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(Under Construction)
Richard Henry Stoddard (1825-1903) was a minor poet, achieving notable success in his own day, but now largely forgotten except by his connection with Poe. Although it is a convenient way to refer to this set, it is a little misleading to designate it as the “Stoddard” edition. Previous editors, Griswold and Ingram, had both devoted considerable editorial effort to their sets of Poe's works, while Stoddard chiefly relied on these earlier sets and added only a memoir. Stoddard had been on close personal terms with John R. Thompson, who had been the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger during Poe's final years. (When Thompson died in April 1873, Stoddard served as his literary executor.)
The Works of the Edgar Allan Poe (The Stoddard Edition, 6 vols.) (1884) (The A. C. Armstrong printing was advertised as early as November 6, 1884, in The Independent (New York). At the same time, “The Amontillado Edition,” the same contents but issued by G. P. Putnam's Sons and in eight volumes was advertised as being in preparation by the Boston Daily Globe for February 26, 1884. The same announcement states that the edition is being done in cooperation with A. C. Armstrong, somewhat incorrectly noted as “who control the Poe copyrights.” It further states that the edition will be limited to 300 copies and be issued one volume at a time, with the first to be available in March 1884. The first two volumes of a six-volume edition published by Kegan, Paul and Trench, in England, and with Stoddard's memoir, were advertised as ready in the Pall Mall Gazette as early as November 4, 1884. All six volumes are advertised in the same periodical for November 12, 1884, although subesquent adverstisements and reviews appear to continue to refer only to the two volumes.)
The Works of the Edgar Allan Poe (The Stoddard Edition, 8-vols.) (1884)
The contents of the two sets are essentially identical, with the 6 volume set being printed on thinner paper and having material slightly rearranged to fit in the smaller number of volumes. The 8-volume set is called “The Amontillado Edition” and is published by G. P. Putnam and A. C. Armstrong. It is limited to 315 copies, and dated April 21 - September 15, 1884.
Stoddard's memoir of Poe took the opposite route of Ingram's. Ingram wrote his for the collected edtion of Poe's works (1874-1875), and later adapted it for use in various sets of Poe's poetry. Stoddard's memoir of Poe first appeared in the 1875 edition of Poe's poetry, published by W. J. Widdleton, and then in The Select Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Prose, issued by the same publisher in 1880. Even before 1875, Stoddard had already written several generally unfavorable articles about Poe.
Reprints of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe:
Separate printings of The Select Works:
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8vo (8 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in). The set includes 44 illustrations, featuring six folding facsimiles of letters and manuscripts.
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A Chronology of Printings and Reprintings:
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There are so many surviving copies of these volumes that a listing is impractical and unnecessary.
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[S:0 - JAS] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Editions - Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Stoddard)