HELP WANTED: Academic proofreaders with experience to compare
computer scanned texts character-by-character with historical originals.
Zero error tolerance. Absolute reliability essential. Unpaid volunteers only.
The advertisement is imaginary but the conditions are real for Jeffrey Savoye of the Poe Society of
Baltimore, who heads the world’s largest archive of academic-quality electronic texts of Edgar Allan Poe,
online at http://www.eapoe.org. Most Poe scholars are aware that the Baltimore web site has a
unique collection of Poe’s complete poetry and tales, all historically accurate and freely available online,
often in several variant forms. What is less well known is the extent to which Savoye is adding to his web
site other essential Poe material -- his own articles and reviews, articles by others on him, and letters to and
from him. The latest project is the addition to the Baltimore web site of scholarly articles from Poe
Studies/Dark Romanticism. In all of this, a backlog of work is growing half-cp0kpleted
As historical originals become available – articles by or about Poe -- scanners can mechanically produce a
computer image file that then is rendered into readable text by software for OCR (optical character
recognition). Although the process is reasonably accurate for contemporary documents that use known
typefaces and are in perfect condition, historical originals are likely to suffer from slightly wavy line
alignment, broken characters, the irregularities and uncertainties of handset type, and the injuries of time on
paper and ink. The process normally is about 90% accurate – or about 8 errors per line – rising with extreme
quality control to 99% accurate – about one error per line. Ordinary language is sufficiently redundant for
these high error rates, which can be reduced somewhat by spelling checkers, not to be critical. But no
spelling checker has a nineteenth century literary dictionary of Poe’s language. And any auto-correction in
the scanning or verification process in the case of Poe may well introduce more errors than it corrects.
Stealing time for proofreading whenever he can, Savoye was checking proof of a scanned text against a
photocopy of the historical original while waiting for his plane at the airport. A fellow passenger found it
amazing: “How can you read two books at the same time?/
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
****************************
Wherever possible, the original sources have been used, retaining Poe's punctuation and spellings.
A few words on method: Generally, printed text is scanned on a Relisys 2400 (a TWAIN compatible flatbed
scanner using ART-SCAN). Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is performed with Caere's OmniPage 7.0
and saved as a document. This document is imported into Corel WordPerfect 7.0, where the text is examined
for obvious errors, many of which are conveniently highlighted by WordPerfect's spell checker. Manuscript
material, which cannot be interpreted by OCR, is entered by hand. Variants are usually created from a basic
version of the text, modified as required. Since OCR and spell checkers are notoriously unreliable and
inherently limited by their mechanical nature, text must ultimately be verified manually. (OCR, for example,
routinely misreads "hath" as "bath" and "thine" as "shine," especially when the source font is smaller than
12-point. Spell checkers are inadequate for Poe's historical spellings and frequent coining of words. Greek
and Hebrew text, which does not use standard character sets, is provided as a[n] image, scanned and
manipulated under Adobe's PhotoShop 4.0. Illustrations originally published with the text are similarly
provided.) At the end of each text, a proofreading mark is maintained to keep track of its status.
General Topics about Poe
***********************
Standard Poe References Oct. 25, 1999
Poe Chronology Sept. 8, 2001 with some links to figures and works
Poe's Problematic Biography May 10, 1999 with extensive bibliography
Poe and Griswold Sept. 12, 1999
Poe's death, including theories (alcohol, disease and medical problems, cooping [captured and being forced
to vote] Nov. 13, 1999 with bibliography
Poe's appearance, including clothing, voice, known portraits, links to daguerreotypes, engravings Nov. 12,
1999, using Michael Deas's Portraits and Daguerreotypes of Edgar Allan Poe
Drugs and Alcohol, Religion, Music, Phrenology, Fame, Middle Name, Family Tree, Friends and Enemies,
and Where Poe Lived, Worked and Visited.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
****************************
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
***Poe's Works of Fiction:
**Poe's Poems April 7, 2004. [Why are poems under fiction? Don't we know what the poems are?]
This selection of Poe's poems contains at least one example of every surviving poem of which he is certain
or nearly certain to be the author. Variants, noted parenthetically beside the name of the poem, refer to those
given in the edition of Poe's poems edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott (The Collected Works of Edgar Allan
Poe - Volume I: Poems, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969). Mabbott's is the
definitive edition of Poe's poems, including notes on all textual variants from manuscripts and texts
published up to the edition edited by Griswold in 1850. For punctuation variants, refer to the very fine
collection of Poe's poems by Floyd Stovall (The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, Charlottesville: The University
Press of Virginia, 1965). In general, Mabbott assigns each variant a one-letter code of "A" through "Z." It
should be noted, however, that Mabbott never assigns a text "I" or "O." To a few variants, Mabbott assigns a
2-character value, with a letter and a number, such as "J2." Where we have added our own items to the list of
variants, we have adopted a 2-character value comprised of letters only, such as "CB." A number of
recognized reprints and translations from Poe's lifetime have been included on the list to reflect public
reaction to a tale. This list is not necessarily exhaustive as there were many unauthorized reprints. (Mabbott
does not list reprints, so these have been culled from a variety of other sources, especially the Bibliography
(1943) by Heartman and Canny.) Generally, the text for reprints is not given here as these can hardly add to
our documentation of Poe's intentions or our understanding of its meaning.
Within these selections, all original punctuation, abbreviations and spellings have been retained. Where
these spellings differ greatly from modern spellings, the most current form is noted in brackets immediately
following the word. A number of obvious variants, such as "colour" for "color," reflect conventions to which
we no longer adhere, but which were considered acceptable during Poe's lifetime and are left to stand
without additional commentary. For manuscript material, including Poe's own corrections to printed sources,
text contained within angle brackets "<...>" shows annotations made by Poe himself for the main text given.
Reversed double-angle brackets ">>...<<" show text that Poe has canceled by striking or scratching out. Text
contained within square brackets "[...]" is not part of the original. This text is intended as notes or corrections
of typographical errors. In the original printings, some text occasionally appears within square brackets
"[...]." In such cases, these have been changed to standard parentheses to avoid confusion. (Note: Over the
next several months, we will be changing our stated policy concerning square brackets to retain Poe's usage
and distinguish our own editorial notes by enclosing these in double-square brackets "[[...]]".)
*Related Material:
An index of first lines
A chronological index
The Canon of Poe's Poems
*The Collections and Books:
During his lifetime, Poe published four collections of his poetry. A posthumous collection, edited by
Rufus Wilmot Griswold, incorporates some additional manuscript changes, although Griswold did not have
access to a few other important corrections and is therefore less than definitive. These collections are listed
chronologically. Within each of these, there is a list of poems which links to the appropriate text of text.
Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827, Poe's first published collection of poetry, TAOP)
"Wilmer" manuscript collection (about 1828, several poems in manuscript)
Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems (1829, Poe's second published collection of poetry, ATMP)
Poems (1831, Poe's third published collection of poetry, POEMS)
The Raven and Other Poems (1845, Poe's fourth published collection of poetry, RAOP)
"Richmond Examiner" manuscript collection (late 1849, several poems for which the contents are recorded
but the manuscript apparently lost)
The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe (1850, volume II: Poems and Miscellanies, WORKS)
*The Poems: lists all known versions with links to many texts and variants, Alp[hab]etical short cuts,
bibliograh[p]y
**Poe's Tales ("The Fall of The House of Usher," etc.) [Why Usher? What about fictional sketches? See
Mabbott>]
Jan. 1, 2004. This selection of Poe's tales contains at least one example of every surviving tale of which he
is certain or nearly certain to be the author. Variants, noted parenthetically beside the name of the tale, refer
to those given in the edition of Poe's tales edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott (The Collected Works of Edgar
Allan Poe - Volumes I & IIII: Tales and Sketches, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press,
1978). For The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, The Journal of Julius Rodman and The Unparalled
Adventure of One Hans Pfaall, these variants are given in the edition of Poe's longer tales edited by Burton
R. Pollin (The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume I: The Imaginary Voyages, Boston: Twayne
Publishers, 1981). Mabbott's is the definitive edition of Poe's short fiction, including notes on all textual
variants from manuscripts and texts published up to the edition edited by Griswold in 1850.
Chronological index in preparation
*The tales: lists all known versions with links to many texts and variants, Alpbabetical short cuts,
bibliograhy
**Poe's Works of Non-Fiction:
*.Poe's Literary Criticism (Reviews and Notices) April 12, 2002
This selection of Poe's literary criticisms is just in the beginning stages. Since most of the literary criticism
of Poe's era is unsigned, attribution is a complex and divisive issue. All items included here have been
attributed to Poe at one time or another, but are subject to further analysis as our project proceeds. In
general, uncertain attributions are noted by the presence of a question mark ("?"), with more question marks
("???") being used to denote less certain items. A few doubtful items are included merely because they have
not been disproven. Again, these marks are not definitive at this stage.
* Lit crit: variants, links
.Poe's Essays, Sketches & Lectures (Eureka, "The Philosophy of Composition," etc.) Jan. 24, 2002.
Alpha, variants, links
**.Poe's Miscellanea ("Marginalia," "The Literati," etc.) March 11, 2004 .
[very useful]
**.Poe's Letters (including letters from and to Poe, with a checklist) June 23, 2003 [very useful]
This collection includes all of Poe's letters (and all of the letters written to Poe) for which surviving text is
known. In a few instances, items are also noted for which no text is known, but the contents have been
described. (At the bottom of this list are given some well-known fakes and forgeries.) The Poe Society is
very interested in information about any letters that are not on this list or the accompanying checklist, or for
which the location of the manuscript is noted as unknown. Photocopies of manuscripts, transcripts and other
information may be sent to the Poe Society. The anonymity of any private collector will be honored in
accordance with his or her wishes.
Currently, the most comprehensive printed collection of letters written by Poe is the 2-volume edition by
John W. Ostrom, The Letters of Edgar Allan Poe, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948 (reprinted,
with supplemental material by Gordian Press, 1966. The supplement of the 1966 edition includes new
material as well as combining material published in American Literature, XXIV (November 1952), pp. 358366 and American Literature, XXIX (March 1957), pp. 79-86. A fourth supplement was printed in American
Literature, XLV, no. 4 (January 1974), pp. 513-536. Letters printed as part of these collections are noted
with a code of "OL#n", where "n" is the letter number. Letters added or appearing with textual corrections in
the supplement to the 1966 edition are noted as "OS#n" and in the 1974 supplement as "OS4#n". Ostrom's
final Revised Check List of letters from and to Poe was published in Studies in the American Renaissance
1981, pp. 169-255. This Check List is referenced as "RCL#n". Where the text here is printed from the
manuscript, and there are notable variances from Ostrom's text, the item is also noted as "MS".) A few items
included by Ostrom, somewhat erroneously as letters, remain in the checklist but have been moved to more
appropriate sections of this web page. It should be noted, of course, that the approximately 407 surviving
letters probably represent only a portion of those Poe wrote during his lifetime. In some cases, it is only
Poe's draft of a letter that comes down to us, so that we cannot be certain of the final version. Also, a large
number of letters are known only through typescripts, excerpts or copies handwritten by others.
The most complete printed collection of letters written to Poe is James A. Harrison's The Complete Works
of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume 17: Letters, New York: T. Y. Crowell, 1902 (also printed as a separate
volume, along with Harrison's biography of Poe). Regrettably, Harrison omitted many items, excerpted text
and was not scrupulous in his readings of the manuscripts. As early as 1921, Thomas Ollive Mabbott sought
to remedy these problems and began to collect material for a comprehensive edition of Poe's
correspondence, with the texts of all known letters from and to Poe. It was a formidable goal, and over
twenty years later, the edition had still not appeared. Even after John Ward Ostrom published the 1948
edition of Poe's letters noted above, Mabbott planned to include the correspondence as part of his complete
edition of Poe's works. About 1963, Mabbott appears to have shifted his intention, seeking to print only
letters to Poe, since these were noted by Ostrom in his check list, but not generally quoted in the text. At
some point, Mabbott planned to print only previously unpublished letters to Poe, as short articles in N&Q
(Notes & Queries). With Ostrom's 1966 revised edition of Poe's letters, Mabbott seems to have abanonded
his own plans, or at least to have put them on hold. Eventually, Mabbott's notes on the letters to Poe were
given to Joseph V. Ridgely, who continued the effort until financial problems in the publishing industry put
an end to the project in the 1980s. The materials accumulated by Mabbott and Ridgely were subsequently
made available to the Poe Society of Baltimore, and substantially constitute the basis for the texts for the
letters written to Poe. It is hoped that in making all of these letters available to the scholarly community, we
have, at long last, fulfilled Mabbott's original intentions.
This checklist is based on John Ward Ostrom's "Revised Check List of the Correspondence of Edgar Allan
Poe," Studies in the American Renaissance, 1981.
Checklist of Letters from and to Edgar Allan Poe
** Miscellaneous Items: Nov. 19, 2001.
.Miscellaneous Documents and Manuscript Material
***About Poe's Works:
**.The Canon of Poe's Works (Poems, Tales, etc.)
Last Update: May 8, 1999. Navigation:. Main Menu .. Poe's Poems .. Poe's Tales .. Poe's Misc
The Canon of Poe's Works
It is, of course, well known that Poe was a writer, but what did he write? In his own day, he was generally
thought of as a poet and literary critic who also wrote stories. With the rise of modern poetry and its
emphasis on free verse, Poe's poems fell from grace. The modern school derided them as old-fashioned,
more gimmick than substance. His critical reviews were mostly forgotten. A select few of his more fantastic
poems and tales have never been out of print, but have obscured his other writings. Most people know about
"The Raven," "The Bells," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of
Usher." These and a few related works comprise the core of Poe's literary legacy. They are, however, only a
handful of his writings and provide a misleadingly narrow view of his style and subject matter. In addition to
the familiar poems and tales, Poe wrote humorous stories, a textbook on the study of shells, a theory on the
nature of existence, a play, editorial reviews and essays on a variety of topics including the history of street
paving.
Since the 1880's, scholars have been trying to establish a complete listing of Poe's writings. The bulk of
Poe's poetry was clearly identifiable from his own published collections, but the majority of Poe's writings
were printed in magazines and newspapers, many of which are very rare or entirely lost. Unpublished
manuscript material was also known and sometimes its authorship hotly debated. Forgers further
complicated the picture, generally creating bad and obvious imitations of "The Raven," but sometimes
fooling even cautious experts. A large number of Poe's works were published anonymously, particularly the
editorial material. Even "The Raven" was first printed, at Poe's insistence, as by " -- Quarels." At one time or
another, every poem printed over the initials "E. A. P." or even just "P" has been attributed to Poe, usually
incorrectly. Separating the wheat from the chaff has been a complicated and controversial chore, one that
will probably never be completely resolved. At this point, it is unlikely that any major new works will be
identified, but possible items continue to emerge from time to time. At least one noted Poe scholar, Dr.
Burton R. Pollin, has recently decreed that many works by Poe's friend Henry Beck Hirst may actually be
by Poe. He is planning to include these items in his continuing collection of Poe's writings, but it will require
many years of discussion and disagreement before they can be accepted, if they are at all, as part of the Poe
canon.
The following categories are convenient for dividing Poe's works into manageable lists, but require a
certain amount of personal preference. These lists should not be considered definitive, although it is our
hope that, in time, they will be as inclusive and accurate as possible. In addition to accepted works, dubious
and rejected items will be listed separately. Whenever practical, the reason for attribution of each item will
be noted.
Poe's Works of Fiction:
Poems:
Accepted Poems (alphabetically by title)
Fragments, Trifles and Lost Poems
Apocryphal, Doubtful and Rejected Poems
Collections of Poe's Poetry
Tales:
Accepted Tales (alphabetically by title)
Fragments, Trifles and Lost Tales
Apocryphal, Doubtful and Rejected Tales
Collections of Poe's Tales
Poe's Works of Non-Fiction:
Essays & Sketches:
Accepted Essays & Sketches (alphabetically by title)
Fragments, Trifles and Lost Essays & Sketches
Apocryphal, Doubtful and Rejected Essays & Sketches
Collections of Poe's Essays and Sketches
Literary Criticism:
Accepted Literary Criticism (chronologically within periodical name)
Fragments, Trifles and Lost Literary Criticism
Apocryphal, Doubtful and Rejected Literary Criticism
Collections of Poe's Literary Criticism
Miscellanea:
Accepted Miscellanea (alphabetically by title)
Fragments, Trifles and Lost Miscellanea
Apocryphal, Doubtful and Rejected Miscellanea
Collections of Poe's Miscellanea
Bibliography:
**.Poe's Works in Annuals, Magazines and Periodicals (first printings and recorded reprintings)
Last Update: Oct. 11, 2001 .Navigation:. Main Menu .. Poe's Poems .. Poe's Tales .. Poe's Misc
Annuals, Magazines and Periodicals
(This page is under construction)
It may seem strange today to consider that magazines and newspapers in Poe's day, in addition to providing
news and information, were also the chief outlets for fiction and poetry. With the exception of a few of the
poems, all of Poe's writings made their first appearance in the pages of magazines, newspapers and annuals.
Even Poe's one novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, began as a serial in the pages of The Southern
Literary Messenger. One must also remember that Poe was employed over the years by several magazines in
some editorial capacity. (Briefly, he owned The Broadway Journal.) As an editor, and sometimes merely as
a regular contributor, Poe wrote a great deal of material in the form of literary reviews and notices,
miscellaneous essays, editorial filler and even plate articles.
Annuals and Gift Books (with at least one first printing or authorized reprinting)
In the middle of the 19th century, annuals were popular gifts for the new year. These annuals printed a
pleasant mixture of poetry, fiction and occasionally essays or other articles. In keeping with the spirit of
being gifts, the collections were often beautifully bound and carried lavish engravings. Most annuals were
issued by about November of the year prior to the official date of the collection.
(These items are listed alphabetically)
The American Keepsake (New York, Poe item in the volume for 1851)
The Baltimore Book (Baltimore, Poe item in the volume for 1838) (Some copies, presumably residuals from
1838, were modified and sold for 1839. In these copies, the publication date of 1838 has been removed from
the title page and "1839" added to the spine of the binding.)
The Gift (Philadelphia, Poe items in the volumes for 1836, 1840, 1842, 1843 and 1845)
The Irving Offering (New York, Poe items in the volume for 1851) (Reprinted as The Wintergreen for 1852)
(Both of these incarnations include the same Poe story, "A Descent Into the Maelstrom.")
The May Flower (Boston, Poe item in the volume for 1845)
The Missionary Memorial (New York, Poe item in the volume for 1846) (Reprinted as Christ's Messengers
in volumes for 1847 and 1848) (Also reprinted as The Missionary Offering in volumes for 1850 and 1853,
and as The Christian Souvenir in a volume for 1851.) (All of these various incarnations include the same Poe
poem, "The Lake.")
The Opal (New York, Poe items in the volumes for 1844, 1845)
Magazines and Newspapers (of which Poe served in an editorial capacity at some point)
(These items are listed chronologically by Poe's period of serving on the staff.)
The Southern Literary Messenger (Richmond, VA, August 1834 - June 1864.) (Poe served on the staff July
1835 - January 1837)
Burton's Gentleman's Magazine (Philadelphia, July 1837 - December 1840.) (Poe served on the staff @
June 1839 - May 1840)
Alexander's Weekly Messenger (Philadelphia, January 4, 1837 - Nov. 1, 1848 [?]) (Also, Alexander's
Express Messenger and Weekly Chronicle, later Alexander's Express Messenger and Alexander's Pictorial
Messenger.) (This newspaper was connected with W. E. Burton, and Poe served as a dual editor of Burton's
and Alexander's December 18, 1839 - May 6, 1840.)
Graham's Magazine (Philadelphia, January 1841 - December 1858) (Full title: Graham's Lady's and
Gentleman's Magazine) (Formerly: The Casket)
The Saturday Museum (Philadelphia, December 10, 1842 - October 5, 1844.) (About March 1843, it was
announced that Poe was officially connected with this newspaper, although Poe wrote to J. R. Lowell that
the announcement was premature.)
The Evening Mirror (New York) (See also: The New York Mirror) (Based on a description by N. P. Willis,
Poe served as a sub-editor of the Evening and Weekly Mirror, September 1844 - February 1845)
The Weekly Mirror (New York) (See also: The New York Mirror)
The Broadway Journal (New York, January 4, 1845 - January 3, 1846.) (Poe served on the staff March 1,
1845 - Jan. 3, 1846)
Magazines and Newspapers (with at least one first printing or authorized reprinting)
(These items are listed alphabetically)
The American Monthly Magazine (New York, 1833 - May 1838)
The American Museum (Baltimore, September 1838 - June 1839) (Full title: The American Museum of
Science, Literature, and the Arts)
The American Review (New York, January 1845 - December 1852) (Later, The American Whig Review.)
The Baltimore Saturday Visiter (Baltimore, February 4, 1832 - April 10, 1847 (?).)
The Casket (Philadelphia, January 1826 - December 1840) (See also: Graham's Magazine)
The Columbia Spy (Columbia, Pennsylvania, 1830-1919)
Godey's Lady's Book (Philadelphia, July 1830 - August 1898)
The Home Journal (New York, February 14, 1846 - March 23, 1901) (after 1901, it became Town and
Country)
The New York Mirror (New York, 1823 - 1858 (?)) (Began as The New York Mirror and Ladies's Literary
Gazette. Also, The New Mirror, later The Evening Mirror and The Weekly Mirror)
The New Mirror (New York) (See also: The New York Mirror)
The Pioneer (Magazine, Boston, January 1843 - March 1843)
The Saturday Courier (Newspaper, Philadephia, 1831 - March 4, 1848) (Also, M'Makin's Model American
Courier, March 11, 1848 - March 1, 1851, and later continued as the American Saturday Courier, March 8,
1851 - Nov. 8, 1856.)
United States Magazine and Democratic Review (Washington, D. C. and New York, October 1837 October 1859.)
xxxxxxxxx (xxxxxx, xxxx - xxxx.)
Magazines and Newspapers (with only unauthorized reprintings)
(These items are listed alphabetically)
Bentley's Miscelleny (Magazine, London, January 1837-1868 and New York, January 1838 - ?)
Boston Museum (Boston and Cleveland, June 3, 1848 - 1860 [?])
xxxxxxxxx (xxxxxx, xxxx - xxxx.)
Bibliography:
Blanck, Jacob, compiler, Bibliography of American Literature, 8 vols, New Haven: Yale University Press,
1955-1990. (Compiled for the Bibliographical Society of America. Edgar Allan Poe is included in volume 7,
edited and completed by Virginia L. Smyers and Michael Winship, 1983. This bibliography includes only
the poetry and tales, with some additional material. It makes no attempt to list Poe's voluminous editorial
material, essays or reviews. It includes several of the annuals, but does not concern itself with magazines or
newspapers.)
Brigham, Clarence S., Edgar Allan Poe's Contributions to "Alexander's Weekly Messenger", Worcester,
Mass.: The American Antiquarian Society, 1943.
Harrison, James A., "Bibliography of the Writings of Edgar A. Poe" in The Complete Works of Edgar Allan
Poe, New York: T. Y. Crowell, 1902, vol. XVI, pp. 355-379. (Reprinted by New York: AMS Press, 1965)
(This bibliography contains a number of items that have since been determined are not by Poe and does not
include some that are by Poe. Its usefulness has been greatly undercut.)
Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of the First Printings of the Writings of Edgar
Allan Poe, Hattiesburg: The Book Farm, 1943. (Reprinted by New York: Kraus Reprint Co., 1977. This
book is extremely useful, but far from definitive.)
Heartman, Charles F. and Kenneth Rede, A Census of First Editions and Source Materials by Edgar Allan
Poe in American Collections, Metuchen, 1932, 3 vols. (This bibliography is now exceedingly rare and has
generally been supplanted by the Heartman and Canny bibliography listed above.)
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, Index to Early American Periodical Literature 1728-1870: Part 2 - Edgar Allan
Poe, New York: Pamphlet Distributing Company, 1941. (Note: Mabbott later repudiated this index, which
was published without giving him a chance to review the text. By his own admission, it includes many items
that are probably not by Poe. Mabbott, Poems, 1969, p. 503 n3.)
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume I, Poems, Cambridge: Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1969. (Mabbott's definitive collection effectively establishes the canon
for the poems.)
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volumes II & III, Tales & Sketches,
Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978. (Mabbott's collection effectively establishes
the canon for the short stories and several editorial items.)
Robertson, John W., A Bibliography of the Writings of Edgar A. Poe, 2 vols, San Francisco: Russian Hill
Private Press, Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, 1934.
Spannuth, Jacob E. and T. O. Mabbott, Doings in Gotham, Pottsville, PA.: Jacob E. Spannuth, 1929. (Poe's
contributions to the Columbia Spy.)
Trent, William Peterfield, John Erskine, Stuart P. Sherman and Carl Van Doren, eds., "Bibliographies -Poe," The Cambridge History of American Literature, 4 vols, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1934, vol 2,
chapter XIV, pp. 452-460. (This simple, chronological listing of Poe's works carries no explanations for
attributions. Although the editors note that they have omitted disputed items, they still managed to include
some material that has since been rejected from the canon.)
~~~ End of Text ~~~
[S:0]
**.Some Editions of Poe's Works
Last Update: Sept. 24, 2004 .Navigation:. Main Menu .. Poe's Poems .. Poe's Tales .. Poe's Misc
Some Editions of Poe's Works
At least some of Poe's works have been in print, in one form or another, since the publication of his first
collection of poetry, the now famous and very rare Tamerlane and Other Poems (Boston, 1827). Only about
twelve copies of this little pamphlet are known to exist, of which only a few are complete and in good
condition. Poe's subsequent collections in book form of his tales and poems did not sell well and were
printed only in fairly small runs. The vast majority of Poe's writings originally appeared in magazines and
newspapers, which in Poe's day carried poems, stories and literary reviews along with news and other
information. Many of Poe's editorial items were printed without Poe's name, making attribution difficult. A
few poems existed only in the form of manuscripts which were not among Poe's papers at the time of his
death.
Following Poe's death, the legal rights to his collected works were secured, somewhat surreptitiously
through R. W. Griswold, by publisher J. S. Redfield. Redfield published the first two volumes, containing
poems and tales, near the end of 1849. A third volume followed in 1850 and a fourth in 1856. (The final four
volume edition is generally listed with a copyright of 1856.) This four volume set was quite popular and is
thought to have sold several thousand copies a year. Redfield also published a single volume containing just
the poems in 1853, with "an original memoir" (presumed to have been written by Charles F. Briggs). The
rights to these collections passed through a variety of hands, but continued to be published until about 1886,
when the rights were purchased by A. C. Armstrong, which issued Poe's writings in several forms, most
notably a six volume set with additional material and a new memoir by Richard Henry Stoddard. Armstrong
appears to have sold the rights to George Putnam's Sons about 1902. By then, other competing collections
had already begun to appear, most notably that assembled and edited by Clarence E. Stedman and George E.
Woodberry, published by Stone and Kimball in 1894-1895. Putnam secured the rights to this edition as well
and reissued it in full in 1903 to challenge the new 17-volume edition by James A. Harrison, issued in 1902
by T. Y. Crowell. Putnam also issued less substantial editions, though also in ten volumes, beginning in
1902.
Shortly after the initial copyrights expired in about 1876, a trickle of competing editions appeared, slowly
swelling until it eventually became a full scale publishing free-for-all. The first serious alternative to the
Griswold edition was that of John Henry Ingram, published initially in Edinburgh in 1874 and 1875. Foreign
publishers had the advantage of ignoring American copyrights, just as American publishers generally
ignored foreign copyrights.
A complete listing of all editions of Poe's works would contain several hundred items. (Most of the 10volumes sets are fairly common, and primarily repeat the same contents. They are of little interest to the
collector or scholar.) Compiling such a list, therefore, is impractical and will not be attempted here. The
following items are listed as significant, representative or interesting examples.
Index (to sections below)
Books Published by Poe
Editions of Complete Works (poems, tales, essays, etc.)
Facsimiles and Photographic Reproductions
Editions of Poe's Poems
Editions of Poe's Tales
Editions of Selected Tales and Poems
Miscellaneous Items
Special Illustrated Editions
Miniatures (Little Blue Books and Little Leather Library)
A Few Non-English Language Editions
Bibliography
Books Published by Poe
(These items are listed chronologically.)
Tamerlane and Other Poems, Boston: Calvin F. S. Thomas, 1827. (There are a number of facsimiles.)
Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, Baltimore: Hatch and Dunning, 1829. (There is a facsimile reprint
by T. O. Mabbott, ed., New York: Facsimile Text Society, 1933.)
Poems, New York: Elam Bliss, 1831. (There is a facsimile reprint by Campbell, Killis, ed., New York:
Facsimile Text Society, 1936.)
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1838).
The Conchologist's First Book, Philadelphia: Haswerl, Barrington, and Haswell, 1839. (Second edition,
1840. Third edition, 1845, with Poe's name removed from the title page, but his initials still following the
preface.)
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, 2 vols, Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1840. (Only 750 were
printed. The sales were disappointing and Lea and Blanchard declined to purchase the copyrights from Poe.)
The Prose Romances of Edgar A. Poe, Philadelphia: William H. Graham, 1843. (Contains only "The
Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Man That Was Used Up.") (The number of copies printed is
unknown, but probably fewer than 250. William was the brother of George Rex Graham, owner and
publisher of Graham's Magazine, of which Poe was an editor for a time. There is a facsimile reprint by
George E. Hatvary and T. O. Mabbott, eds., St. John's University Press, 1968.)
Tales, New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845. (This collection was edited by Evert A. Duyckinck. Poe was
unhappy with the selection of tales. It omitted "Ligeia," which Poe considered to be one of his best stories.
See Poe's letter to Philip P. Cooke, August 9, 1846, Ostrom, Letters, pp. 327-330. At least 1,500 copies were
printed.)
The Raven and Other Poems, New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845. (There is a facsimile reprint by T. O.
Mabbott, ed., New York: Facsimile Text Society, 1942.)
Eureka: A Prose Poem, New York: Geo. P. Putnam, 1848.
Some Editions of Poe's Complete Works (Poems, Tales, Essays, etc.)
It should be noted that none of these editions is truly complete. Some of these editions contain items that are
not by Poe; most leave out items that are by Poe.
Significant Multi-volume Editions
(These items are listed chronologically. A truly complete edition of Poe's works has yet to be published.)
The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, (Edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold) vols 1-2, New York: J. S.
Redfield, 1850 (advertised as early as December 8, 1849, but probably not available until January 10, 1850);
vol 3, 1850 (advertised as early as September 21, 1850); vol 4, 1856 (advertised beginning March 8, 1856).
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by John Henry Ingram) 4 vols., Edinburgh: Black, 1874-1875.
(Reissued in 1880. Ingram expanded Griswold's edition with "The Journal of Julius Rodman" (from Burton's
Gentleman's Magazine) and other additional material, chiefly from The Broadway Journal.)
The Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by John Henry Ingram) 4 vols., New York: Scribner and
Welford, 1885.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with a memoir by Richard Henry Stoddard) 6 vols., New York: A. C.
Armstrong & Son, 1884 also London: Kegan Paul, Trench, 1884.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with a memoir by Richard Henry Stoddard) 8 vols., New York: George P.
Putnam's Sons, A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1884. (Special edition names: "The Amontillado Edition.")
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by Edmund Clarence Stedman and George Edward Woodberry) 10
vols., Chicago: Stone and Kimball, 1894-1895. (Reissued with additional illustrations and a slightly revised
preface by the editors, 1903. Reissued by New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914.)
The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by James Albert Harrison, with textual notes by Robert
Armistead Stewart) 17 vols, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell and Company, 1902. (Special edition names:
"The Virginia Edition" and "The Monticello Edition." The Monticello Edition is a larger paper format.)
(Reprinted by Fred de Fau in 1902, in 11 volumes, with some as double volumes.) (The Virginia edition was
reprinted by AMS Press in 1965, although omitting many of the illustrations. It was reprinted again by AMS
Press in 1979, with a special introduction by Floyd Stovall.)
The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume I - Poems, (edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott)
Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969. (Second printing 1979. Reprinted
as a paperback, with the loss of some appendix material, by Harvard in 1980. Reprinted, with complete text,
in 2000 by University of Southern Illinois, in paperback.) The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe;
Volumes II-III Tales and Sketches, (edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott) Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1978. (Second printing 1979. Reprinted in 2000 by University of
Southern Illinois, in paperback.)
The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume I - The Imaginary Voyages (Including The Narrative of
Arthur Gordon Pym, The Unparalleled Adventure of one Hans Pfaall and The Journal of Julius Rodman),
(edited by Burton R. Pollin) Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1981. (Reprinted by Gordian Press, which has
continued the series, all edited by Burton R. Pollin.) Volume II - The Brevities: Pinakidia, Marginalia and
Other Works, New York: Gordian Press, 1985. Volumes III & IV - Writings in The Broadway Journal:
Nonfictional Prose, New York: Gordian Press, 1986. Volume V - Writings in the Southern Literary
Messenger: Nonfictional Prose, New York: Gordian Press, 1997. (Although it has its own sequencing of
volumes, this set is intended to supplement rather than supplant the Mabbott edition. Other than the first
volume, which follows Mabbott's plan for Poe's three long works of fiction, Pollin's edition focuses on nonfiction prose.)
Lesser Multi-volume Editions
(These items are listed chronologically. Although all claim to be "complete" editions, none contains Poe's
complete works. Primarily, most are missing numerous items of criticism and editorial material. There are
many, many sets of Poe's works issued in 10 volumes since 1902, most promoted as "limited editions."
These editions typically reprint the same texts by Poe, with modifications in the sequence, illustration and
introductory material.)
The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited and with a memoir by Charles F. Richardson) 10 vols.,
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons (Fred de Fau), 1902. (Special edition names: "The Fordham Edition," "The
Eldorado Edition" and "The Knickerbocker Edition.")
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introductory essay by W. H. R.) 10 vols, New York: Frank F.
Lovell Book Co., 1902.
The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 10 vols, New York: The Colonial Company, 1903. (A limited
edition of 30 numbered sets, printed on Japanese vellum. Special names: "The Manuscript Edition.")
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introduction "The Art and Genius of Edgar Allan Poe" by Edwin
Markham) 10 vols, New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1904. (Special edition names: "The Cameo Edition."
Poems and Tales only?)
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with a memoir by W. H. R and illustrations by Arthur E. Becher) 5
volumes, New York: Collier & Son, 1904. (Special names: "The Raven Edition")
The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with a memoir by Nathan Haskell Dole) 10 vols., Akron, Ohio:
Werner Company, 1908.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 10 vols., New York: Harper Brothers, nd. (Green cloth binding, with gold
lettering and ornamentation. The volumes contain various black and white illustrations. The age and nature
of this edition has confused many owners. There is no date on the title pages, but in reprinting material from
Griswold's edition has mislead many into thinking it is from 1849-1856. A 1933 reprint by the same
publishers gives their copyright as 1926. Some sources refer to it as the "Harper Centenary Edition" and give
it a date of 1910, noting that 1909 was the 100th anniversary of Poe's birth. Anyone familiar with paper and
bindings of various periods would assign approximately the same date range without this additional
information.)
Facsimiles and Photographic Reproductions
With one or two exceptions, this list includes only complete items published in book form. Numerous
facsimiles exist as single or minor illustrations for articles or in various biographies, which are not included
here.
Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827)
(These items are listed chronologically by date of publication.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Tamerlane and Other Poems. (Facsimile printed for George Redway in London by
Chiswick Press, 1884. This is a type facsimile of the copy in the library of the British Museum. It includes
an introduction by Richard Herne Shepherd. A total of 100 numbered copies were printed. Shepherd's own
copy, with corrections, was sent to George E. Woodberry for an American edition, which was not produced,
although Woodberry used this copy in preparing the 1894, 10-volume edition of Poe's works.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Tamerlane and Other Poems. (Facsimile printed by the Literary Collector Press in
Greenwich, Connecticut, 1905. A total of 37 copies were printed, 2 on India paper, 10 on Japan paper and 25
on hand-made paper. Copies are numbered. According to ABC, 1960, p. 425, the edition was printed for
Frank Maier.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Tamerlane and Other Poems. (Facsimile printed by John Henry Nash in San Francisco,
California, 1923. 150 numbered copies were printed. This facsimile was accompanied by a modern printing
of the poems, with a comment by James Southall Wilson. This facsimile is based on a copy of the original
then owned by Williams Andrews Clark, Jr., without wrappers..)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Tamerlane and Other Poems. (Facsimile printed by The Ulysses Bookshop, London,
1931. 288 numbered copies were printed. This facsimile has no identifying marks or imprint, although some
have a minor "facsimile" mark in red at the end. This mark is easily removed as it often has been.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Tamerlane and Other Poems. (This typeface facsimile was printed by Wirth, Baltimore,
1939. This facsimile has no identifying marks or imprint.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Tamerlane and Other Poems. (This facsimile was printed for The Facsimile Text Society
in New York by Columbia University Press, 1941. It has introductory notes by T. O. Mabbott.)
Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems (1829)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Other Poems. (This facsimile printed for The Facsimile Text
Society in New York by Columbia University Press, 1933. It has introductory notes by T. O. Mabbott.)
Poems (1831)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Poems. (This facsimile was printed for The Facsimile Text Society in New York by
Columbia University Press, 1935. It has introductory notes by Killis Campbell.)
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (1840, two volumes)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Phantasy Pieces. (Facsimile probably printed for George Blumenthal in Paris around
1928. This facsimile reproduces volume one of Poe's Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, with Poe's
revised, hand-lettered title page and table of contents. The number of copies is usually noted as 50.)
The Prose Romances (1843)
Poe, Edgar Allan, The Prose Romances: Containing the "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and the "Man That
Was Used Up." (Facsimile printed by St. John's University Press, 1968. Prepared by T. O. Mabbott, with an
introduction by George E. Hatvary. This facsimile reprints a copy presented by Poe to Francis J. Grund, with
a minor inscription in Poe's hand.)
The Raven and Other Poems (1845)
Poe, Edgar Allan, The Raven and Other Poems. (Facsimile printed for The Facsimile Text Society in New
York by Columbia University Press, 1942. This facsimile has introductory notes by T. O. Mabbott and is
based on the Lorimer Graham copy, with corrections in Poe's own hand.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, The Raven and Other Poems. (Facsimile printed in Columbus Ohio by Charles E. Merrill,
1969. This edition includes Poe's Tales of 1845 and has introductory notes by Jay B. Hubbell.)
Tales (1845)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Tales. (Facsimile printed in Columbus Ohio by Charles E. Merrill, 1969. This edition
includes Poe's Raven and Other Poems of 1845 and has introductory notes by Jay B. Hubbell.)
Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Eureka: A Prose Poem. (A photographic facsimile from the Stephen H. Wakeman copy,
with Poe's own handwritten annotations. Printed for George Blumenthal in Paris around 1928. The number
of copies is usually noted as 50.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, Eureka: A Prose Poem. (Hartford, Connecticut: Transcendental Books, 1973. A complete,
but rather crudely reproduced facsimile of Eureka, with added line numbers. Includes introductory material
by Richard P. Benton.)
Facsimiles of Manuscripts
Poe, Edgar Allan, manuscript for "Murders in the Rue Morgue." (A facsimile of the manuscript in the Drexel
Institute. Printed in Philadelphia by George Barrie, around 1895. Some copies of this facsimile were printed
on Japanese vellum. Other editions were printed between 1896-1905 by George Barrie and Sons.) (In 1898,
this facsimile was included as volume VII in a seven-volume set of Poe's works called the "Tamerlane"
edition, published by Croscup & Sterling in New York. The size of this volume is only 8 inches x 6 inches,
so the manuscript is even more reduced. It is bound in green cloth. There were 120 numbered sets issued in
this edition.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, manuscript for "Epimanies." (A faithful facsimile on Japanese vellum of the 1833 threepage manuscript, including creases and postal markings, one sheet, folded and printed on three sides,
unbound. Like the Phantasy Pieces and Eureka facsimiles, this facsimile is likely to have been executed for
George Blumenthal about 1928. As such the number of copies is probably no more than 50.) (A reduced,
photographic facsimile of the manuscript appears in Quoth the Raven: Selections from the Edgar Allan Poe
Collection of Susan Jaffe Tane, Richmond, VA: The Poe Foundation, 1997, pp. 24-26.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, manuscript for "Hans Phaall" (Volume 1 of the Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe:
The Imaginary Voyages, edited by Burton R. Pollin, New York: Gordian Press, 1981. Between pages 385
and 387 appears a photographic facsimile of the complete 1835 twenty-page manuscript of Hans Phaall
(later "Hans Pfaall") from the Morgan Pierpont Library. One quarter of the final sheet is missing, affecting
pages 19 and 20. The facsimile is approximately the same size as the original, which is unusually small, with
tiny and very careful printing.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, manuscript for "The Light-house." (A photographic facsimile of the 1849 seven-page
manuscript fragment in The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe; Volumes II-III Tales and Sketches, edited
by Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978.
Volume III, pp. 1394-1400.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, letters: Field, Eugene, ed., Some Letters of Edgar Allan Poe to E. H. N. Patterson of
Oquawka, Illinois, Chicago: The Caxton Club, 1898. (Includes beautiful facsimiles on Japanese vellum of
several Poe letters as well a facsimile Poe's own hand-lettered cover design for his proposed magazine The
Stylus.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, letters: Stanard, Mary Newton, ed., Edgar Allan Poe Letters Till Now Unpublished in the
Valentine Museum Richmond, Virginia, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1925. (Includes photographic
facsimiles of many Poe letters.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, letters: Quinn, A. H. and Richard H. Hart, eds., Edgar Allan Poe: Letters and Documents
in the Enoch Pratt Free Library, New York: Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints, 1941. (Includes photographic
facsimiles of several Poe letters as well as letters by Maria Clemm, John J. Moran and others.)
Miscellaneous Facsimiles
(These items are listed alphabetically by author or editor.)
Allen, Hervey and T. O. Mabbott, eds., Poe's Brother: The Poems of William Henry Leonard Poe, New
York: George H. Doran, 1926. (Includes facsimiles of several of Henry's stories and poems from the
Baltimore North American.)
Lowell, James Russell, The Pioneer, January - March 1843. (With an introduction by Sculley Bradley, New
York: Scholar's Facsimiles & Reprints, 1947. This facsimile of the full 3-issue run of Lowell's magazine The
Pioneer includes the first printings of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "Notes Upon English Verse" as well
as revised version of "Lenore.")
Poe, Edgar Allan, The Broadway Journal, January 1845 - January 1846. (2 volumes. New York: AMS Press,
1965. A full-sized facsimile, lacking only some of the white space at the top and bottom of each page, of the
full run of the Broadway Journal.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, The Broadway Journal (nonfictional prose). (Volume 3 of the Collected Writings of Edgar
Allan Poe: The Broadway Journal, Nonfictional Prose, edited by Burton R. Pollin, New York: Gordian
Press, 1986. This volume reproduces the text of Poe's writings as printed in The Broadway Journal of 18451846, with the exception of poetry and tales. Handwritten marks in this edition are not Poe's, although they
are an attempt to include a representation of Poe's own notes from the two volumes of The Broadway
Journal he gave to Sarah Helen Whitman.)
Poe, Edgar Allan, The Southern Literary Messenger (nonfictional prose). (Volume 5 of the Collected
Writings of Edgar Allan Poe: The Southern Literary Messenger, Nonfictional Prose, edited by Burton R.
Pollin, New York: Gordian Press, 1998. This volume reproduces the text of Poe's writings as printed in The
Southern Literary Messenger of 1835-1850, with the exception of poetry, tales, "Marginalia" and small filler
items included by Pollin under the general headings of "Pinikidia" and "Supplemental Pinikidia." Although
the text is a facsimile of The Southern Literary Messenger, it has been cut and rearranged to efficiently fill
the pages. In so doing, the original pagination and column arrangement are completely obscured.)
Varner, John Grier, Jr., ed., Edgar Allan Poe and the Philadelphia "Saturday Courier," Charlottesville:
University of Virginia, Extension Division, 1933. (Includes facsimiles of Poe's "Metzengerstein," "The Duke
De L'Omelette," "A Tale of Jerusalem," "A Decided Loss," "The Bargain Lost," "Raising the Wind; or,
Diddling Considered as One of the Exact Sciences." Also includes facsimiles of clippings concerning the
contest.)
Some Editions of Poe's Poems
(These items are listed chronologically)
Tamerlane and Other Poems, Boston: Calvin F. S. Thomas, 1827. (There are a number of facsimiles.)
Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, Baltimore: Hatch and Dunning, 1829. (There is a facsimile reprint
by T. O. Mabbott, ed., New York: Facsimile Text Society, 1933.)
Poems, New York: Elam Bliss, 1831. (There is a facsimile reprint by Campbell, Killis, ed., New York:
Facsimile Text Society, 1936.)
The Raven and Other Poems, New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845. (There is a facsimile reprint by T. O.
Mabbott, ed., New York: Facsimile Text Society, 1942.)
Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, (with a memoir by George R. Graham and N. P.Willis) New York: H. M.
Caldwell, 1850.
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introduction by James Hannay) London: J. and C. Brown,
n.d. (circa 1854).
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with an anonymous "Memoir of Edgar Allan Poe," which has been
attributed to Charles F. Briggs), New York: J. S. Redfield, 1858. (Reprinted by W. J. Widdleton, with the
same memoir, beginning in 1863. This edition is one of several "done up in the blue and gold" that was
extremely popular for small "cabinet" editions. Some later editions, including one from 1865, were printed
in a larger format.)
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with a memoir by F. M. H.) London: Ward, Lock, n.d. (circa
1870).
Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by Richard Henry Stoddard) New York: W. J. Widdleton, 1875.
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introductory essay by William Fearing Gill) New York:
W. J. Widdleton, 1876.
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (with a "Life of Poe" by E. L. Didier) New York: W. J. Widdleton, 1877.
(This edition was reissued in 1879 with an introductory letter from Sarah H. Whitman. The same collection
was printed by A. C. Armstrong, also with Didier's memoir, as Life and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe in 1882.
An 1880 edition by Widdleton is referred to as "The Diamond Edition." According to a letter from S. H.
Whitman to J. H. Ingram, W. F. Gill hoped that his memoir from the 1876 edition would be included with
Didier's "Life of Poe," but Didier refused the option.)
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by Andrew Lang) London: Kegan Paul, Trench, 1881. (Reissued
London, 1892.)
The Complete Poetical Works and Essays on Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, Together with His Narrative of
Arthur Gordon Pym, (edited, annotated and with an introduction by John H. Ingram) London and New York:
Frederick Warne & Co., 1888.
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with "a prefatory notice, biographical and critical, by Joseph
Skipey") London: Walter Scott, Ltd, 1903. (This edition is printed as part of the Canterbury Poets series,
edited by William Sharp.)
The Best Poems and Essays of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by Sherwin Cody) Chicago: A. C. McClurg &
Company, 1903.
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, New York: Duffield, 1907. (Reissued as a separate volume from the multivolume Stedman and Woodberry edition of 1894-1895. Reissued again by New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1924.)
The Complete Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by James H. Whitty) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
1911. (A second edition, with revisions, appeared in 1917. Whitty was an important scholar, but prone to
sensationalize. His volumes contain several poems that have since been determined as not being by Poe,
most notably "The Vital Stream.")
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by Killis Campbell) Boston: Ginn and Company, 1917.
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by Floyd Stovall) Charlottesville: The University of Virginia Press,
1965. (This is an excellent collection of Poe's poems, although it is slightly less complete than the Mabbott
edition below.)
The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume I - Poems, (edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott)
Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969. (Second printing 1979.)
Some Editions of Poe's Tales
(These items are listed chronologically. There are many editions of Poe's tales which are not listed here.)
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1838).
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (2 vols, Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1840). (Only 750 were
printed. The sales were disappointing and Lea and Blanchard declined to purchase the copyrights from Poe.)
The Prose Romances of Edgar A. Poe (Philadelphia: William H. Graham, 1843). (Contains only "The
Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Man That Was Used Up.") (The number of copies printed is
unknown, but probably fewer than 250. William was the brother of George Rex Graham, owner and
publisher of Graham's Magazine, of which Poe was an editor for a time. There is a facsimile reprint by
George E. Hatvary and T. O. Mabbott, eds., St. John's University Press, 1968.)
Tales (New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845) (This collection was edited by Evert A. Duyckinck. Poe was
unhappy with the selection of tales. It omitted "Ligeia," which Poe considered to be one of his best stories.
See Poe's letter to Philip P. Cooke, August 9, 1846, Ostrom, Letters, pp. 327-330. At least 1,500 copies were
printed.)
The Prose Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, 3 vols, W. J. Widdleton, 1877. (This was originally issued as
"Widdleton's Cheap Edition of Poe's Works" as an early paperback, for 50 cents a volume. It was later
reprinted by New York: A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1884).
Tales by Edgar Allan Poe, (edited with an introduction by Hamilton Wright Mabie) New York: Century,
1901.
Tales of Romance and Fantasy, London: Blackie & Son Ltd, n.d. (about 1908). (This book was advertised as
part of "Blackie's Library of Famous Books." The brief introduction is unsigned.)
The Best Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (edited by Sherwin Cody) New York: Modern Library, 1924.
Poe Short Stories, (edited by Killis Campbell) New York: Sun Dial Press, 1927.
The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe; Volumes II-III Tales and Sketches, (edited by Thomas Ollive
Mabbott) Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978. (Second printing 1979).
(This is essentially the definitive edition of Poe's tales, lacking only "Pym," "Rodman" and "Pfaall.")
The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe; (Vol I - The Imaginary Voyages (Including The Narrative of
Arthur Gordon Pym, The Unparalleled Adventure of one Hans Pfaall and The Journal of Julius Rodman),
(edited by Burton R. Pollin) Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1981. (This is essentially the definitive edition of
Poe's three long fictional works.)
Some Editions of Complete or Selected Tales and Poems
(These items are listed chronologically. There are many selected editions of Poe's tales and poems which are
not listed here.)
The Select Works of Edgar Allan Poe, (with Griswold's memoir of Poe and an excerpt of that by N. P.
Willis) 2 volumes bound as one, Leipzig: Alphons Durr, 1856. (This edition was printed as volume XIII of
the Standard American Authors series, published under the superintendence of Dr. Karl Elze. It includes a
selection of Poe's poems and tales, with "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" and "Eureka." A brief
editorial note, introducing excerpts from the article by N. P. Willis, states "Dr. Griswold -- if these pages
should ever meet his eye -- will certainly pardon the present editor for having ventured thus to tone down a
highly colored picture of one of the most gifted poets of America." This comment strongly suggests that this
volume was prepared without Griswold's knowledge, although the text is clearly lifted from Griswold's
edition as published by J. S. Redfield.)
Prose Tales by Edgar Allan Poe (with an introduction by J. R. Lowell), New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, n.d.
(1898). (This edition is prefaced by this note: "The twelve tales here presented are generally regarded as
representative of Poe's peculiar genius. They are selected from the edition of 1850. . . . an edition so rare that
it is not in the Boston Public Library or in the Athenaeum.")
The Gold Bug and The Black Cat, (with historical and critical comments by Henry Austin) New York: R. F.
Feno & Company, 1899.
Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (edited by Alphonso Gerald Newcomer) Chicago: Scott, Foresman,
1902.
The Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introduction by Edward Everett Hale, Jr.) New York:
University Publishing, 1904.
Tales by Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introduction by Hamilton Wright Mabie) New York: Century, 1908.
The Book of Poe: Tales, Criticisms, Poems, (Edited by Addison Hibbard, with an introduction by Hervey
Allen) Garden City, NJ: Doubleday, Doran, 1929.
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introduction by Hervey Allen) New York:
Random House, 1938.
Selected Tales and Poems, (with an introduction by Hervey Allen) New York: W. J. Black, 1943.
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, (with an introduction by Hervey Allen) New York:
Random House, 1944.
The Portable Poe, (edited by Philip Van Doren Stren) New York: Viking, 1945. (This volume has since been
reprinted several times.)
The Complete Poems and Stories of Edgar Allan Poe, with Selections from His Critical Writings, (edited by
Arthur Hobson Quinn and Edward H. O'Neill) 2 vols, New York: A. A. Knopf, 1946
Selected Poetry and Prose, (edited by T. O. Mabbott), New York: Modern, 1951.
Poetry and Tales, (edited by Patrick F. Quinn) New York: The Library of America, 1978.
Some Miscellaneous Items
Selections from the Critical Writings of Edgar Allan Poe (edited by Frederick C. Prescott), New York:
Henry Holt, 1909.
Politian, an Unfinished Tragedy, by Edgar Allan Poe (edited by T. O. Mabbott), Richmond: The Edgar Allan
Poe Shrine, 1923. (Also issued by Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press of George Banta Publishing
Company, 1923.) (Mabbott printed some corrections to this edition in "The Text of Poe's Play 'Polition',"
Notes and Queries, CLXXXIX, July 1945, p. 14.)
Doings in Gotham, by Edgar Allan Poe; as Described in a Series of Letters to the Editors of the Columbia
Spy (edited by Jacob E. Spannuth, with introduction and commentary by T. O. Mabbott), Pottsville, PA
1929. (The poem "A New Year's Address of the Carriers of the Columbia Spy" included in this edition has
since been determined by T. O. Mabbott as not being by Poe. This attribution was retracted in Mabbott's
edition of Poe's Poems, 1969, p. 508, item 65.)
Edgar Allan Poe's Contributions to Alexander's Weekly Messenger (edited with an introduction by Clarence
S. Brigham), Worcester, Massachusetts: The American Antiquarian Society, 1943.
Literary Criticism of Edgar Allan Poe, (edited by Robert L. Hough), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
1965.
Miniature Books
Little Blue Books (With covers measuring 5 inches high by 3 1/2 inches wide, this popular series of slender,
cheaply printed booklets includes sixteen titles of interest to Poe aficionados. None of these books carry a
date, so all are generally noted as @1920. The publisher of the series was Haldeman-Julius Company of
Girard, Kansas. Each book originally cost 25-cents, but was reduced to 5-cents, or $44 for the entire set,
originally 900 booklets. A minimum order was 20 books. By 1923, the series had expanded to over 2,000
titles. The price was later raised to 10-cents each. A leather book cover was available for 50-cents. Although
most booklets in the series aptly fit the label "Little Blue Books," some had covers which were orange,
yellow or even pink. In later editions, the plain covers featuring only simple text were replaced with
illustrated ones. The editor for the series was Emanuel Haldeman-Julius (1889-1951), a controversial figure
who published books on a variety of radical subjects, socialism and the KKK. In addition to these items, he
included others on agriculture and farming, health and hygiene, self-improvement, history, religion and
psychology. He also published a large number of works of great literature both to establish credibility and
perhaps with a genuine interest in making such writings available and affordable to everyone. A collection
of Haldeman-Julius's correspondence is the J. K. Lilly Library at the University of Indiana.)
No. 12 - Tales of Mystery, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (Includes Poe's tales: "The
Cask of Amontillado," "The Black Cat," "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Purloined Letter.") (61 pages)
No. 32 - Poems (with two introductory essays, on Poe's life and poetry, and notes by Nelson Antrim
Crawford), Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (Includes Poe's poems: "The Raven,"
"Bridal Ballad," "The Sleeper," "Lenore," "Dream-Land," "The Valley of Unrest," "The City in the Sea,"
"Silence," "The Coliseum," "Israfel," "The Haunted Palace," "The Conqueror Worm," "Eldorado," "Eulalie,"
"The Bells," "Annabel Lee," "Ulalume," "To F----," "To F----s O----d," "To Helen," "To ----," "To My
Mother," "A Dream Within a Dream" and "Alone.") (60 pages, plus 4 pages of advertisements.)
No. 108 - The Fall of the House of Usher (No. 108), Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920.
(Includes Poe's tales: "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Masque of the
Red Death.") (61 pages)
No. 144 - Was Poe Immoral? (by Sarah Helen Whitman), Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company,
@1920. (Includes S. H. Whitman's essay, originally published as Poe and His Critics.) (61 pages, plus 3
pages of advertisements.)
No. 162 - The Murders in the Rue Mogue, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (Includes
Poe's tales "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "Ms. Found in a Bottle.") (63 pages)
No. 186 - How I Wrote "The Raven", Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (Includes Poe's
essay "The Philosophy of Composition" and "The Raven.") (31 pages, plus 1 page of advertisements.)
No. 290 - The Gold Bug, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (64 pages)
No. 729 - Poe's Marginalia (edited, with an introduction, by Isaac Goldberg) Girard, Kansas: HaldemanJulius Company, 1924. (56 pages, with 8 pages of advertisements)
No. 730 - Poe as a Literary Critic (essay by Isaac Goldberg) Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company,
1924. (59 pages, plus 5 pages of advertisements)
No. 731 - Critical Excerpts from Poe (edited, with an introduction and notes, by Isaac Goldberg) Girard,
Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, 1925. (61 pages, plus 3 pages of advertisements)
No. 356 - Essay on Poe (by Edmund Clarence Stedman) Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company,
@1920. (Includes Stedman's full chapter on Poe from The Poets of America, revised in 1886 from his essay
in Scribners Magazine for May 1880) (59 pages, plus 5 pages of advertisements.)
No. 939 - Tales of Imaginative Science, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (Includes Poe's
tales: "A Descent Into the Maelstrom," "The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade" and "Mellonta
Tauta.") (64 pages)
No. 940 - Tales Grotesque and Weird, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (At some point,
this booklet seems to have been called Tales Grotesque and Amusing.) (Includes Poe's tales: "The Devil in
the Belfry," "X-ing in Paragrab" ["X-ing a Paragrab"], "The Sphinx," "The Imp of the Perverse" and "The
Assignation." Two of these tales are incorrectly noted as "first printed in Griswold.") (61 pages, plus 3
pages of advertisements.)
No. 941 - Tales Psychological and Gruesome, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920.
(Includes Poe's tales: "William Wilson," "The Man of the Crowd" and "Berenice.") (61 pages, plus 3 pages
of advertisements.)
No. 943 - Masterpieces of Mystery, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (Includes: "The
Great Valdez Sapphire," by an anonymous writer; "The Oblong Box," by Edgar Allan Poe; and "The Torture
by Hope," by Villiers de L'Isle Adam.) (60 pages, plus 4 pages of advertisements.)
No. 1154 - Tales of Hypnotism and Revenge, Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, @1920. (Includes
Poe's tales: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," "Hop-Frog," "Ligeia," "Shadow" and "Silence.") (64
pages)
No. B-692 - The Wisdom of Edgar Allan Poe (selected, with an introduction, by Bonny Wood; edited by E.
Haldeman-Julius), Girard, Kansas, Haldeman-Julius Publications, 1948. (A much larger format than the
standard "little blue books," printed on pulp paper with a plain tan paper cover. Contains a 2-page
introduction by Bonny Wood; 3+ pages of "Opinins on Poe," some selections from "Marginalia,"
"Miscellaneous Excerpts" not specifically identified; the introduction to "The Literati of New York"; "Some
Secrets of the Magazine Prison-House," "Lionizing," "The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq."; "The
Philosophy of Composition"; and "Mellonta Tauta.")
Little Leather Library (With covers measuring 4 inches high by 3 inches wide, this popular series of slender,
cheaply printed booklets includes four titles of interest to Poe aficionados. None of these books carry a date,
so all are generally noted as @1910-1924. The publisher of the series was the Little Leather Library
Corporation of New York, later Robert K. Hass, Inc. Covers appear in suede, leather in various colors, green
leatherette (also in brown and red), and red leather with gold lettering. Some of these carry embossed labels,
while others are merely stamped. The leatherette series also carries the label "The Redcroft Edition." In later
editions, as the dark green and brown covers gave way to bright red, they were named the Little Luxart
Library. In addition to Poe, the series includes over 100 titles by Longfellow, Kipling, DeMaupassant,
Tennyson, Wilde, Shakespeare and others. There was even a 30-volume Bible. The leather cover and lack of
any publication or copyright date has fooled many collectors into assuming that they have an original, that is
to say an 1845, edition of "The Raven and Other Poems.")
The Gold Bug, New York: Little Leather Library Corporation, @1922. (93 pages) (Includes Poe's tale: "The
Gold Bug.")
Murders in the Rue Morgue, New York: Little Leather Library Corporation, @1922. (Includes Poe's tales:
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Black Cat" and "The Purloined Letter.") (126 pages)
The Raven and Other Poems, New York: Little Leather Library Corporation, @1922. (Includes Poe's poems:
"Al Aaraaf," "Romance," "To ----" ("The bowers whereat . . . "), "To The River ----," "To ----" (I heed not . .
."), "Fairy-Land," "To Helen" ("Helen, thy beauty is . . ."), "Israfel," "The City in the Sea," "The Sleeper,"
"Lenore,""The Valley of Unrest," "The Coliseum," "Hymn," "Scenes from Politian," "Sonnet to Zante,"
"Bridal Ballad," "The Haunted Palace," "Sonnet--Silence," "To One in Paradise," "The Conqueror Worm,"
"Dream-land," "Eulalie--A Song," "To F----," "To F----s S. O----d," "The Raven," "To. M. L. S----,"
"Ulalume," "To -- --" ("Not long ago . . ."), "To Helen" ("I saw thee once . . ."), "An Enigma," "For Annie,"
"A Valentine," "To My Mother," "Annabel Lee" and "The Bells." (100+ pages, unnumbered)
Fifty Best Poems of America, New York: Little Leather Library Corporation, @1922. (The Poe poems
included are: "To Helen," "The City in the Sea" and "The Haunted Palace.") (96 pages, with the Poe items
on pp. 27-32.)
Some Special Illustrated Editions
(These items are listed chronologically. There are many illustrated editions. For a substantially complete
catalogue, see the book by Burton R. Pollin noted in the bibliography below.)
Tales of Mystery, Imagination and Humor; And Poems, London: Henry Vizetelly, 1852. (This is the first
illustrated edition of Poe's works. The illustrators are not identified.)
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, London: Addey and Co., 1853. (This edition includes an
introductory essay by James Hannay and illustrations by E. H. Wehnert, James Godwin, F. W. Hume and
Harrison Weir.)
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, London, 1866. (This edition includes illustrations by F. R.
Pickersgill, John Tenniel, Birket Foster, Felix O. C. Darley, Jasper Cropsey, P. Duggan, Percival Kelton and
A. M. Madut. Tenniel is best remembered for his classic illustrations for Lewis Carroll's Alice in
Wonderland.)
The Raven, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1884. (This is edition includes the classic illustrations by
Gustave Dore. Dore, who was best known for his Bible illustrations, is arguably the most famous illustrator
of the 19th century. This volume was his last commission., the publication finally being completed after his
death.)
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, London: George Bell and Sons, 1900. (This edition contains glorious artdeco illustrations by W. Heath Robinson. Robinson was only about 28 years old at the time.)
Tales of Mystery and Imagination, London: George Harrop, 1919. (This edition includes 32 elaborate
illustrations by Harry Clarke, mostly black and white but with some in color. It was reprinted in New York
by Tudor in 1933. These illustrations have been reprinted numerous times, most notably in London by
Chancellor Press in 1985.)
The Bells and Other Poems, London and New York: Hodder and Stoughton, n.d.. (This @1912 edition
includes the famous illustrations by Edmund Dulac. These have since been reprinted several times, including
one from around 1920 in New York by George H. Doran, n.d.)
The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, London: George G. Harrap and Co., 1935. (This edition includes
illustrations by Aurthur Rackham. These have since been reprinted several times. The first edition was
issued as 450 numbered copies, signed by the artist.)
Some Non-English Language Editions
Borghers, Alphonse, trans., Nouvelles Choisies D'Edgar Poe: Le Scarabee D'Or, L'Aeronaute Hollandaise,
Paris: L. Hachete, 1853. (Includes translations of Poe's "The Gold-Bug" and "Hans Pfaall.")
Baudelaire, Charles, trans., Histories extraordinaires, 1856. (French)
Baudelaire, Charles, trans., Nouvelles Histories extraordinaires, 185? (French)
Baudelaire, Charles, trans., Adventures D'Arthur Gordon Pym, 185? (French)
Baudelaire, Charles, trans., Eureka, 185? (French)
Baudelaire, Charles, trans., Histories Grotesques et Serieuses, 1865 ? (French)
Dostoyevski, 1861 (Russian)
Ferenczi, Gyorgy,1895 (Hungarian)
Balmont, Konstantin, trans., Poe: Ballady i fantasii (Ballads and Fantasies), Moscow, 1895 (Russian)
Balmont, Konstantin, trans., Poe: Sobranie sochilnenni (Collected Works), Moscow, 1901 (Russian)
(Reprinted in 1912.)
Bibliography:
Jacob Blanck, compiler, Bibliography of American Literature, 8 vols, New Haven: Yale University Press,
1955-1990. (Compiled for the Bibliographical Society of America. Edgar Allan Poe is included in volume 7,
edited and completed by Virginia L. Smyers and Michael Winship, 1983.)
Dameron, J. Lasley and Irby B. Cauthen, Jr., Edgar Allan Poe: A Bibliography of Criticism, 1827 - 1967;
Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia (for The Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia),
1974. (This bibliography includes numerous collections, listed by name of the author of the memoir,
introductory material or textual notes for that edition.)
Pollin, Burton R., Images of Poe's Works: A Comprehensive Descriptive Catalogue of Illustrations, New
York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1989.
~~~ End of Text ~~~
[S:1]
**Other Links:
*.Main Page for the Poe Society
*.Other Sites with Poe's Works in E-Text
Last Update: April 17, 2001 .Navigation:. Main Menu .. Poe's Poems .. Poe's Tales .. Poe's Misc
Poe's Works on the Internet
There are a growing number of Internet sites with electronic texts of Poe's works, primarily the better-known
tales and poems, with a few of the essays and other sketches. Many of these sites seem to have borrowed the
text from each other, as the same errors and omissions have followed with the borrowing. Without regard to
claims otherwise, there is no truly complete collection of Poe's works on the Internet as nearly all omit the
majority of his editorial writings, which comprise a far greater body of work, at least by number of words,
than the fiction and poetry. The tales and poems are well-represented.
A Webliography of Poe's writings in E-text:
Heyward Ehrlich's Poe Webliography (An admirably comprehensive listing of E-text web sites, with links.)
Special collections of Poe's writings:
The Southern Literary Messenger (The University of Michigan's notable "Making of America" project
includes image reproduction of a nearly complete run of the Southern Literary Messenger. For a time, Poe
assisted in the editing of this important and rare magazine, which contains many reviews and editorial filler
items in addition to first versions of several tales and a few poems. There are also important reprints of some
items. The volumes are well-organized and indexed, although not all of Poe contributions have been
established with certainty.)
The University of Virginia Poe Project (The University of Virginia provides text and some page images for
letters and miscellaneous material from the collections of the University of Virginia, The Valentine Museum
and the Richmond Poe Museum. Text of tales emphasizes Poe's 1840 collection of Tales of the Grotesque
and Arabesque. There is a useful text search function.)
The 1911 edition of Poe's poems edited by James H. Whitty (This edition of Poe's poems has been
reproduced in HTML and SGTL. The collection omits a few that are now recognized as Poe's and includes
several that are not by Poe. It includes Whitty's somewhat dated, but quite interesting biographical summary
of Poe. )
Substantial collections of Poe's tales and poems:
Qrisse's Poe Pages (This site has several of the more popular tales and poems, with the added advantage that
they can be searched programatically for any word or string of text.)
Stefan Gmoser's Edgar Allan Poe Site (This site has a good collection of the poems and tales, along with a
few of Poe's miscellaneous writings. The "Marginalia" offered there, however, is merely a brief selection
from the series. The chief strength of the site is the ability to search the text. Unfortunately, it is often
unavailable for long periods of time.)
Gothicnet (This one has a great deal of visual gimmicks, which takes time to load.)
Pambytes (This site has formatted its selections rather attractively. Much of the text seems to have been
lifted, without permission, from our site, including some notes.)
Thorazine (This site has a selection of Poe's better-known works.)
~~~ End of Text ~~~
Subject index March 13, 1999
{In preparation)
As this site has grown in size and scope, locating information on specific subjects has become
increasingly difficult. This index is being created in an effort to at least partially remedy this
problem. As with the site itself, this index is an ongoing effort, for which this is merely an initial
attempt. It is not, as yet, a comprehensive index, but a good beginning. The structure and other
details of construction for this index are currently subject to change as we investigate how to make
it most useful.
[links largely to letters]]
Searching this Site Aug. 24, 2001
Due to the overhead of creating and supporting an independent search function, this site does not
currently have such a capability. Fortunately, searching of the site may be accomplished through
the use of GOOGLE, and probably better than we could do it anyway. Here are instructions for
using GOOGLE to search this site:
Please read all of these steps:
1.) Go to GOOGLE's advanced search page:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search
2.) On the line marked "Domains," select "only" in the first box and enter
"http://www.eapoe.org" in the second box.
3.) For "Find Results," enter the desired word or phrase in the appropriate box, and
set the number of desired results.
4.) Click on the "Google Search" button.
Tips:
 When selecting the search results, using the "cache" option has the additional
advantage of highlighting the text for which the page was selected.
 Our web site is structured in such a way that the file names displayed for the
search results give some idea as to whether the resulting page is a tale, poem, letter,
etc. For example, "www.eapoe.org/works/tales/morguec.htm" is one of several
versions of Poe's tale "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." Similarly,
"www.eapoe.org/works/letters/p2910300.htm" is one of Poe's letters, dated October
30, 1829; and "www.eapoe.org/pstudies/ps1960/p1968102.htm" is a Spring 1968
article from Poe Studies/Dark Romanticism. Admittedly, the actual file names are
somewhat cryptic, but at least the path names are somewhat meaningful.
~~~ End of Text ~~~
[S:1]
Selections from Poe Society Lectures March 17, 2000
The Poe Society of Baltimore has sponsored an annual commemorative lecture since 1923. As
such, it is one of the most prestigious and the longest continuous lecture series devoted to the life
and works of Edgar Allan Poe. Over these many decades, the Poe Society has been addressed by
nearly all of the most important scholars of this century, including Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Killis
Campbell, Arthur Hobson Quinn, John W. Ostrom, Floyd Stovall, Burton R. Pollin and many
others. From time to time, some of these lectures were published, others have been retained only in
manuscript and still others are lost or lingering unnoticed in some archive or attic.
It should be noted that information and views expressed in these lectures reflect the research and
opinions of the authors.
Published Lectures, In-Print
A number of our published lectures are still available in print:

Current Poe Society Publications
Published Lectures, Out-of-Print
This selection is comprised of published lectures which are now out-of-print. They are listed here
alphabetically by title:

The Courage of Critic: Edgar Poe as Editor

In His Own Country

The Influence and Reputation of Poe in Europe

Poe Backgrounds

Poe, Creator of Words
1994, etc.)

Poe in Foreign Lands and Tongues (A symposium, edited by John C. French, 1941.)
o "Poe in France" (Jeanne Rosselet)
o "Poe in Russia" (Lubov Keefer)
o "Poe in Germany" (Herbert Schaumann)
o "Poe in Spain and Spanish America" (Pedro Salinas)

Poe in the Light of Literary History

Poe on the Soul of Man

Poe's Baltimore (Lawrence C. Wroth, 1929)

A Proud Tower in the Town

The Schools and the Memory of Poe

The Very Spirit of Cordiality
(Robert D. Jacobs, 1970)
(John C. French, 1939)
(William T. Bandy, 1959)
(Letitia Stockett, 1931)
(Burton R. Pollin, 1973, supplemented in 1980, 1983, 1989 and
(Edwin Greenlaw, 1930)
(Eric W. Carlson, 1972)
(Gerald W. Jonhson, 1937)
(Una Corbett, 1956)
(Benjamin F. Fisher IV, 1977)

"Bedlam Patterns": Love and the Idea of Madness in Poe's Fiction
1978)
(Richard P. Benton,
Manuscript Lectures, not published
This selection is comprised of lectures which, for one reason or another, were never published.
Copies of these manuscripts have been retained in our archives. They are listed here alphabetically
by title:

The Achievement of Edgar Allan Poe

The Anatomy of Poe's Comic Tales
(John Portz, 1963)

Poe and Irving: Narrative as Hoax
(William L. Hedges, 1962)

The Supernatural in Edgar Allan Poe
(Floyd Stovall, 1958)
(Richard Hart, 1936)
~~~ End of Text ~~~
Selections from Poe Society Publications Nov. 16, 1998
The Poe Society of Baltimore has sponsored an annual commemorative lecture since 1923. As
such, it is one of the most prestigious and the longest continuous lecture series devoted to the life
and works of Edgar Allan Poe. Over these many decades, the Poe Society has been addressed by
nearly all of the most important scholars of this century, including Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Killis
Campbell, Arthur Hobson Quinn, John W. Ostrom, Floyd Stovall, Burton R. Pollin and many
others. In addition to these lectures, the Poe Society has, from time to time, published other
materials, some of which are included here..
It should be noted that information and views expressed in these publications reflect the research
and opinions of the authors.
Publications, In-Print
A number of our publications are still available in print:

Current Poe Society Publications
Publications, Out-of-Print
This selection is comprised of publications which are now out-of-print. They are listed here
alphabetically by title:





Myths and Reality: The Mysterious Mr. Poe (Edited by B. F. Fisher, 1987)
Poe and His Times: The Artist and His Milieu (Edited by B. F. Fisher, 1990)
Poe and Our Times: Influences and Affinties (Edited by B. F. Fisher, 1986)
Poe as a Literary Critic (John Esten Cooke, edited by Byrillion Fagin, 1986)
Poe at Work: Seven Textual Studies (Edited by B. F. Fisher, 1978)
~~~ End of Text ~~~
[S:1]
Poe Newsletter (1968 - 1970):
.1968 - 1970 (Vols. I - III)
Poe Studies (1971 - 1985):
Articles and Essays, 1827-1850 April 4, 2004
Copyright regulations necessarily restrict the items which may be included here. Most scholars
understandably prefer to be published in standard, peer review journals. Reprinting material
requires permission from the appropriate party or parties.
It should be noted that information and views expressed in these articles and essays reflect the
research and opinions of the authors.
1827-1850
Items here are listed chronologically:
 [Review of Poe's Poems (1831)], by George P. Morris (?) (The New-York Mirror, May 7,
1831)
 "[Review of Narrative of A. G. Pym]" by William Evans Burton, Burton's Gentleman's
Magazine (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), September 1838
 "American Biography: Edgar Allan Poe" by Joseph E. Snodgrass, Baltimore Saturday
Visiter, July 29, 1843.
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by James Russell Lowell
 "Our Contributors -- Edgar Allan Poe" (February 1845, Graham's Magazine)
 Edgar A. Poe
 Part I (January 20, 1845, Evening Mirror (New York))
 Part II (January 21, 1845, Evening Mirror (New York))
 "Edgar A. Poe" (February 1, 1845, New-York Weekly Tribune) (excerpts of the
article, with Poe's poems "To Helen" and "The Haunted Palace." The short
introduction reads: "This number of Graham's Magazine has a likeness of EDGAR A.
POE, with a critique upon that critic and a brief outline of his career thus far, by
James Russell Lowell. [/] This article is frank, earnest, and contains many just
thoughts, expressed with force and point. We quote the following . . . ")
 "Edgar A. Poe" (1847) (a copy of the Graham's article, with two minor
corrections by Lowell, signed and dated, possibly for use in Poe's proposed book on
"Literary America.")
 "Edgar A. Poe" (Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, 1850)
 "[Review of Poe's Tales]" by Martin Farquhar Tupper, Literary Gazette, January 31, 1846
 The Evening Mirror and T. D. English's Literati War
 "Mr. Poe and the New York Literati" by Hiram Fuller, Evening Mirror (New
York), May 26, 1846 (reprinted in the Weekly Mirror, May 30, 1846)
 "Mr. English's Reply to Mr. Poe" by Thomas Dunn English, Evening Mirror
(New York), June 23, 1846 (reprinted in the Weekly Mirror, June 27, 1846)
 "In Reply to Mr. Poe's Rejoinder" by Thomas Dunn English, Evening Mirror
(New York), July 13, 1846
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by Phillip Pendleton Cooke (Southern Literary Messenger, Jan. 1848)
 [Report on Poe's Lecture on "The Universe"] by John H. Hopkins (Evening Express (New
York), Feburary 4, 1848)
 "Death of Edgar A. Poe" by "Ludwig" (Rufus Wilmot Griswold)
 "Death of Edgar A. Poe" (October 9, 1849, New York Daily Tribune)
 "Death of Edgar A. Poe" (October 16, 1849, New York Daily Tribune, California
edition)
 "Death of Edgar Allan Poe" (October 20, 1849, New York Weekly Tribune) (with
some additional material omitted from the first edition but printed in the Tribune for
October 10, 1849)
 "The Late Edgar A. Poe" by John R. Thompson (Southern Literary Messenger,
November 1849)
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by John M. Daniel, Southern Literary Messenger, March 1850
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by Rufus Wilmot Griswold
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by Rufus Wilmot Griswold (International Magazine, October
1850)
 "Preface and Memoir" (Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, 1850)
 "The Death of Edgar Poe" by Nathaniel P. Willis
 "The Death of Edgar Poe" by Nathaniel P. Willis, Home Journal, October 20,
1849.
 "The Death of Edgar Poe" (Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, 1850)
 "Edgar Poe" (Hurry-Graphs; or, Sketches of Scenery, Celebrities, & Society,
Taken from Life, London: Henry G. Bohn, 1851)
 "Death of Poe" by E. H. N. Patterson, Oquawka Spectator (Oquawka, Illinois), October
24, 1849
 "Literary Fame" by E. H. N. Patterson, Oquawka Spectator (Oquawka, Illinois),
November 7, 1849
 "The Late Edgar Allan Poe" by George Rex Graham
 "The Late Edgar Allan Poe" by George Rex Graham, Graham's Magazine (March
1850)
 "[Introduction]" by George Rex Graham, Poems [by Edgar Allan Poe] (New
York: H. M. Caldwell, 1850) (used along with Willis's article as a memoir)
 "Cryptography -- Mr. Poe as a Cryptographer" by Rev. Warren H. Cudworth, Lowell
Weekly Journal (April 19, 1850)
 "Edgar A. Poe" by John Neal, Portland Daily Advertiser (Portland, Maine), April 26,
1850
~~~ End of Text ~~~
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Articles and Essays, 1851-1899 March 30, 2004
Copyright regulations necessarily restrict the items which may be included here. Most scholars
understandably prefer to be published in standard, peer review journals. Reprinting material
requires permission from the appropriate party or parties.
It should be noted that information and views expressed in these articles and essays reflect the
research and opinions of the respective authors.
1851-1899
Items here are listed chronologically:
 "Edgar A. Poe" by John Savage
 "Edgar A. Poe [Part I]" by John Savage, United States Magazine and Democratic
Review, December 1850
 "Edgar A. Poe [Part II]" by John Savage, United States Magazine and Democratic
Review, January 1851
 "Edgar A. Poe [Part III]" by John Savage, United States Magazine and
Democratic Review, February 1851
 "Character of Edgar A. Poe" by C. Chauncey Burr (The Nineteeth Century, February
1852)
 "Poe, Poets, Etc." by Catherine Ledyard, Supplement to the Evening Post (New York),
March 21, 1853
 "The Genius and Character of Edgar Allan Poe" by George Rex Graham, Graham's
Magazine, February 1854
 "Edgar A. Poe" by Evert A. and George L. Duyckinck (Cyclopedia of American
Literature, 1856)
 "Edgar A. Poe" by Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes Smith, United States Magazine, March 1857
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by W. Moy Thomas, Train (April 1857).
 "Letter About Edgar Poe" by Nathaniel Parker Willis, Home Journal (New York),
October 30, 1858
 "Edgar Poe and His Critics" by Sarah Helen Whitman, Edgar Poe and His Critics, New
York: Rudd & Carleton, 1860
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by Henry Herring, Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser
(October 9, 1865).
 "A Monument to Edgar A. Poe" by Anonymous, Baltimore American and Commercial
Advertiser (December 19, 1865).
 "Poe and His Biographer, Griswold" by George Washington Eveleth, Old Guard (New
York), June 1866.
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by Mrs. Susan Archer T. Weiss, New York Weekly Review (October 6,
1866).
 "Autobiographical Notes: Edgar Allan Poe" by Mrs. Elizabeth Oakes Smith, Beadle's
Monthly (February, 1867)
 "Facts of Poe's Death and Burial" by J. E. Snodgrass, Beadle's Monthly (March 1867)
 "Another View of Edgar A. Poe" by Margaret E. Wilmer, Beadle's Monthly (April 1867)
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by W. A. Chandos Fulton, New York Weekly Review (March 11,
1867).
 "Poe at West Point" by Thomas W. Gibson, Harper's Monthly Magazine (November
1867)
 "Poe and Hawthorne" by Eugene Benson, The Galaxy, December 1868
 "A Dead Man Defended: Being Some Reminiscences of the Poet Poe" by Captain Mayne
Reid, Onward (April 1869)
 "Poe's 'Eureka' and Recent Scientific Speculations" by William Hand Browne, New
Eclectic Magazine, August 1869
 "Leaves From a Publisher's Letter-Book" by George Palmer Putnam, Putnam's Monthly,
October, 1869 (only the portion on Poe is given here)
 "The Monument to Edgar Allan Poe" by Anonymous
 "The Monument to Edgar Allan Poe" by Anonymous, New York Herald, October
28, 1875.
 "The Monument to Edgar Allan Poe" by Anonymous, Works of Edgar Allan Poe,
New York: W. J. Widdleton, 1876 (reprinted in subsequent editions)
 "Official Memorandum of the Death of Edgar A. Poe" by Dr. John J. Moran
 "Official Memorandum of the Death of Edgar A. Poe" by Dr. John J. Moran, New
York Herald, October 28, 1875.
 "Official Memorandum of the Death of Edgar A. Poe" by Dr. John J. Moran,
Works of Edgar Allan Poe, New York: W. J. Widdleton, 1876 (reprinted in
subsequent editions)
 "Edgar A. Poe and His Biographer, Rufus W. Griswold" by William Fearing Gill, Lotos
Leaves, Boston: W. F. Gill & Co., 1875 (Reprinted in 1885 by Chicago and New York:
Belford, Clarke & Co.)
 "Edgar A. Poe" by Mrs. Susan Archer T. Weiss (New York Herald, April 26, 1876)
(replying to Mrs. E. O. Smith's article on Poe's death, from the Home Journal)
 "Some New Facts about Edgar A. Poe" by William Fearing Gill, Laurel Leaves, Boston:
W. F. Gill & Co., 1876
 "Last Days of Edgar A. Poe" by Mrs. Susan Archer T. Weiss (Scribner's Magazine,
March 1878)
 "Our Monthly Gossip [Poe and Mrs. Whitman]" by Eugene L. Didier, Lippincott's
Magazine, October 1878
 "The Rationale of the Raven" by William Fearing Gill, Papyrus Leaves, New York: R.
Worthington, 1880 (reprinted in 1888 by New York: Belford, Clarke)
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by Anonymous, The Biographical Cyclopedia of Representative Men
of Maryland and District of Columbia, Baltimore: National Biographical Publishing Co.,
1879.
 “Edgar Allan Poe’s Grave” by William P. Meany, The Celtic Monthly, (New York),
September 1879.
 "Some Memorials of Edgar Allan Poe" by Clara Dargan Maclean, Frank Leslie's Popular
Monthly (April 1891).
 "Comment on the Poem" by Edmund Clarence Stedman (The Raven, 1884)
 "Poe's Mary" by Augustus Van Cleef, Harper's New Monthly Magazine (March 1889),
pp. 634-640.
 "Reminiscences of Edgar Allan Poe" by John Sartain
 "Reminiscences of Edgar Allan Poe" by John Sartain, Lippincott's (March 1889),
pp. 411-415.
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by John Sartain, Reminiscences of a Very Old Man (New
York: D. Appleton, 1899), pp. 196-217.
 "Some Memorials of Edgar Allan Poe" by Clara Dargan Maclean, Frank Leslie's Popular
Monthly (April 1891), pp. 457-464.
 "To Edgar Allan Poe" by Andrew Lang, Letters to Dead Authors, New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1891
 "Poe's Burial and Grave" by Anonymous [possibly William P. Meany], The New-York
Times (Feb. 26, 1893)
 "Edgar Allan Poe" by Andrew Lang, The Independent (New York), November 23, 1899
~~~ End of Text ~~~
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Articles and Essays, 1900-1920 Feb 7, 2003
Copyright regulations necessarily restrict the items which may be included here. Most scholars
understandably prefer to be published in standard, peer review journals. Reprinting material
requires permission from the appropriate party or parties.
It should be noted that information and views expressed in these articles and essays reflect the
research and opinions of the authors.
1900-1920
Items here are listed alphabetically by title:
 "New Glimpses of Poe (I)" by James A. Harrison (The Independent, September 6, 1900)
(recollections by Thomas H. Ellis)
 "New Glimpses of Poe (II)" by James A. Harrison (The Independent, September 13,
1900) (recollections by William Wertenbaker)
 "New Glimpses of Poe (III)" by James A. Harrison (The Independent, September 20,
1900) (recollections by B. L. Gildersleeve and O. P. Fitzgerald)
 "Reminiscences of Edgar A. Poe" by Mrs. Susan Archer Weiss (The Independent, May 5,
1904)
 "Reminiscences of Edgar Allan Poe" by Mrs. Susan Archer Weiss (The Independent,
August 25, 1904)
 "Edgar Poe's Last Night in Richmond" by Dr. John Carter, Lippincott's Monthly
Magazine (November 1902)
~~~ End of Text ~~~
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-*********
Articles and Essays, 1921-current Sept. 11, 2004.
Copyright regulations necessarily restrict the items which may be included here. Most scholars
understandably prefer to be published in standard, peer review journals. Reprinting material
requires permission from the appropriate party or parties.
It should be noted that information and views expressed in these articles and essays reflect the
research and opinions of the authors.
1921-Current
Items here are listed chronologically:

"New Letters About Poe" by Stanley Thomas Williams (Yale Review, July 1925)

"Mrs. Whitman Tells Her Story" by Edith Dickson (Dearborn Independent, October 3,
1925)

"The Lesser Death-Watch and 'The Tell-Tale Heart' " (John E. Reilly, ATQ, 2nd Quarter,
1969, revised 2001)

"The Authorship of the 'Paulding-Drayton Review' " (Joseph V. Ridgely, PSA Newsletter,
Fall 1992)
~~~ End of Text ~~~
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