1888 Rare Book - Lenore by Edgar Allan Poe, Illustrated by Hy. Sandham

An elegant Victorian gift edition of Poe’s mournful “Lenore,” beautifully presented in decorated cloth with atmospheric illustrations by Henry Sandham.

Author: Edgar Allan Poe.
Title: Lenore. Illustrated.
Publisher: Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1888. 
Language: English.
Size: 9" x 7".
Pages: Unpaginated.
Binding: Very good original brown cloth binding with elaborate gilt and black decoration to the front board, gilt title and central figure, gilt lettering to spine, patterned endpapers, and all edges gilt. Light wear to corners and spine ends, with minor rubbing and surface marks, as shown. Protected in a removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content, clean and well preserved overall, with light age-toning and minor occasional marks. Bookplate of a previous owner, Lucille W. Hunter, on the front pastedown, and small number to the upper corner of the rear endpaper, as shown.
Illustrations: Illustrated with full-page monochrome plates by Hy. Sandham, R.C.A., drawn and engraved under the supervision of George T. Andrew.

Estimate: USD $350–$500.

The book: A handsome 1888 illustrated edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s Lenore, one of his most haunting meditations on death, mourning, beauty, and spiritual consolation. This Victorian gift-book presentation gives the short poem an unusually spacious and dramatic form, pairing Poe’s text with sombre, romantic illustrations and a richly decorated publisher’s cloth binding.

The front board is particularly striking, with its floral black-stamped panels, gilt lettering, and gilt central figure. A lovely decorative Poe item, especially appealing for collectors of illustrated American literature, Victorian gift books, and finely bound nineteenth-century poetic works.

The author: Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the defining figures of American literature, celebrated for his poetry, tales of mystery and imagination, and enduring influence on gothic fiction, detective fiction, and symbolism. Lenore belongs to the same emotional and poetic world as The Raven, Annabel Lee, and Ulalume, where grief and beauty become inseparable.

The illustrator: Henry Sandham, credited here as Hy. Sandham, R.C.A., was a Canadian-born artist and illustrator known for historical, literary, and genre subjects. His illustrations for this edition give Poe’s poem a solemn, theatrical quality, with images that emphasize mourning, memory, and transcendence.