FISHING FOR AVOCADOS! –– C.A. BROADSTONE on FILMMAKING, WRITING, MUSIC, and Other Things BCP!: March 2019

POE In PIECES!

I was recently quite lucky, and was able to acquire a very rare Volume II––First Edition, published 1850––of “The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe” edited by R. W. Griswold et al. In Two Volumes. NY: J. S. Redfield.

The book was claimed to be a family heirloom, but had not been cared for, since when I have no idea. Very unfortunate that, for the spine cloth had come away completely from the spine, was torn from the back cover, and the “Vol. 2” had been entirely rubbed through. The text of 495 pages was in 4 separate pieces, only the last quarter remaining attached to the back cover. The front cover was barely hanging onto the remaining spine cloth and was also wholly broken away from the contents of the book. When the tome arrived, I was terrified the spine would degrade further––it had become so delicate––and I immediately set about to reconstruct and preserve the book as best I could. The following first 4 pictures of Volume II show the condition of the book as it was sent to me by the previous owner. The next 5 pictures are online photos/graphics from a well preserved set of Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, as well as relative information about this 1850 First Edition.

The remaining 25 pictures are of my reconstructed and preserved Vol. 2,

now mine to care for.

PLEASE NOTE: Edgar Allan Poe died in October 1849. The official copyrighted date in the book is 1849 (see THE HISTORY below) and the publication date is 1850, only the following year after Poe’s death. Because of this VERY recent loss, the title page of the book is: The Works “OF THE LATE” Edgar Allan Poe. You would not see “OF THE LATE” in a publication of Poe much after this 1850 First Edition and those relative and additional.

This is quite a fascinating piece of literature to have in my possession. What a story this book could tell, which brings me to one more bit of preservation I had to make––a previous owner’s name (obviously written in an elegant penmanship due to the fringes that remain) was at some point in time crudely cut from the title page. Also, what went away with the removal of the name was the portion of the title “OF THE LATE”. In preserving the title page from tearing and further ruin, I restored this with a backing and an insert. It isn’t a perfect match (that would be impossible), but it gives the impression of how the page would have appeared.

Enjoy the pics!
(Below the following 'History'.)

***Please "click" on pics to enlarge***

––THE HISTORY––
.

“The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe”

edited by R. W. Griswold et al.

In Two Volumes. NY: J. S. Redfield, 1850. First Edition.

"Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore on October 7, 1849, at the tender age of 41. News of his death reached his mother-in-law, Maria Clemm, in New York two days later. Shortly thereafter, she appears to have approached Rufus W. Griswold and requested that he edit and publish a collection of Poe’s writings. Mrs. Clemm had a contract written up on October 15, 1849 which granted Griswold full power of attorney. Griswold immediately set to work. He asked Nathaniel Parker Willis and James Russell Lowell to revise previously published essays they had written about Poe so that these could be used as introductory material"––[Source: www.eapoe.org/works/editions/griswold.htm]

The succeeding set of four volumes (1850-1856) edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold (1815-1857) and printed by J. S. Redfield (Justus Starr Redfield, 1810-1888) is an important crossroads in the publication of Poe’s writings. It was the first attempt at collecting both poetry and prose, and the first collection of Poe’s critical, editorial and miscellaneous writings. Relying on a wealth of manuscript notes and corrections, it is also the last collection to be at least partially authorized by Poe. It became the standard edition of Poe’s works for 25 years, and served as the model for nearly another quarter of a century. It is also the edition upon which Charles Baudelaire based his famous translations of Poe’s works into French in Histoires Extraordinaires (1856), Nouvelles Histoires Extraordinaires (1857) and Histoires Grotesques Et Sérieuses (1865).

Volume I: Tales
First printed, with Volume II (pictured below),
by January 10, 1850,
although advertised as early as December 8, 1849.

The now preserved version of this very awesome piece of history,safely under my watchful eye and protective care.

Volume II: Poems and Miscellanies
(pictured above)
First printed, with Volume I, by January 10, 1850.

Additional editions in the series...

Volume III: The Literati, &c. (Advertised as early as September 21, 1850)
Volume IV: Arthur Gordon Pym, &c. (Advertised beginning on March 8, 1856)

It would be difficult, merely seeing these unprepossessing volumes on a shelf, to appreciate their controversial history. News of Poe’s death in Baltimore on October 7, 1849 reached his mother-in-law, Maria Clemm, in New York two days later. Shortly thereafter, she and Mrs. Shew appear to have approached Rufus W. Griswold and requested that he edit and publish a collection of Poe’s writings. It is often repeated that Poe himself asked that Griswold be his editor, but there is no definitive surviving evidence for this statement nor any explanation for why Poe should have thought that he would require an editor. In 1854, Mrs. Lewis wrote, “I did tell Griswold that Mr. Poe expressed a desire that he should become his editor, in case of his death. I did this in compliance with Mr. Poe’s own request. He had great confidence in Griswold’s editorial ability . . .” (Sarah Anna Lewis to George W. Eveleth, Nov. 6, 1854, quoted in Miller, pp. 199-200).

At the time, Griswold himself wrote, “I undertook to edit his writings to oblige Mrs. Clemm . . .” (R. W. Griswold to S. H. Whitman, December 17, 1849, Harrison, vol. II, p. 406). To J. R. Lowell, Griswold wrote, “Poe was not my friend — I was not his — and he had no right to devolve upon me this duty of editing his works. He did so, however, and under the circumstances I could not well refuse compliance with the wishes of his friends here. From his constant habit of repeating himself, and from his habits of appropriation, particularly in the Marginalia, it is a difficult task; but I shall execute it as well as I can, in the short time that is allowed to me — that is, in three weeks” (R. W. Griswold to J. R. Lowell, October 18 or 25, 1849, quoted in Quinn, 1941, p. 658).

Continue reading the rest of the history here:

https://www.eapoe.org/works/editions/griswold.htm

POE In PIECES...


Dilapidated condition of the book as it came to me.

Dilapidated condition of the book as it came to me.

_______________

The first two volumes of “The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe" (shown here) were advertised as early as October of 1849, but were probably not actually available until about January 10, 1850. (Both of these first edition volumes carry the copyright date of 1849. In later editions, volume 1 continues to carry the 1849 copyright, while volume 2 carries a copyright date of 1850.) Poe’s works grew to four volumes by 1856. The two additional volumes, also edited by Griswold, collected more of Poe’s critical, editorial and miscellaneous writings. The four-volume Griswold set became the standard edition of Poe’s works for 25 years, and served as the model for nearly another quarter of a century. [Source: www.eapoe.org/works/editions/griswold.htm]

Frontispiece Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe from

“The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe”

edited by R. W. Griswold et al. (1850). First Edition.
The engraving of the young Edgar Allan Poe is by Sartain.

Title Page:

“The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe”

edited by R. W. Griswold et al.

Volume 1 of 2. NY: J. S. Redfield, 1850. First Edition.

Title Page:

“The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe”

edited by R. W. Griswold et al.

Volume 2 of 2. NY: J. S. Redfield, 1850. First Edition.

_______________

THE POE IN PIECES PRESERVATION...

The now preserved version of this very awesome piece of history,safely under my watchful eye and protective care.

I have reinforced the spine cloth and created a new spine board and reattached the four separated sections of the 495 pages.

Sadly, the "Vol. 2" has been rubbed completely through (see previous picks of a well-preserved set of these volumes.)

A bit of the spine cloth (bottom left) was separated from the rest of the spine and hanging ragged from the detached back cover. Once the spine was reinforced, the spine board was back in place, and the text (contents) was firmly re-adhered, I was able to wrap the flap of lower spine back around and into place. It matched up very well, like a puzzle piece, to the the rest of the spine––although a tear or crack remains visible.

The front and back covers were gently cleaned to remove any lose dirt or grime. The remaining scars reveal 169 years of life out in the world. Oh what stories this book could tell. What mischief and mayhem has it seen, I wonder? And how many years has it set dormant, just waiting for a reader to pick it up and care for it?

The crude NAME PLATE shown here was glued in by some previous owner. This person must have cared about owning this book and was proud place his name inside its cover. I wonder who they were? What was there life all about?


Visible here, is my repair and insertion of the missing bit cut from the page, containing "OF THE LATE". I wonder whose name was elegantly written in this missing space on the page? Who was willing to damage the title page of such a wonderful book, just to remove his, hers, or their name––a need to disassociate from a book? What story could this title page tell? One of anger and rage (a heart broken?), or simply a fool's damage and lackadaisical disrespect? Was the 'cutter' the person's name remaining on the inside cover, this mysterious Henry F. Barrell?

The 1850 publication date.

The preservation bandage added to the back of the title page, to keep the cutout name-portion from tearing further and doing greater damage the page.

The copyright date of 1849, registered in the Clerk's Office in the Southern District of New York.

Here appears a most outstanding introduction to Poe’s poems, written by Poe himself. I love the last line, which says it all about any true artist. Poe wrote poetry in the highest regard, a true passion that no man could place a dollar value upon. And if it were not for the restrictions of life, poetry would have been his choice career as a writer: "With me poetry has been not a purpose, but a passion; and the passions should be held in reverence; they must not––they cannot at will be excited, with an eye to the paltry compensations, or the more paltry commendations, of mankind."––E.A. Poe

The Contents Page 01


The Contents Page 02

No compilation of Poe would ever be complete without his most famous work, 'THE RAVEN', which launched him to global renown as one of the first rockstar writers, even way back when it was first published in January 1845. Poe didn't ever get rich from 'THE RAVEN', but it secured his crown amongst the royalty of literary history, and it would make certain the name Edgar Allan Poe would be forever remembered and forgotten nevermore.

The renown 'ISRAFEL'

A dogeared page from a previous reader. Was 'THE DEVIL IN THE BELFRY' a favorite tale?

'SOME WORDS WITH A MUMMY', a favorite Poe tale of mine, and loaded with philosophy and speculation on mankind, which questions human vanity and the sometimes spurious knowledge of the humans.

'HOP-FROG' is a great story that is one of Poe's most vicious and brutal in the exploration of vengeance. I think, even more so than another favorite of mine, 'THE BLACK CAT' or "THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO', which are more drawn out.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. But they do not have to be forgotten. You can always love them in your heart and mind and, sometimes, with simply a wonderful old book in reach on a desktop. My desktop now. :D I hope this lovingly preserved––and life-scarred––copy of Poe will continue to bleed inspiration all over me...and throughout my own writing, music, and films.