Text-01 — “[An Acrostic]” — about 1829 —
“Herring” manuscript — (Mabbott text A) (The manuscript was written by Poe in the album of his cousin,
Elizabeth Herring; sold at auction by Libbie & Co. of Boston, February 3-5, 1892, item 1157 for $20 to William Nelson
(1847-1914), of Patterson, NJ (presumably from Elizabeth’s family, and not from the collection of Rev. Thomas Raffles, as
suggested by the title of the auction); sold by Stan V. Henkles Auctions (Philadelphia, PA) on May 7, 1903, item 960 to William
Brooks (it was listed for sale by G. H. Richmond in 1904 in a catalog of Autograph Letters, Broadsides, MSS., etc, item 224 1/23,
for $250, with the strange item number perhaps indicating that it was a late insertion and perhaps being offered on consignment,
which would have been interrupted by Richmond’s sudden death in 1904); sold again at auction, by Anderson Auction Co. (New
York, NY) on May 19, 1905, as item 366 for $110. It was later sold from the collection of John Henry Grundlach (1861-1926), a real
estate developer in St. Louis, by American Art Association Galleries (New York, NY), January 6, 1927, for $1,850. It was purchased
by the Rosenbach company. Both Mabott and Stovall note the poem as having been in the collection of H. Bradley Martin, but it does
not appear in the auction catalog for the sale of his library, and is currently unlocated.)
Reprints:
“[An Acrostic]” — May 5, 1903 — Henkels Auction Catalog (lot 960, with only the
first two lines printed) (the owner was William Nelson of Paterson, NJ) (The entry states: “The poem is written on a
stained and slightly charred leaf that has evidently been cut out of an ‘Autograph Album.‘ It is thoroughly Poe-esque in
its delicate imagery, it [[in]] classic grace, and quaint turns of expression. It is signed ‘E. A. P.’ The handwriting,
though apparently of an early period, approximates that of his later years.” The manuscript was sold for $75.00.)
“[An Acrostic]” — May 9, 1903 — Patterson Evening News (Patterson, NJ), vol. LII,
no. 34, p. 6 (This entry was provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated December 30, 2015)
“[An Acrostic]” — May 9, 1903 — New York Herald (New York, NY) (no volume
specified), whole no. 24,365 (acknowledged as based on a special dispatch from Philadelphia, dated May 8, 1903) (This entry was
provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated December 30, 2015)
“[An Acrostic]” — May 10, 1903 — Washington Times (Washington, DC) (no volume
specified), whole no. 3255, p. 5 (printed as part of an article “Newly-Found Poems Add to Fame of Poe”) (This entry was
provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated July 17, 2018)
“[An Acrostic]” — May 17, 1903 — Morning Post (Raleigh, NC), p. 15 (printed as
part of an article “Newly-Found Poems Add to Fame of Poe,” reprinted from the Washington Times) (This entry was
provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated July 17, 2018)
“[An Acrostic]” — May 19, 1905 — Anderson Auction Catalog (lot 366, with complete
text printed) (the owner is not specified, and the sale contains material “mostly from private sources and including
some choice items from the collection of Evert Jansen Wendell.” (The entry states: “ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF AN
UNPUBLISHED POEM OF EDGAR ALLAN POE. Mounted on silk and inlaid on a sheet of Japan vellum paper bound up with other blank sheets in
a small folio volume, in crimson crushed levant, lettered in gilt, bands of gilt tooling, gilt edges, by BRADSTREETS. On an opposite
sheet of the vellum the poem has been printed just as written. The MS. of the poem has been a little browned by fire, and some
writing in another hand on the reverse of the sheet shows through. The poem is on nine lines and signed ‘E. A.
P.’ ”)
Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:
“From an Album” — 1911 — The
Complete Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. J. H. Whitty, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co (p. 141, and p. 285)
“An Acrostic” — 1917 — The
Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Killis Campbell, Boston: Ginn and Company (p. 136, and p. 297) (Campbell notes that the
manuscript was then in the collection of George H. Richmond, of New York City. There was a well-known rare book dealer in New York
named George H. Richmond, who was born in 1849 and died on Nov. 17, 1904. He had two sons, one of whom may also have been named
George H. Richmond.)
“An Acrostic” — 1965 — The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Floyd Stovall,
Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia (p. 131, and p. 291)
“An Acrostic” — 1969 — The
Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe - vol. I: Poems, ed. Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press (1:149-150)
“An Acrostic” — 1984 — Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales, ed. Patrick F. Quinn
(New York: Library of America) (p. 61) (reprints the text from Whitty, 1911)
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Comparative and Study Texts:
Instream Comparative and Study Texts:
None
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Associated Material and Special Versions:
Miscellaneous Texts and Related Items:
None.
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Bibliography:
Anonymous, “High Prices Paid for Poe Manuscripts,” Black Diamond Express Monthly (Lehigh
Valley Railroad), vol. VII, no. 6, June 1903, pp. 17-18
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 (Vol 1 Poems), Cambridge,
Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969.
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[S:0 - JAS] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - An Acrostic