Details
POE, EDGAR ALLAN (1809-1849). Autograph letter signed ("Edgar A Poe"), to Lewis J. Cist, Philadelphia, 18 February 1844. 1 page, 4to, neat repairs to some small separations.
POE INQUIRES ABOUT THE POET CINCINNATI POET REBECCA SHEPARD NICHOLS
"Being upon the point of quitting Philadelphia for some weeks, I think it right to drop you a line, before going, merely to acknowledge the receipt of your poem, and to say that I handed it to Mr [George] Graham [publisher of Graham's magazine], as you desired. I feared that it would be too late - but Graham says not." In a lengthy postscript, he adds: "Is Mrs. Nichols, the poetess, a resident of Cincinnati? - and am I indebted to you, or to herself, for a copy of some more touching lines to her Mother which appeared in the 'Louisville Journal,' and which reached me via your city? Can you tell me anything of Mrs. Nichols' personal history? I feel a deep interest in her poems, and consequently in herself. Please write reply."
Lewis Jacob Cist (1818-1885) was a Cincinnati poet who contributed a poem entitled "Bachelor Philosophy" to Poe's Penn Magazine and was also one of the leading autograph collectors of his day. Cist had sent Poe an account of Rebecca Nichols, and in another letter to Cist, of 3 June 1844, Poe write: "I have long admired her writings."
POE INQUIRES ABOUT THE POET CINCINNATI POET REBECCA SHEPARD NICHOLS
"Being upon the point of quitting Philadelphia for some weeks, I think it right to drop you a line, before going, merely to acknowledge the receipt of your poem, and to say that I handed it to Mr [George] Graham [publisher of Graham's magazine], as you desired. I feared that it would be too late - but Graham says not." In a lengthy postscript, he adds: "Is Mrs. Nichols, the poetess, a resident of Cincinnati? - and am I indebted to you, or to herself, for a copy of some more touching lines to her Mother which appeared in the 'Louisville Journal,' and which reached me via your city? Can you tell me anything of Mrs. Nichols' personal history? I feel a deep interest in her poems, and consequently in herself. Please write reply."
Lewis Jacob Cist (1818-1885) was a Cincinnati poet who contributed a poem entitled "Bachelor Philosophy" to Poe's Penn Magazine and was also one of the leading autograph collectors of his day. Cist had sent Poe an account of Rebecca Nichols, and in another letter to Cist, of 3 June 1844, Poe write: "I have long admired her writings."