Edgar Allan Poe — “The Philosophy of Furniture”

Reading copy:

• “The Philosophy of Furniture” — reading copy

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

• Text-01 — “The Philosophy of Furniture” — 1840, no original manuscript or fragments are known to exist (but this version is presumably recorded in Text-02)
• Text-02 — “The Philosophy of Furniture” — May 1840 — Burton’s — (Mabbott text A)
• Text-03 — “House Furniture” — 1840-1845 — speculated revised copy of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine (Text-02), perhaps in anticipation of reprinting elsewhere. (This version does not survive, but these revisions are presumably recorded in Text-04. The changes are substantial enough, especially in the last long paragraph, that a new manuscript is highly likely. It is possible that a few additional changes were made in proof.)
• Text-04 — “House Furniture” — May 3, 1845 — Broadway Journal — (Mabbott text B) (For Griswold’s 1850 reprinting of this text, see the entry below, under reprints.)

Reprints:

• “The Philosophy of Furniture” — May 16, 1840 — The Spirit of the Times  (reprinted from Text-02)
• “House Furniture” — May 17, 1845 — Weekly Mirror (New York) (reprinted from Text-04)
• “Philosophy of Furniture” — 1850 — Works — Griswold reprints Text-04, but with the title from Text-02  (Mabbott text C)  (This is Mabbott’s copy-text)
• “The Philosophy of Furniture” — 1852 — Tales and Sketches: to which is added The Raven: A Poem, London, George Routledge & Co.
• “Philosophy of Furniture” — 1866 — The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe; with a Selection of His Sketches and Reviews, London: Ward, Lock, and Tyler
• “Philosophy of Furniture” — 1875 — The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. J. H. Ingram, Edinburgh, Adam and Charles Black (3:279-285)

Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:

• “Philosophy of Furniture” — 1895 — The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 9: Eureka and Miscellanies, eds. E. C. Stedman and G. E. Woodberry, Chicago: Stone and Kimball (9:174-182, and 9:315-316)  (This text is reprinted from the Broadway Journal, with “the omission of an initial paragraph.”)
• “Philosophy of Furniture” —1902 — The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. J. A. Harrison, New York: T. Y. Crowell (14:101-109)
• “Philosophy of Furniture” — 1978 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 2: Tales & Sketches I, ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (2:494-504)
• “The Philosophy of Furniture” — 1984 — Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales, Patrick F. Quinn (New York: Library of America), pp. 382-387

Instream Comparative and Study Texts:

• “House Furniture” — Comparative Text (BGM and BJ)
• “Philosophy of Furniture” — Comparative Text (BJ and WORKS)

Miscellaneous Texts and Related Items:

• “Philosophie de l‘Ameublement” — (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
  • “Philosophie de l‘Ameublement” — October 1852 — Le Magazine Des Familles
  • “Philosophie de l‘Ameublement” — March 27, 1853 — Le Monde littéraire
  • “Philosophie de l‘Ameublement” — September 14, 1854 — Le Pays
  • “Philosophie de l‘Ameublement” — 1865 — Histoires grotesques et sérieuses, Paris: Michel Lévy frères
• “Philosophie de l‘Ameublement” — November 11, 1856 — Le Mousquetaire  (French translation by William L. Hughes)
• “The Philosophy of Furniture” — 2007 — Audio book (unabridged), read by Chris Aruffo (part of a 5-CD set)

• Baudelaire, Charles, Baudelaire on Poe, translated and edited by Lois and Francis E. Hyslop, Pennsylvania: Bald Eagle Press, 1952 (includes Baudelaire’s preface to “The Philosophy of Furniture”)
• Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943.
• Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978.