Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American writer, philosopher, and naturalist closely associated with the New England Transcendentalists. The Walden; or, Life in the Woods autograph manuscript fragment, dated circa 1845-1854, consists of a leaf from a working draft.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American essayist, poet, philosopher, and naturalist closely associated with the New England Transcendentalists. He grew up and spent much of his career in Concord, Massachusetts. His best-known works included Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854) and the essay "Civil Disobedience" (1849).
Thoreau died in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1862.
The Walden; or, Life in the Woods autograph manuscript fragment, dated circa 1845-1854, is part of a working draft of the nonfiction book. The autograph manuscript has writing on both sides of the leaf and comes from the "Reading" section of Walden.
Gift of Susan Jaffe Tane, 2024.
Processed by Amy Lau in 2025.
This item was donated by Susan Jaffe Tane in 2024 alongside manuscripts, poems, and letters of Samuel Clemens (Berg Coll MSS 188320), Charles Dickens (Berg Coll MSS 186712), Oliver Wendell Holmes (Berg Coll MSS 188319), Edgar Allan Poe (Berg Coll MSS 188317), and Walt Whitman (Berg Coll MSS 188321), which have been described separately.
Other portions of the Walden; or, Life in the Woods manuscript are held in the Henry David Thoreau collection of papers (Berg Coll MSS Thoreau) and at the Morgan Library & Museum.