![POE, Edgar Allan (1809-49). Autograph note signed ("Edgar A. Poe"), [New York] c. late 1845- early 1846.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/NYR/2018_NYR_16392_0162_000(poe_edgar_allan_autograph_note_signed_new_york_c_late_1845-_early_1846095735).jpg?w=1)
PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
POE, Edgar Allan (1809-49). Autograph note signed ("Edgar A. Poe"), [New York] c. late 1845- early 1846.
Details
POE, Edgar Allan (1809-49). Autograph note signed ("Edgar A. Poe"), [New York] c. late 1845- early 1846.
One page, 160 x 75mm (trimmed at edges, mat shadow, remnants of old adhesive to verso).
"I leave this note, and will return for your answer in half an hour. Should you not be in when I call, may I ask you to address me a note at 85 Amity Street? – by despatch. Truly yours, Edgar A Poe."
A cryptic note relating perhaps to Poe's purchase of the short-lived Broadway Journal – or possibly its ensuing financial problems as he struggled to keep it afloat. The Journal was founded in 1844 by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco, and Poe signed on as editor and literary critic in February 1845 before buying the publication outright that summer. The years 1845-46 would be among the most important in his career: January 1845 saw the publication of "The Raven," which brought Poe great acclaim, and following his move in autumn 1845 to 85 Amity Street, he undertook revisions of his major poetical works. There he produced the final, authoritative texts, several of which were published in the pages of the Journal before its imminent collapse in 1846. It is also where he wrote two of his most famous short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.” 85 Amity (now 85 West Third Street) was Poe's final New York address. The house had a small garden and was situated close to Washington Square, ideal for his ailing wife Virginia, whose tuberculosis was worsening. They lived there from October 1845-March 1846 before departing for a cottage in Fordham where Virginia would succumb to her illness in 1847. The Collected Letters of Edgar Allan Poe considers this note a fragment, as it lacks the name of Poe's correspondent, but it is uncertain whether that is the case, or if this note is complete in itself and simply accompanied a longer letter, now lost. Ostrom Collected Letters (2008) 221a. Provenance: Michael J. Deas.
One page, 160 x 75mm (trimmed at edges, mat shadow, remnants of old adhesive to verso).
"I leave this note, and will return for your answer in half an hour. Should you not be in when I call, may I ask you to address me a note at 85 Amity Street? – by despatch. Truly yours, Edgar A Poe."
A cryptic note relating perhaps to Poe's purchase of the short-lived Broadway Journal – or possibly its ensuing financial problems as he struggled to keep it afloat. The Journal was founded in 1844 by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco, and Poe signed on as editor and literary critic in February 1845 before buying the publication outright that summer. The years 1845-46 would be among the most important in his career: January 1845 saw the publication of "The Raven," which brought Poe great acclaim, and following his move in autumn 1845 to 85 Amity Street, he undertook revisions of his major poetical works. There he produced the final, authoritative texts, several of which were published in the pages of the Journal before its imminent collapse in 1846. It is also where he wrote two of his most famous short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.” 85 Amity (now 85 West Third Street) was Poe's final New York address. The house had a small garden and was situated close to Washington Square, ideal for his ailing wife Virginia, whose tuberculosis was worsening. They lived there from October 1845-March 1846 before departing for a cottage in Fordham where Virginia would succumb to her illness in 1847. The Collected Letters of Edgar Allan Poe considers this note a fragment, as it lacks the name of Poe's correspondent, but it is uncertain whether that is the case, or if this note is complete in itself and simply accompanied a longer letter, now lost. Ostrom Collected Letters (2008) 221a. Provenance: Michael J. Deas.