Miscellaneous Manuscript Collection
This small collection of papers spans the years 1837 to 1957 with the bulk concentrated in 1840-1891. Included are examples of the Whitman's original correspondence and literary manuscripts, photocopies and transcripts of similar Whitman material, and printed matter and miscellaneous items relating to Whitman. Known as the Walt Whitman Papers Miscellaneous Manuscript Collection (MMC), it contains representative samples of Whitman's writing. MMC includes some of Whitman’s earliest known correspondence, written to his lover Abraham P. Leech, and a printed copy of the poem "O Captain! My Captain!" with the poet's handwritten corrections. A small selection of family letters, including correspondence of Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and his sister, Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde give us some insight into his everyday life and domestic routines.