoration to head and foot of spine. Inner hinges tightened. Original tissue-guard. A few small dampspots to first few leaves. A few spots of neat pencil marginalia and a transcription of Whitman's poem "To the Man-of-War-Bird" on the final leaf. Product is used. Dimensions: Height: 11.18 inches / 28.4 cm Width: 7.76 inches / 19.7 cm Feature(S): First Edition Language: English Subject: Poetry, American Literature, Literature, Specialist Selections, Americana, Fine bindings SKU: DC24Q ——— Sotheby’s Los Angeles Location: 350 N Camden Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States Phone: +1 310 274 0340 EMAIL: losangeles@sothebys.com CONTACT TEAM * Luke David (Senior Client Liaison) Email: Luke.David@sothebys.com Phone: +1 310 786 1868 * Cecilia Castillo (Department Assistant) Email: Cecilia.Castillo@sothebys.com