1881 Rare Victorian Book - The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe. Illustrated.
Author: Edgar Allan Poe.
Title: The Bells Illustrated by Darley, McCutcheon, Fredericks, Perkins, King, Riordan, and Northam.
Publisher: Philadelphia, Porter & Coates, no date (circa 1881). First thus.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8 " X 6.5 ".
Pages: Unpaginated (50 pages).
Binding: Attractive and very good full Victorian decorated hardcover binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated by Darley, McCutcheon, Fredericks, Perkins, King, Riordan, and Northam.
Estimate: (USD 150 - USD 350)
The book: Rare and attractive edition of the Bells by Edgar Allan Poe. "The Bells" is a heavily onomatopoeic poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was not published until after his death in 1849. It is perhaps best known for the diascopic use of the word "bells." The poem has four parts to it; each part becomes darker and darker as the poem progresses from "the jingling and the tinkling" of the bells in part 1 to the "moaning and the groaning" of the bells in part 4.
The author: Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story. Poe is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in financially difficult life and career.