Text: Edgar Allan Poe to George Watterston — November 1845 (LTR-218)


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Dr Sir,

If I am not mistaken, you were one of the earliest subscribers to “The Southern Literary Messenger”, and aided me very materially while it remained under my control. For this reason, and because I am naturally anxious for the support of those whose good opinion I value — because, too, I believe that my objects, as regards our National Literature, are such as your judgment approves — I venture now frankly to solicit your subscription and influence for “The Broadway Journal”, of which I send you a specimen number.

With high respect,

Yr. Mo. Ob. St.
Edgar A. Poe.

New-York.
Nov. 1845.


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Notes:

This is an anastatic letter, copies of which Poe sent to several other individuals, see RCL587, RCL589 and RCL590. A facsimile of the letter appears in John W. Robertson's Edgar A. Poe: A Study, San Francisco, Bruce Brough, 1921, p. 324. Several months prior to this letter, Poe wrote an essay about anastatic printing for the Broadway Journal.

In the original, the salutation “Dr. Sir,” is indented, and the first sentence of the text indented so that it begins, on its own line, beyond the end of the salutation. At the bottom of the letter, “Nov. 1845” and “Edgar A. Poe” are underlined, the date with a strong line curled slightly at the beginning and the signature with a line that has a slight flourish to it. Ostrom, 1966, erroneously prints a colon rather than a period after Poe's initial in the signature. Commas intentionally appear outside the quotation marks, which matches the original and was Poe's usual style of punctuation.


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[S:0 - MS, 18xx] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Letters - Poe to G. Watterston (LTR218/RCL588)