Beschreibung:

ARCHIVE OF CORRESPONDENCE AND BOOKS. This lot comprises correspondence, typescript material and printed matter written by Richard Maurice Bucke and sent to Eleanor B. Sherman during the period in which Bucke was working on his magnum opus, Cosmic Consciousness. Bucke was Superintendent at the Insane Asylum of London, Ontario. He is also known as a close friend of Walt Whitman’s and as Whitman’s biographer and literary executor. Includes: 1. Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind. Philadelphia: Innes & Sons, 1901. 2 volumes. 4to. Cloth. Toning internally, hinges broken, some rubbing to cloth. One of 500 copies, signed by the author. 2. Typed Manuscript, 25 pp, 4to, n.p., n.d., being an original draft of Chapter Eight in Cosmic Consciousness, uncorrected, inscribed by the author on the first page: “Private. For Miss Sherman only and any friend she wishes to show it to / RMB.” With original envelope. Discusses the case of John Yepes, St. John of the Cross [1542-1591]. 3. 20 Typed Letters Signed and 5 Autograph Letters Signed, various sizes, London, 1899-1901, most to Eleanor Sherman, most on London Insane Asylum stationery, creasing and some separation throughout, with original envelopes. With printed announcement about the death of Bucke’s 31-year old son. 4. Cosmic Consciousness: A Paper Read Before the American Medico-Psychological Association in Philadelphia, 18 May 1894. Philadelphia: The Conservator, 1894. Front wrapper spotted, back wrapper detached. 5. Books by Dr. R.M. Bucke and Walt Whitman. London, Ont., c.1901. Printed advertising circular. 6. Photograph of R.M. Bucke, 21 x 16 cm, matted with his clipped signature, “R.M. Bucke.” Provenance: The letters and typescript are addressed to Eleanor Sherman. The book and Cosmic Consciousness booklet bear the ownership inscription of Maude Morrison of Sugar Run, Pennsylvania, probably a relative of both Eleanor Sherman and BG Morrison.