An old hardcover book with faded gray covers embossed with floral prints and gold trim and letters.
He grins conspiratorially.
He forms his hands into a large rectangle shape.
A page of Leaves of Grass. It is a tall narrow yellowed page. The title begins a quarter of the way down the page and the poem begins just above half way, left justified, with tabbed indentations on second lines.
The title page spread of Leaves of Grass. On the left page is a black and white illustration of a man in pants, a long-sleeve shirt, and a black round hat. He holds his hands in his pockets. On the right page is the title spread over three lines. At the bottom in small print it says Brooklyn, New York, 1855.
He points over his shoulder at the slide of the book pages with his thumb.
Side-by-side comparisons of the front of his pants in the book illustration. In the original the front crotch area appears flatter. In the second, the area appears rounder and fuller.
A tall narrow yellowed page that says Leaves of GRASS, Boston, Thayer and Eldridge, Year 85 of the States, 1860 to 61. All of the words except GRASS are in cursive. GRASS is in all capitals and is printed. Squiggly vines grow from the points and ends of each letter.
A photo of the corner of an office with no windows. A desk sits in the corner with a lamp, office chair, and two cork boards on the walls filled with pictures and clippings. A shelf stands beside the desk. A slanted drawing board with another chair and a clip on lamp sits beside the shelf. A clock hangs on the wall above the shelf. The floor has flat industrial gray carpet.
On the slanted table there are two papers clipped on under a clip on lamp. Above the table a book is held open by the clips. Next to the slanted table is a light table.
A picture of himself in the office. He wears a Russian style fur hat.
He swings his arm as if to click to the next slide.
A green-covered Penguin edition paperback book. It has a fairly beat-up cover. The illustration on the cover is a green person with blobs inside its outline. In the background is a yellow field, green mountains, and a sun with yellow and orange rays. Title, Walt Whitman's LEAVES OF GRASS, His Original Edition, Edited, with an Introduction by Malcolm Cowley.
A spread from the book. Line after line is highlighted in pink. Some lines are highlighted in yellow. The pages are covered with notes in various colors of ink.
A three page spread of black and white illustrations. The first page says I CELEBRATE MYSELF under an illustration of a man in a shirt with a collar and a hat with deer antlers. He has a beard and has his mouth open. The second and third pages are one illustration of the same man as a human-headed deer with a lion's tail and antlers on his human head. The creature lies on the ground and has wreathes of flowers strewn over his back and a small crown on his head. Butterflies fly around him. Lines of stylized text flow on a ribbony banner over his hind quarters.
A spread of a red and white illustration. The same creature has been adjusted. He now has a grasshopper on his head and his antlers are more meaty. His front chest and arms are human and he holds a leaf in one hand. He has a mushroom collar. He has wings with scales and pointy feathers. The stylized text fits in all over the page, some words turned 90 degrees.