Edgar Allan Poe — “An Acrostic”

Reading copy:

• “An Acrostic” — reading copy

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

• Text-01 — “[An Acrostic]” — about 1829 — [There are no known draft manuscripts or scratch notes reflecting the original effort of composition. The surviving manuscript was presumably written by Poe from memory, but is is likely that he had composed the poem beforehand, particularly as an acrostic. Mabbott (1:149) dates the surviving manuscript as “about 1829,” without supplying a supporting argument. The title was assigned in 1917, by Killis Campbell, who assigns the date as (p. 297) “about 1830 or a little later,” but also without further explanation. It may be presumed that these dates are based on when Poe was living in Baltimore, near the Herring family in the Fells Point area.]
• Text-02 — “[An Acrostic]” — about 1829 — “Herring” manuscript — (Mabbott text A) — [The manuscript was written by Poe in the album of his cousin, Elizabeth Herring; sold at auction by Libbie & Co. of Boston, February 3-5, 1892, item 1157 for $20 to William Nelson (1847-1914), of Patterson, NJ (presumably from Elizabeth's family, and not from the collection of Rev. Thomas Raffles, as suggested by the title of the auction); sold by Stan V. Henkles Auctions (Philadelphia, PA) on May 7, 1903, item 960 to William Brooks (it was listed for sale by G. H. Richmond in 1904 in a catalog of Autograph Letters, Broadsides, MSS., etc, item 224 1/23, for $250, with the strange item number perhaps indicating that it was a late insertion and possibly being offered on consignment, which would have been interrupted by Richmond's sudden death in 1904); sold again at auction, by Anderson Auction Co. (New York, NY) on May 19, 1905, as item 366 for $110. It was later sold from the collection of John Henry Grundlach (1861-1926), a real estate developer in St. Louis, by American Art Association Galleries (New York, NY), January 6, 1927, for $1,850. It was purchased by the Rosenbach company. Both Mabott and Stovall note the poem as having been in the collection of H. Bradley Martin, but it does not appear in the auction catalog for the sale of his library, and is currently unlocated.]

Reprints:

• “[An Acrostic]” — May 5, 1903 — Henkels Auction Catalog (lot 960, with only the first two lines printed) — [The owner of the manuscript at the time was William Nelson of Paterson, NJ. The entry states: “The poem is written on a stained and slightly charred leaf that has evidently been cut out of an ‘Autograph Album.’ It is thoroughly Poe-esque in its delicate imagery, it [[in]] classic grace, and quaint turns of expression. It is signed ‘E. A. P.’ The handwriting, though apparently of an early period, approximates that of his later years.” Nelson's collection was stored in the Free Public Library at Patterson, NJ. On February 8, 1902, a fire began in a trolley car shed, which spread and eventually consumed 459 buildings, including the library. A number of Nelson's materials were destroyed while many of the most important items survived in a safe, but were still affected by the extreme heat. The manuscript was sold for $75.00.]
• “[An Acrostic]” — May 9, 1903 — Patterson Evening News (Patterson, NJ), vol. LII, no. 34, p. 6 — (Information for this entry was provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated December 30, 2015.)
• “[An Acrostic]” — May 9, 1903 — New York Herald (New York, NY) (no volume specified), whole no. 24,365 (acknowledged as based on a special dispatch from Philadelphia, dated May 8, 1903) — (Information for this entry was provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated December 30, 2015.)
• “[An Acrostic]” — May 10, 1903 — Washington Times (Washington, DC) (no volume specified), whole no. 3255, p. 5 (printed as part of an article “Newly-Found Poems Add to Fame of Poe”) — (Information for this entry was provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated July 17, 2018.)
• “[An Acrostic]” — May 17, 1903 — Morning Post (Raleigh, NC), vol. XI, no. 142, p. 15 (printed as part of an article “Newly-Found Poems Add to Fame of Poe,” reprinted from the Washington Times) — (Information for this entry was provided to the Poe Society by Ton Fafianie in an e-mail dated July 17, 2018.)
• “[An Acrostic]” — May 17, 1903 — Chattanooga Daily Times (Chattanooga, TN), vol. XXXIV, no. 154, p. 18, col. 4 (printed as part of an article “Poe's Acrostic to Cousin,” reprinted from the New York Herald.)
• “[An Acrostic]” — May 19, 1905 — Anderson Auction Catalog (lot 366, with complete text printed) — [The owner is not specified, and the sale contains material “mostly from private sources and including some choice items from the collection of Evert Jansen Wendell.” (The entry states: “ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF AN UNPUBLISHED POEM OF EDGAR ALLAN POE. Mounted on silk and inlaid on a sheet of Japan vellum paper bound up with other blank sheets in a small folio volume, in crimson crushed levant, lettered in gilt, bands of gilt tooling, gilt edges, by BRADSTREETS. On an opposite sheet of the vellum the poem has been printed just as written. The MS. of the poem has been a little browned by fire, and some writing in another hand on the reverse of the sheet shows through. The poem is on nine lines and signed ‘E. A. P.’ ”]
• “[An Acrostic]” — May 31, 1903 — The Age-Herald (Birmingham, Alabama), p. 29, col. 3 (printed as part of an article “Newly-Found Poems Add to Fame of Poe,” reprinted from the Washington Times)

Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:

• “From an Album” — 1911 — The Complete Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. J. H. Whitty, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co (p. 141, and p. 285) — [Whitty gives the first printing in a collection of Poe's writings. He does so from an unspecified facsimile, perhaps a photograph or photocopy made at the 1903 auction. Whitty's notes refer to the Peirce auction, but he seems not to have been aware that the Poe material at the auction was actually from the collection of William Nelson.]
• “An Acrostic” — 1917 — The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Killis Campbell, Boston: Ginn and Company (p. 136, and p. 297) — [Campbell gives the text from the manuscript, which he notes was then in the collection of George H. Richmond, of New York City. There was a well-known rare book dealer in New York named George H. Richmond, who was born in 1849 and died on Nov. 17, 1904. He had two sons, one of whom may also have been named George H. Richmond.]
• “An Acrostic” — 1965 — The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Floyd Stovall, Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia (p. 131, and p. 291) — [Stovall prints the text from the manuscript, noted as being in the collection of H. Bradley Martin.]
• “An Acrostic” — 1969 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe - vol. I: Poems, ed. Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (1:149-150) — [Mabbott prints the text from the manuscript, noted as being in the collection of H. Bradley Martin.]
• “An Acrostic” — 1984 — Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales, ed. Patrick F. Quinn (New York: Library of America) (p. 61) — [Quinn reprints the text from Whitty, 1911.]

Instream Comparative and Study Texts:

• None — (Not applicable since there is only one version)

Miscellaneous Texts and Related Items:

• None — (As a very slight item, this poem has received very little attention, and as an acrostic the nature of the poem makes translation highly problematic.)

• Anonymous, “High Prices Paid for Poe Manuscripts,” Black Diamond Express Monthly (Lehigh Valley Railroad), vol. VII, no. 6, June 1903, pp. 17-18
• 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 (Vol 1 Poems), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969.