8vo. Original cloth gilt (rubbing, light damp staining along edges). Provenance: J.H. Stafford (penciled gift inscription, "From Walt Whitman of Camden, N.J. To Whom I am indebted.")

FIRST EDITION. "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" was written as part of the commencement address Whitman delivered to the graduates of Dartmouth College on June 26, 1872. One of few poems recited publicly by Whitman, it was also to be the last; in early 1873 he suffered a paralytic stroke which would leave him partially invalid through the rest of his life. BAL 24108; Myerson A7.1.a.

[With]: WHITMAN. Leaves of Grass. Philadelphia: Rees, Welsh, & Co., 1882. 8vo. Publisher's cloth gilt; slipcase (rubbing, very light soiling). BAL 21419; Myerson A2.7.d-g. -- WHITMAN. Calamus: A Series of Letters Written During the Years 1868-1880 by Walt Whitman to a Young Friend. Boston: Laurens Maynard, 1897. 8vo. Publisher's cloth (rubbing). FIRST EDITION, SECOND ISSUE. BAL 21446; Myerson A14.1.b.