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.]
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Comparative and Study Texts:
Instream Comparative and Study Texts:
None — (Not applicable since there is only one version)
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Associated Material and Special Versions:
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.)
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Bibliography:
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.
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[S:0 - JAS] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - An Acrostic