13 12POE, Edgar Allan. Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. Philadelphia, 1840 [i.e. 1839]. Two volumes. 12mo (4-5/16 by 7-9/16 inches), original purple cloth recased, replica printed paper spine labels. $37,500 First edition of Poe’s first collection of tales, one of only 750 copies, one of the most important and influential collections of short stories in the history of both horror and mystery and an indisputable high spot in American literature, most rare in original cloth. Edgar Allan Poe is “one of the founding writers of modern literature” (Sova, Critical Companion, 11). The publication of these 25 stories marked “a milestone in [Poe’s] career as a prose writer” (Heartman & Canny, 49-54). Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque includes all of the stories Poe had published to that point in magazines and periodicals, as well as one, “Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling,” appearing here for the first time. Two stories—”Fall of the House of Usher” and “MS. Found in a Bottle”—are among the most enduring in American literature. Only “three collections of the shorter fiction were issued during the lifetime of Poe” (Ollive, Tales and Sketches I:xxvii). Volume I with light expert cleaning to text; text block professionally recased with expert restoration to spine and cloth extremities. Volume II rebacked with spine laid down, cloth expertly restored. “One Of The Founding Writers Of Modern Literature”: Exceedingly Rare And Important 1840 First Edition Of Poe’s Tales Of The Grotesque And Arabesque, One Of Only 750 Copies
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