Raven, in The American Review: A Whig Journal First Edition - Edgar Allan Poe - Bauman Rare Books

Raven, in The American Review: A Whig Journal

Edgar Allan POE

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Raven, in The American Review: A Whig Journal

“THE SILKEN SAD UNCERTAIN RUSTLING OF EACH PURPLE CURTAIN”: FIRST APPEARANCE OF POE’S “THE RAVEN”

POE, Edgar Allan. “The Raven” [and other Poe works]. IN: The American Review: A Whig Journal of Politics, Literature, Art, and Science, Volume I (January-June, 1845). New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845. Six numbers of Volume I. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter black calf, marbled boards and endpapers.

First appearance in print of “The Raven,” considered by Poe his finest poem, calling it “the greatest poem that was ever written.”

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle characterized Poe’s writings as “so pregnant with suggestion, so stimulating to the minds of others, that it may be said of many of them that each is a root from which a whole literature has developed.” A number of Poe’s works first appeared in The American Review, edited by George H. Colton. Early in 1845, “James Russell Lowell recommended to Colton that he publish some of Poe’s work, and the result of his suggestion was the publication of ‘The Raven” (Heartman & Canny, 146). Poe considered it to be his finest poem— indeed, he was quoted as saying it was the finest poem ever written. The printing and publication history of “The Raven” is complex, but this printing in the February 1845 issue of The American Review (pp. 143-45) is widely accepted as its first appearance in print. The poem in book form was not issued until November 1845. Its publication brought Poe immediate fame and far surpassed the popularity of any previous American poem. In keeping with the policy of The American Review, which insisted on publishing poems either anonymously or with a pseudonym, “The Raven” is signed simply “Quarles.” Volume I also contains the first printing of Poe’s “Some Words with a Mummy,” and reprints his poems “City in the Sea” and “The Valley of Unrest.” Heartman & Canny, 145-46. Frontispiece excised; without last two leaves of Number 6 (June 1845) at rear.

Inner margin of general title page repaired. Only occasional light embrowning, but text generally very clean. A handsome and very desirable copy in contemporary binding.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
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Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
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Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
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Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
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