# Is "Leaves of Grass (1855 first edition)" by Walt Whitman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855 first edition) by Walt Whitman (Self-published, printed by Andrew & James Rome, 1855) is identified by: Self-published first edition; the binder's records account for about 795 copies bound in stages between June 1855 and January 1856, in cloth and in plain wrappers/boards. US true first, self-published 1855, sheets printed at the Rome brothers' (Andrew & James Rome) Brooklyn shop and distributed by the phrenological firm Fowler & Wells.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Self-published first edition; the binder's records account for about 795 copies bound in stages between June 1855 and January 1856, in cloth and in plain wrappers/boards
- BAL/Blanck records three binding states, all genuine 1855 issues: Binding A — dark green cloth with a triple-ruled gilt border, blind-stamped floral ornaments, the title in gilt with rayed lettering, marbled endpapers and gilt edges (the earliest, June–July 1855)
- Binding B — the same cloth but with only the title goldstamped, borders and ornaments in blind, plain edges and plain (peach, buff or yellow) endpapers (later bindings, December 1855–January 1856)
- Binding C — plain paper wrappers/boards
- Some Binding B copies show the blind ornaments reversed at the centre of the covers, and every recorded copy with that reversal also contains the eight-page insertion of printed reviews and extracts (including notices Whitman wrote of himself anonymously) that he had bound into part of the remainder
- Quarto, about 95 pages: twelve untitled poems preceded by the prose preface; no author name on the title page (Whitman is named only within the text)
- Publisher imprint reads Self-published, printed by Andrew & James Rome

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Walt Whitman |
| Publisher | Self-published, printed by Andrew & James Rome |
| Year | 1855 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Self-published first edition; the binder's records account for about 795 copies bound in stages between June 1855 and January 1856, in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Self-published first edition; the binder's records account for about 795 copies bound in stages between June 1855 and January 1856, in cloth and in plain wrappers/boards. BAL/Blanck records three binding states, all genuine 1855 issues: Binding A — dark green cloth with a triple-ruled gilt border, blind-stamped floral ornaments, the title in gilt with rayed lettering, marbled endpapers and gilt edges (the earliest, June–July 1855); Binding B — the same cloth but with only the title goldstamped, borders and ornaments in blind, plain edges and plain (peach, buff or yellow) endpapers (later bindings, December 1855–January 1856); Binding C — plain paper wrappers/boards. Some Binding B copies show the blind ornaments reversed at the centre of the covers, and every recorded copy with that reversal also contains the eight-page insertion of printed reviews and extracts (including notices Whitman wrote of himself anonymously) that he had bound into part of the remainder. Quarto, about 95 pages: twelve untitled poems preceded by the prose preface; no author name on the title page (Whitman is named only within the text). The frontispiece is the engraved 'carpenter' portrait of Whitman in laborer's dress, traditionally attributed to Samuel Hollyer after a Gabriel Harrison daguerreotype (the Hollyer attribution has been questioned). BAL records two frontispiece states — State A on heavier paper, State B on thin China paper mounted to a heavier sheet; the priority of the states has been debated, so treat paper stock as a state marker rather than proof of 'earliest issue.'

## Is this the true first?
US true first, self-published 1855, sheets printed at the Rome brothers' (Andrew & James Rome) Brooklyn shop and distributed by the phrenological firm Fowler & Wells. All three binding states (A gilt cloth, B blindstamped cloth, C wrappers) and both frontispiece states are genuine 1855 copies; the elaborately gilt Binding A is the earliest and most sought binding, but a plainer Binding B or a wrappered Binding C copy is not a facsimile or a later edition. The distinct later editions — 1856; 1860 Thayer & Eldridge; 1867; 1871–72; 1881–82; and the 1891–92 'Deathbed' edition — are collected separately and must not be conflated with the 1855.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Numerous facsimiles exist. Genuineness rests on the Rome-printed quarto sheets, the period cloth or wrappers, and the engraved-plate frontispiece states — NOT on the presence of gilt decoration: a genuine copy may be in gilt Binding A, in blindstamped Binding B, or in plain wrappers (Binding C). Facsimiles are betrayed by modern paper, photographic reproduction of the type and of the frontispiece plate, and the absence of period binding materials. No book-club reprint of the 1855 text is a first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Leaves of Grass (1855 first edition)* by Walt Whitman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/leaves-of-grass-1855-first-edition
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.