Walt Whitman, Brooklyn: [Rome Brothers], 1855.

On January 23, 1877 Symonds, living in Bristol, writes to Whitman and specifies that he has recieved this edition of Leaves of Grass as a gift to add to his growing Whitman collection. He adds: "To me as a man your poems - yourself in your poems - has been a constant teacher & loved companion." Symonds sends Whitman's poems to various male friends as an emblem of queer possibility. He and the poet introduce on another to male comrades whom they believe could be friendly.

Walt Whitman, Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, year 85 of the States, 1960-61.

In the dorm room of F.W.H. Meyers at Trinity College, Cambridge, Symonds first encounters Leaves of Grass in this edition. When describing the encounter in his Memoirs, Symonds says: "I imbibed a strong democratic enthusiasm, a sense of the dignity and beauty and glory of simple healthy men."

Walt Whitman, Philadelphia: David McKay, 1884. 

This is one of several editions of Leaves of Grass that John Addington Symonds owned. We can infer from Symonds’ annotations that he read it frequently. It is housed in the University of Bristol Library, which received it from his daughter Madge.

November Boughs

Walt Whitman

Paisley; London: Alexander Gardner, 1889. 

This 1889 edition of November Boughs once owned by Symonds is now housed in the University of Bristol Library. Inside the book, he inscribed his address in Davos. This offers evidence that Whitman's influence extended into Symonds' time in Switzerland, during which Symonds' literary pursuits flourished. The presence of his address may also imply that this copy traveled, exchanged between Symonds and his peers.   

John Addington Symonds, London: John C. Nimmo, 1893. Symonds was a lifelong reader of Walt Whitman. He praises Whitman’s poetry and ideas of male comradeship. Displayed is a facsimile of a postcard from Whitman which Symonds notably includes. Whitman writes, “[I] have the good photo you sent me on my wall here, & y’r last Essays handy - so see you are not forgotten.” Symonds publicizes his reverence and love for Whitman.