[page v:]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In completing Volumes II and III of the Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe the assisting editors have tried to keep faithfully to the task to which they were assigned — the preparation of Mr. Mabbott's typescript for the press, in the way he would have wished it done. In his edition of Poe's Works he emphasizes sources and records rather than his own opinions. This emphasis has made it possible to complete his work on the Tales by verifying and fleshing out references, and by following closely his leads. In addition, Poe scholarship since his death in 1968 has been studied with his views for this edition in mind, and some new references have been added. During the more than fifty years of his work on Poe, Mr. Mabbott reserved some of the results of that work for his edition. Therefore, while credit has been given to authors presenting material he did not have, it has not been feasible to recognize those who have independently discovered and published material already in his notes.

As in Volume I, help on particular points is usually acknowledged in the appropriate notes, but a number of individuals and institutions must be mentioned for their general helpfulness and guidance throughout the work. First among these are Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, specifically named by Mr. Mabbott as “guardians of the Poe.” That they have been. All during the work they have given counsel and encouragement.

Burton R. Pollin, collaborating editor with Mr. Mabbott for the remaining volumes of this edition, has given of his time and shared his wide knowledge of Poe scholarship. We particularly thank him for his careful reading of the proofs of the two volumes of Tales and Sketches.

Throughout his work Mr. Mabbott often expressed his appreciation of libraries and librarians. The latter, he felt, had a special understanding and sympathy with his emphasis on facts in the study of his author. The continuity of their interest and helpfulness has been one of the greatest resources in continuing his work. Thus it is [page vi:] with a warm sense of appreciation and gratitude that our thanks go to Lola L. Szladits of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, Maud Cole of the Rare Book Division, and Paul R. Rugen in the Manuscript Division, of the New York Public Library; James Gregory of the New-York Historical Society; Herbert Cahoon of the Pierpont Morgan Library; Howell J. Heaney of the Free Library of Philadelphia; Alexander P. Clark at Princeton University; John H. Stanley of Brown University, and Carey S. Bliss at the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. The kindness of June Moll, formerly librarian of the Miriam Lutcher Stark Library at the University of Texas, has been continued by F. W. Roberts of the Humanities Research Center Library of that University. Marcus A. McCorison of the American Antiquarian Society, W. H. Bond of the Houghton Library, Harvard University, and Randolph Church formerly of the Virginia State Library, have all been helpful for these volumes as for the first.

We acknowledge with appreciation the help we have received from Evelyn A. Hanley, Craig B. Brush, John E. Reilly, and Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV. We thank George E. Hatvary who assisted on this edition from 1965 to 1968 when some of these tales were being prepared; and David K. Jackson for reading the proofs of Volume III. We are especially grateful to the Reverend Dom Anselm Strittmatter, O.S.B. (of St. Anselm's Abbey, Washington, D.C.), long Mr. Mabbott's friend, to whom we have turned for help with classical references.

Michael Papantonio of the Seven Gables Bookshop has never failed to respond helpfully when called upon; again, these volumes, like the first, are indebted to H. Bradley Martin for his generous permission to use materials from his fine collection of Poeana.

We wish to thank our friends at the University of Iowa: for general support and help in many ways, Willard L. Boyd, President, Leslie W. Dunlap, Dean of Library Administration, and Frank Paluka, in charge of Special Collections, including the Thomas Ollive Mabbott Poe Collection; for checking the list of variants for Poe's tale “Ligeia,” O. M. Brack, formerly in charge, and his staff at the Iowa Center for Textual Studies.

Patricia Edwards Clyne has assisted the work on this edition [page vii:] from the time Mr. Mabbott began to prepare Volume I for the press. A student of his, trained by him, she has been unflagging in her dedication to the task of helping to make the result of his lifelong research available in print.

Eleanor D. Kewer  
Maureen C. Mabbott
October 1977