Drum Taps [bound with] Sequel to Drum-Taps. When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd

New York and Washington: [Peter Eckler], 1866. First edition. Very Good. Twelvemo, original brown cloth, gilt and blindstamped medallions, speckled edges; pp. (iv), 5-72, (3), 4-24. Early bookplate of A. C. Burnell on the front paste-down. A Very Good copy, minor wear at the spine ends and corners, some loss at the foot of the spine, text block secured, inner hinges repaired, and a tear professionally closed on page 53. A few leaves slightly soiled, but generally clean throughout. Retaining a paper spine label (now illegible).

How does a poet reflect upon his countrymen's experience in war? Whitman's Drum-Taps offers readers a poetic catalogue of the patriotic fervor, fear of battle, and profound tragedy of the American Civil War. After Lincoln's assassination Whitman delayed the book's publication so that he might add his elegies to the president, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "O Captain! My Captain!" as well as sixteen other poems, bound in with separate pagination, table of contents, and title page. Deeply moving, the poems in Drum-Taps and Sequel to Drum-Taps draw from Whitman's firsthand experience as a volunteer nurse during the war and his meditation on the lives lost during conflict. Now some of his most famous poems, these were also incorporated into later editions of Leaves of Grass.

Myerson A3.1a2. Wells & Goldsmith, 11. BAL 21398. Very Good.