33 BAUMAN RARE BOOKS 34WHITMAN, Walt. Complete Poems and Prose. Camden, 1888. Quarto, original three-quarter green cloth, custom clamshell box. $14,500 “From My Heart To Your Heart”: One Of Only 600 Copies Signed By Whitman, Presented By His Literary Executor 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. 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…” 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. “Shut not your doors to me proud libraries, For that which was lacking on all your well-fill’d shelves, yet needed most, I bring"
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