2011.12.52.9a: ink on paper (fiber product) with leaf (metal) and leather on cardboard
2011.12.52.9b: wood and string (fiber product)
Dimensions:
H x W x D (2011.12.52.9a): 8 1/4 × 5 11/16 × 11/16 in. (20.9 × 14.4 × 1.7 cm)
H x W (2011.12.52.9b): 5 3/4 × 1/2 in. (14.6 × 1.3 cm)
Type:
hardcover books
Place collected:
Kittery, York County, Maine, United States, North and Central America
Place printed:
New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Date:
1961
Description:
2011.12.52.9a: A copy of Selections from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman with an attached bookmark (2011.12.52.9b). It is a faux, brown leatherbound hardcover book with a sewn binding. The book has brown leather front and back covers and gold leaf text and decorative elements. The title and author of the book, [Selections from / LEAVES / OF / GRASS / BY / WALT / WHITMAN], is centrally printed in gold leaf text inside an ornate gold leaf embossed frame. The frame is rectangular with three thin bands and mirror images of floral flourishes at the top and bottom that frame an egg-shaped urn. Printed in gold leaf on the spine, is another illustration of an egg-shaped urn at the top, the title and author at the center, and a small floral illustration at the bottom. The back cover of the book is plain. The interior of the book has black type on white pages and black-and-white illustrations. There is a handwritten black ink inscription on the front free endpaper in the top left corner that reads [100]. The book features a black-and-white mezzotint etching of Walt Whitman on back side of first page. The book include selected poetry by Whitman. The book has 115 pages.
2011.12.52.9b: A wooden bookmark from a copy of Selections from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. The bookmark is attached to the interior back cover near the spine with a red string. The bookmark is thin and features a floral lattice cutout at the top, an ink drawing of a bucolic scene featuring mountains, two houses, a tiger, and Chinese characters of the front. Handwritten in black ink below is the number [52] and a series of broken lines. On the back is a series of Chinese characters printed vertically inside a narrow frame. Handwritten in black ink below is the number [22] and a series of broken lines.
