1866 Rare Book - Poems by Edgar Allan Poe. Complete with an Original Memoir
Author: Edgar Allan Poe.
Title: Poems by Edgar Allan Poe. Complete with an Original Memoir.
Publisher: New York: W. J. Widdleton, Publisher, 1866.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5 x 5 inches.
Pages: 278 pages.
Binding: Very good, elegant, full dark green morocco leather binding, with raised bands and gilt title to spine, enclosed within triple gilt fillet panels and delicate corner ornaments on both covers. Inner gilt dentelles and marbled endpapers (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, showing wear to the head of spine - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt. A refined example of 19th-century craftsmanship.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing, toning and staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with 2 full-page plates, including Poe’s portrait and an engraved illustration for The Raven.
Estimate: (USD 300 – 500).
The book: A nice and complete 19th-century edition of Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, published in New York by W. J. Widdleton in 1866 — one of the most admired American publishers of Poe’s works in the posthumous era. This edition opens with Poe’s “Preface to the Poems”, followed by an original memoir of the poet and a complete collection of his verse, including The Raven, Lenore, To Helen, Ulalume, The Bells, and Annabel Lee.
The fine morocco binding and decorative gilt dentelles elevate this copy to presentation quality — a fitting tribute to Poe’s haunting and musical poetry.
The author: Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) stands as one of America’s most influential literary figures. A poet, critic, and master of the macabre, Poe’s innovations in both poetic form and psychological fiction shaped modern literature. His verse — particularly The Raven (1845), Annabel Lee, and The Bells — captures his unique blend of beauty, melancholy, and rhythm. This 1866 edition, appearing less than two decades after his death, helped cement Poe’s posthumous reputation as America’s first great romantic poet.