Edgar Allan Poe — “The Sphinx”

Reading copy:

• “The Sphinx” — reading copy

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

• Text-01 — “The Sphinx” — 1845 — (There are no known draft manuscripts or scratch notes reflecting the original effort of composition.)
• Text-02 — “The Sphinx” — 1845
  • Text-02a — “The Sphinx” — 1845 — (Speculated faircopy manuscript prepared for publication. This manuscript appears not to have survived, but this version is presumably recorded in Text-02)
  • Text-02b — “The Sphinx” — January 1846 — Arthur's Ladies’ Magazine — (Mabbott text A)
• Text-03 — “The Sphinx” — 1846-1849
  • Text-03a — “The Sphinx” — 1846-1849 — (speculated copy of Arthur's Ladies's Magazine with manuscript changes made by Poe. This version has not survived, but is presumably represented by text-04. Changes are too significant to suggest merely editorial meddling, and Poe himself was not alive to make changes in proof. These changes are not so significant, however, that a new manuscript is indicated.)
  • Text-03b — “The Sphinx” — 1850 — WORKS — (Mabbott text C — This is Mabbott's copy-text)

Reprints:

• “The Sphinx” — 1850 — The American Keepsake for 1851 — (Mabbott text B) (This appears to be a reprint of Text-02, with a few very minor editorial changes.) (Heartman and Canny state that “... it has been thought that Miss Wilmot had access to Poe's MS. even if Poe did not arrange the publication himself” (H&C, 1943, p. 133). Although uncredited, the source for this assertion is presumably Thomas Ollive Mabbott, who provided numerous bibliographical details for Heartman. In his edition of the Tales and Sketches (1978), Mabbott says only “... Anna Wilmot, who edited the gift book, may have obtained Poe's tale from Arthur” (T&S, 3:1246).
• “The Sphinx” — August 8, 1850 — Jamestown Journal (Jamestown, NY), vol. XXV, no. 12, whole no. 1260, p. 1, cols. 1-2 (acknolwedged as by “Edgar A. Poe”)
• “The Sphinx” — 1852 — Tales and Sketches: to which is added The Raven: A Poem, London, George Routledge & Co., pp. 260-264 (This tale is not included in Tales of Mystery and Imagination and Humour; and Poems, London: Henry Vizetelly, printed in England about the same time)
• “The Sphinx” — November 1855 — Home Magazine (This appears to be a reprint of Text-02.)
• “The Sphinx” — February 27, 1856 — Spirit of the Age (Raleigh, NC), vol. VII No. 26, p. 1, cols. 5-6 (Poe is acknowledged as the author) (This entry was provided by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail to the Poe Society dated March 4, 2019)
• “The Sphinx” — 1867 — Prose Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, second series (New York: W. J. Widdleton), pp. 137-141 (This collection is extracted from the 1850-1856 edition of Poe's Works. It was reprinted several times.)
• “The Sphinx” — 1874 — Works of Edgar A. Poe, edited by J. H. Ingram (vol. II, pp. 351-355) (This collection was subsequently reprinted in various forms)
• “The Sphinx” — July 1926 — Amazing Stories, vol. 1, no. 4

Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:

• “The Sphinx” — 1894-1895 — The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 3: Tales, ed. G. E. Woodberry and E. C. Stedman, Chicago: Stone and Kimball (3:249-255)
• “The Sphinx” — 1902 — The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 6: Tales V, ed. J. A. Harrison, New York: T. Y. Crowell (6:238-244, and 6:297)
• “The Sphinx” — 1978 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 3: Tales & Sketches II, ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (3:1245-1251)
• “The Sphinx” — 1984 — Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales, ed. Patrick F. Quinn (New York: Library of America), pp. 843-847

Miscellaneous Texts and Related Items:

• “Le Sphinx” — (French translation by William L. Hughes)
  • “Le Sphinx” — December 20, 1855 — Le Mousquetaire
  • “Le Sphinx” — 1862 — Contes inedts d‘Edgar Poe, Paris: J. Hetzel, pp. 157-164
• “Le Sphinx” — 1914 — Edgar Poe: Histories étranges et Merrveilleuses, Paris: Mercure de France (French translation by M. D. Calvocoressi)
• “Le Sphinx” — 1934 — Les Sphinx et autres contes bizarres par Edgar Poë, Paris: Galliard (French translation by Matila C. Ghyka)
• “The Sphinx” — September 15, 1940 — News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), vol. 57, no. 360, p. 38, cols. 2-4 (noted as “A condensation of EDGAR ALLAN POE'S tale of the effect of fear on the imagination” with a large woodcut illustration.)
• “The Sphinx” — September 15, 1940 — Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), vol. 58, no. 124, p. 95, cols. 2-4 (noted as “A condensation of EDGAR ALLAN POE'S tale of the effect of fear on the imagination” with a large woodcut illustration. Identical to the previous item of the same date and state.)
• “De Sphinx” — October 1949 — De Tsjerne, vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 310-314 (Dokkum, Netherlands, published by J. Kamminga) (Frisian translation by Anne Wadman) (this title provided by Ton Fafianie)
• “Le Sphinx” — 1950 — Histories grotesques et sérieuse par Edgar Poe, Paris: Classiques Garnier  (French translation by Léon Lemonnier)
• “Sfenks” — 1955 — Altin Böcek [Golden Beetle], Varlik edition, Istanbul (Turkish translation) (the small softbound book has 109 pages. It features “The Gold-Bug” but includes seven other tales.)
• “The Sphinx” — 1968 — a reading by Martin Donegan as part of volume I of Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe, issued on the CMS Records label (CMS-555)
• “The Sphinx” — 2010 — Audio book, read by Chris Aruffo

• 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 (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978.
• Whipple, William, “Poe's Political Satire,” University of Texas Studies in English (1956), 35:81-95.
• Wyllie, John Cooke, “A List of the Texts of Poe's Tales,” Humanistic Studies in Honor of John Calvin Metcalf, Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1941, pp. 322-338.