Scope and arrangement
The collection, dating from 1842 to 2012, contains materials compiled by Susan Jaffe Tane that relate to or were created by, Walt Whitman. Except for some photographs, the materials were initially collected by Francis O. Mattson and are associated with Whitman's life and poetry. The bulk of the collection, dating from the 1950s to the 1990s, holds music scores and binders of ephemera from events inspired by Whitman's life and poetry. The rest of the collection is composed of manuscripts, postcards, photographs, a radio script, journal and newspaper clippings, sound and video recordings, and LGBTQ-related materials created by, or about, Whitman.
The collection is arranged into four Series: Photographs, Manuscripts and Related Material; Affiliated Scores and Recordings; Associated Ephemera; and LGBTQ-related Materials.
The Susan Jaffe Tane collection of Walt Whitman is arranged in four series:
-
1869-2008
This series, dating from 1869 to 2008, is made up of manuscripts and photographs created by Whitman's friends and associates. Mattson, who compiled the manuscripts, wrote notes about the manuscripts; the series retains his notes. The manuscripts include cards, envelopes, essays, and letters written by Horace Traubel, William Douglas O'Connor, Bliss Perry, and Elizabeth Porter Gould that largely discuss Whitman and his work. There are two envelopes signed by Whitman.
The series also holds photographs that include portraits of Whitman at home in Camden, New Jersey, and in a studio. Of note are five signed Whitman portraits. The rest of the series features photographs of William Douglas O'Connor alone and with his niece, Grace Ellery Channing; a stereograph card of Whitman's birthplace; and two photographs of Gay Wilson Allen.
-
1904-2010
This series, dating from 1904 to 2010, incorporates music scores, a radio script, and sound and video recordings compiled by Mattson. The music scores consist of commercial sheet music and songbooks featuring compositions inspired by various Whitman poems. Most of the compositions set Whitman's poems to music. The scores are written for voice, mixed chorus, piano, string orchestra, and brass-percussion ensemble. Two pieces of sheet music, "On the Beach at Night" and "Turn, O Libertad," were owned by Joaquin Nin-Culnell. "On the Beach at Night" is annotated by Nin-Culnell, and "Turn, O Libertad" is signed to Nin-Culnell by the composer, Roger Sessions. The rest of the scores are not annotated or signed.
The series includes a radio script, The Eagle's Nest, by Arthur Miller.
Mattson also collected commercial sound and video recordings of music and films loosely affiliated with Whitman's poems, life, and name. The commercial sound recordings include readings of Whitman's poetry, as well as recordings of Whitman's poetry set to music. The rest of the recordings feature three mainstream commercial Hollywood films; a professor's lecture on Whitman; two music bands who produced albums loosely inspired by Whitman; and a university and a high school concert that each contains one song inspired by a Whitman poem.
-
1842-2012
This series, dating from 1842 to 2012 and compiled by Mattson, is composed of bookmarks, commemorative coins, photographs, flyers, theater and dance programs, ink drawings, cigar signs, letters, greeting cards, stickers, stamps, comics, art, subway cards, postcards, journal and newspaper clippings, notes, catalogs, tickets, a speech transcript, and commemorative brochures from societies, schools, events, and landmarks associated with Whitman. The series retains Mattson's groupings by binders, journal and newspaper clippings, folders, and scrapbooks. Most of the items date from the 1960s to the 1990s and are connected tenuously to Whitman. Items in the series range from bookmarks, brochures, flyers, and photographs of Whitman's birthplace to a condition book from the 1962 Walt Whitman Stakes. The series includes Mattson's notes on Whitman and reflects his collecting efforts.
-
1920s-2007
This series, dating from the 1920s to 2007, comprises LGBTQ-related ephemera, magazines, newspapers, a poster, a dance program, a letter, and ink sketches influenced by Whitman that were collected by Mattson. The bulk of the material comprises flyers from various plays, poetry readings, and lectures about or inspired by Whitman. Present are bookmarks from LGBTQ bookstores, a Pride Month Poster from 1989, a 1938 Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers dance program, postcards identifying Whitman as an LGBTQ icon, ink sketches of Civil War Soldiers reading Leaves of Grass, and newsletters and journal articles about Whitman's sexuality. Mattson also retained a homophobic open letter to New York Public Library Trustees written by Charles F. Heartman circa 1925 protesting the opening of the Walt Whitman Exhibition due to Whitman's sexuality. The series includes adult magazines and newspapers that contain articles celebrating Whitman's sexuality.