Leaves of Grass

Brooklyn, NY: [The Author], 1855. First edition, second state of the copyright page, second state of p. iv with "cities and" correct, in Myerson's Binding B. [viii, reviews as noted in Myerson], 95pp. with author portrait at front on thin paper, mounted on thicker paper. Bound in publisher's dark green cloth with elaborate blindstamping and gilt lettering, rebound and recased. A Good+ copy with some work done: professional repairs to cloth and binding; skillful resizing and repair to contents; front matter (reviews), frontis, and rear inner flyleaf washed in distilled water. Edgewear to portrait at front repaired with Japanese tissue; portrait remounted. Cloth worn at corners, small exposed area of front board along blind rule, faint staining to cloth. Tidemark to reviews at front and final page faint but visible, occasional light staining to contents. Housed in a custom slipcase. One of only 262 copies produced of this binding as per Myerson.

"A revolution in world literature, Leaves of Grass celebrated the self and the spirit of democracy - uttering forth with a voice 'transcendent and new,' a stream-of-consciousness free verse, distinctly American. The poet of the American ideal, Whitman is 'the greatest artist his nation has brought forth. Indeed, no comparable figure in the arts has emerged in the last 400 years in the Americas...'" (Bloom, "Introduction to Leaves of Grass," 2005, p xi).