Text: Anonymous, “[Review of Stedman/Woodberry edition of Poe's Works],” Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL), vol. XXIV, no. 300, January 18, 1896, p. 10, col. 1

[page 10, column 1:]

“The Works of Edgar Allan Poe.” — Edited with memoir, critical introductions, and notes by E. Stedman and G. E. Woodbury [[Woodberry]]. From Messrs. Stone & Kimball, Chicago, we are in receipt of volumes 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the ten-volume edition of the works of Edgar A. Poe. They are handsome library books, in beautiful, clear print, modest, plain covers, with gilt top and rough front edges. The sixth volume has for its illustrations a portrait of Poe from a formerly in possession of “Stella,” of Poe's photographer cottage at Fordham. Volume VII. has as : frontispiece a portrait of Poe at the age of 35, as it appeared in Graham's Magazine in 1845. A second portrait is from a daguerreotype formerly in the possession of T. H. D Davidson. A third illustration is a reproduction from a portion of the manuscript of “Marginalia.” Volume VIII. has a portrait of Elizabeth Arnold Poe, mother of the poet, and a picture of the Allan mansion at Richmond. The ninth volume has as a frontispiece the portrait of Virginia Clemm, wife of Edgar A. Poe, from a photograph of the water color drawing in the possession of Amelia Poe, and a picture of the Manor House School at Stoke Newington. Volumes and VIII. are devoted to literary criticism. They are selections from the work he began in his lifetime, but never completed. He had arranged his subjects under four groups; First, theoretical essays upon poetry and versification; second, notices of authors of an established reputation; third, notices of a crowd of minor authors representative of the literary character of the times, and, fourth, paragraphs rescued from various reviews gathered by him under the names of “Marginalia.” His editor, therefore, had comparatively an easy task, and had only to weed out a few paragraphs or add one that had been omitted. Thus three volumes, VI., VII., and given to literary critisism [[criticism]], while volume IX. contains “Eureka,” a prose poem, and such miscellany as “Maelzel's Chess Player,” “Philosophy of Furniture,” a chapter on autography, cryptography, anastatic printing, and some secrets of the magazine prison-house. The full notes of the editors in each volume add great value to the pages. Nearly all the articles were originally published in one of the magazines to which the poet come, contributor. Thus “The Chess-Player” was published in the Southern Literary Magazine in 1836; “The Philosophy of Furniture” in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in 1840, and “Cryptography” in Graham's Magazine in 1841. Three other articles were contributions to the Broadway Journal, when the author was working for bread. To the multitude cf admirers of the gifted poet the handsome books cannot fail to prove wholly satisfactory. They are published neat style for which. this new publishing house has already earned a wide reputation. One more volume will make the set of Poe's writings complete.