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”POE'S RAVEN.”
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The Raven is known and admired wherever the English language is spoken, and up to a very recent date no question has been raised as to its paternity. Yesterday we received the following note and extracts, which cannot fail to attract attention. Whether this letter from Poe is a fiction, a forgery, or merely an eccentricity of that wonderful author, there are now no means of ascertaining; yet, certain it is that if Poe did not write the Raven, he has written other things equally original:
NEW ORLEANS, July 22, 1870.
To the Editor of the New Orleans Times — I enclose herewith some interesting extracts from private letter, recently received by me from Rev. J. Shaver, of Burlington, New Jersey, formerly a resident of this city. Comment on my part is unnecessary, and if you think it worth inserting in your valuable journal, you are at liberty to do so,
Your ob's servant,
C. C. MACON.
PINE BRIGHTS HERMITAGE,
BURLINGION, July 2, 1870.
Clemont C. Macon, New Orleans, La.:
Dear Friend:
This place is just now attracting great deal of attention from antiquarians and litterateurs generally, on account of a discovery lately made by me. I happened to notice in “Littell's Living Age,” of January 8th last, page 105, the following paragraph: It has just come to light that in an old barn in one of the villages of New Jersey, is a valuable collection of books and manuscripts, formerly forming a part of the library of Mahlon Dickerson, an American statesman. They are all in possession of the rats, and of a man who will not let them be touched, because of some family quarrel about property.
Having often heard that such documents existed in Burlington and were in the hands of Mr. John T. Tompkins, I requested and obtained permission to examine them, and among them found and copied a portion of a letter from Edgar A. Poe to Mr. Daniels of Philadelphia, dated Richmond, Sept. 29, 1849, in which an admission is made that will, to a certain extent, upset that person's claim to the authorship of the “Raven.” I could not make out all of the writing on account of its age and neglected condition, but what I could decipher was in these words:
“Shortly before the death of our good friend, Samuel Fenwick, he sent to me from New York for publication a most beautiful and thrilling poem, which he called the “Raven,” wishing me, before printing it, to if had merit’ and to make any alterations that might appear necessary. So perfect was it in all its parts that the slightest improvement seemed to me impossible. But yon [[you]] know a person very often depreciates his own talents, and he even went so far as to suggest that in this instance, or in any future pieces he might contribute, I should revise and print them in my own name to insure their circulation. proposal I rejected of course, and one way or other, delayed printing the Raven” until, as you know, it came out in the Review, and —— it was published when I was, unfortunately, intoxicated, and not knowing what I did. I signed my name to it, and thus it went to the printer and was published.
“The sensation it produced made me dishonest enough to conceal the name of the real author, who had died, you know, some time before it came out, and by that means I now enjoy all the credit and applause myself. I simply make this statement to you for the ——. I shall probably go to New York to-morrow, but will be back by Oct. 12th, I think.”
As you are fond of such matters, I send you the above as something interesting and important. * * * * * *
I am, as ever, your friend,
(Signed) J. SHAVER.
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Notes:
This item is but one of several absurd attempts to strip from Poe his claims to “The Raven,” presumably with the idea of cutting into Poe's fame and vanquishing a stubborn reputation that had long thwarted their efforts. This attempt also failed. No Rev. J. Shaver has been identified, nor a Clemont C. Mason, nor a Pine Brights Hermitage. All of these names may be as false as the rest of the letter. There was a Mahlon Dickerson (1770-1853) who was a justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the seventh governor of the New Jersey, and a US senator and secretary of the Navy. There was a John Townley Tompkins (1815-1866) from Montclair, NJ, but what connection he might have is unknown, and probably not important in any case. Poe is not known to have any association with anyone of the name Samuel Fenwick. It might be noted that “The Raven” appeared in the American Whig Review signed only “Quarrels.”
This article was reprinted in the Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), August 1, 1870 (p. 1, col. 3), with the comment:
This kind of stealing is worse than Butler's mode of getting spoons. Poe was a southern man, and so a Yankee must rob him of his laurels. But the vile attempt will fail. Poe's peculiarities are so marked that his poems can easily be identified. No one else could have written The Raven. Perhaps Mr. J. Shaver would favor us with some poems of Samuel Fenwick's which indicates his ability to have composed The Raven.
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[S:0 - NOT, 1870] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - A Poe Bookshelf - Poe's Raven (J. Shaver, 1870)