Administrative Information
Provenance
Transfer; LC Manuscript Division (Gift, transfer, purchase, and deposit converted to gift and purchase, Charles E. Feinberg and others); 1981-1998; (DLC/PP-1981:378, 1982:143, 1982:165, 1983:341, 1986:096, 1986:097, 1998:030).
Processing History
The Visual Materials from the Walt Whitman Papers in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection was processed by staff in the Prints and Photographs Division. The portion of the finding aid for LOT 12017 contains unverified data from old container lists transcribed by Jacob Stickann in 2020. Not all of the groups of material are described at the same level of detail. An additional item that forms part of the Visual materials from the Walt Whitman papers in the Charles E. Feinberg collection not included in this finding aid is an image filed in the Biographical File (Call Number: BIOG FILE - Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892). For more information about service of these additional materials, search our Online Catalog by call number.
The Feinberg-Whitman Collection (LOT 12017) was processed by Jackie M. Dooley in March 1984. During the transcription of the old container list in 2020, Jacob Stickann added information from the Walt Whitman Archive. The Walt Whitman Archive has compiled a listing of portrait sittings, dates, and creators of portraits of Walt Whitman. Dates and Artist/Photographer names from the Whitman Archive were considered to be more accurate and complete, and thus were used instead of the unverified dates and Artist/Photographer names in the original finding aid produced by Library of Congress in 1984. Information from the Whitman Archive is only given if the Library of Congress has an existing digital reproduction.
Henry Saunders' book, Whitman portraits (Toronto: Saunders, LC call numbers PS3235.S3 1922 and PS3235.S3 1923), was the initial source for researching and arranging LOT 12017. Copies of both the 1922 and 1923 editions were used to research the LOT. They are housed in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. A copy of the 1923 edition of Saunders' Whitman portraits is also available on microfilm in the Prints and Photographs Division, or may be purchased from the LC Photoduplication Service (Microfilm 83/5651). (filed in P&P Microfilm as LOT 12017-A)
All images that were published in the 1971 edition of Specimen Days are identified by a note giving the Specimen Days plate number. In some cases, this number serves as a unique identifier for two items by the same photographer that bear the same date or are very similar in appearance. Other notes provide information on the physical characteristics, derivation, or subject of the item.
Negative numbers are given in the container list for original glass and film negatives (in series LC-X12) that correlate to prints in the Feinberg-Whitman Collection. Negatives are generally not served to researchers.
Brett Carnell processed additional material received from the Manuscript Division after 1984 into LOT 15567 and LOT 15568 in 2023. 37 items in LOT 15568 were separated from folders of processed material in the LC Manuscript Division and are referenced in the Manuscript Division finding aid "The Walt Whitman papers in the Charles E. Feinberg collection." Some of the items referenced in the finding aid include digital images. The file folders containing these items retain the folder headings that match those used in the Manuscript Division finding aid.
Finding aid encoded by Maggie McCready in 2020-2021 and revised by Brett Carnell in 2023.
Transfers
Prints, photographs, paintings, drawings, and printing plates were transferred from the Manuscript Division to the Prints and Photographs Division. A portion of the collection is still located in the Manuscript Division and can be identified as part of the Walt Whitman papers in the Charles E. Feinberg collection, 1763-1985. An inventory of this material is available in their finding aid. More information about the division can be found at the Manuscript Division Homepage and Contact Page.
Some printed volumes were transferred from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division to the Prints and Photographs Division. A portion of the collection is still located in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division and can be identified as part of the Feinberg Whitman Collection. More information about the division can be found at the Rare Book and Special Collections Homepage and Contact Page
Related Material
Additional materials featuring Walt Whitman are described in our Online Catalog and searchable by call number or descriptive words:
- LOT 12038 (H): Walt Whitman Portraits
- PH - Cox (G.), no. 1 (A size): Walt Whitman, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing right, wearing hat, Saunders number 94
- PH - Cox (G.), no. 2 (A size): Walt Whitman, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing right, wearing hat
Additional materials related to Walt Whitman are also held in the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections:
- William Blake : a critical essay . ND497.B6 S8 Copy 4. Inscribed by the author to Walt Whitman; with inscriptions of Whitman and Horace Traubel.
Online Content
To see already digitized images from this collection, search our Online Catalog by call number or descriptive words.
Microfilm
The Feinberg-Whitman Collection (LOT 12017) has been microfilmed for preservation purposes and reader service, and may be purchased as a PDF, paper photocopy, or duplicated microfilm reel from LC Photoduplication Service (P&P microfilm Lot 12017). The film reproduces all Feinberg-Whitman material in the Prints and Photographs Division with the exception of 1) printing plates and relief plaques, which could not be satisfactorily microfilmed, and 2) duplicate images which display no autographs, annotations, or other unique physical features. Specifically, Boxes 7-9 and 16-18 were not filmed, nor was the Scribner's portfolio in Box 22.
The arrangement of the film differs slightly from that of the original images. Large framed items were filmed in logical order, while paintings, the orotone, and the daguerreotype were filmed out of sequence for technical reasons. The recto and verso of each item was filmed in order to capture all annotations and physical characteristics.
Alternate Formats
Negatives were removed from throughout the collection and filed separately as noted below. Negatives are generally not served to researchers and are stored offsite. A print of each image is available in the collection.
- Negatives from LOT 12017 are filed as:
- LC-X12: 11 5x7 and 8x10 glass or film negatives
- Negatives from LOT 15568 are filed as:
- LC-MISC-15-504 to 506: 16 black and white 120mm safety film
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, and reproduction number [e.g., LC-DIG-ppmsca-12345]