• Title: Leaves of Grass (Modern Library)
• Author: Walt Whitman
• Publisher: Random House
• Estimated year of printing: 1940 

Notes:

Bookplate: Robert L. Carter

Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing, rewriting, and expanding Leaves of Grass until his death in 1892. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades — the first edition was a small book of twelve poems, and the last was a compilation of over 400.  Rather than focusing on religious or spiritual matters, Leaves of Grass focuses primarily on the body and the material world. Its poems do not rhyme or follow standard rules for meter and line length.  Over time, however, the collection has infiltrated popular culture and became recognized as one of the central works of American poetry.

The Modern Library is an ongoing series of mostly reprints published continuously from 1917 to the present. Over 750 titles have been published in the series.  Originally an imprint of the publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an independent publishing company in 1925.  Random House began in 1927 as a subsidiary of Modern Library, eventually overtaking its parent company in 1936, with Modern Library then becoming an imprint of Random House. 

This book carries a copyright of 1921, which is when Modern Library first published an edition of Leaves of Grass.  However, this particular printing is most likely from around 1940, because it contains end papers of a design that was only introduced in 1929, it references being published by Random House (which was not the publishing company until 1936), and lastly the cover & spine design match what was introduced in 1939/1940.

Historical context:

When this book was printed in 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the United States.  Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and Woody Woodpecker made their debut this year, and Billboard published its first music popularity chart, with Tommy Dorsey’s “I’ll Never Smile Again” as its first number one.