Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque

POE, Edgar Allan

Published by Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia, 1840

8vo. Pp. 243; 228. Both volumes bound in original muslin with original paper spine labels. With the four pages of advertisements bound directly before the title page, as corresponds with the copy in the Yale University Library cited by Heartman. With p. 213 misnumbered 231 in Vol. II; the "i" of "ing" and hyphen properly aligned on p. 219. Spine labels deteriorated. Contemporary ownership signature (M. T. Willard) on FFEPs of both volumes. Interiors quite fresh. Pastedowns of both volumes with the red morocco bookplate of Academy Award-winning lyricist and noted book collector Paul Francis Webster ("The Shadow of Your Smile"). Half-morocco slipcase and chemises. First edition of Poe's first substantial collection of tales, of which research suggests only 750 copies were printed. In 1834 Poe had hoped to publish his first collection, to be called Tales of the Folio Club, but the effort went unpublished. The stories at-hand, and his subsequent collection, Tales (1845), are the only two collections published during his lifetime. (A pamphlet of two stories, of which less than 20 copies are known, was published in 1843.) Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque contains all the stories Poe had published in periodicals to date, along with "Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling," which appears here for the first time.Two of the stories, "Fall of the House of Usher" and "MS. Found in a Bottle," remain among the most enduring stories in American literature. Notably scarce in original cloth with paper labels. BAL, 16133; HEARTMAN AND CANNY, pp. 49-54. Two volumes in original cloth, housed in a custom morocco case. Seller Inventory # 7154

Bibliographic Details

Title: Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
Publisher: Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia
Publication Date: 1840
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Edition: First Edition.