Edgar Allan Poe autograph letter to A. S. Cummings in autograph album

Description data TOP

unitid

{"value"=>"186420", "type"=>"local_mss"}

{"value"=>"Berg Coll MSS 186420", "type"=>"local_call"}

{"value"=>"b23707706", "type"=>"local_b"}

unitdate

{"value"=>"1839-1872", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1839/1872"}

unittitle

{"value"=>"Edgar Allan Poe autograph letter to A. S. Cummings in autograph album"}

physdesc

{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 box", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>".25 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}

repository

{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature</span>"}

abstract

{"value"=>"Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American author, poet, and critic. The Edgar Allan Poe autograph letter to A. S. Cummings is dated July 4, 1840. It is included in an autograph album, dating from 1839 to 1872, containing additional letters and signatures from American politicians, historians, clergy, physicians, and writers."}

langmaterial

{"value"=>"English"}

origination

{"value"=>"Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849", "type"=>"persname"}

bioghist

{"value"=>"<p>Edgar Allan Poe (born 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American author, poet, and critic.</p> <p>Poe was orphaned at two years old and raised by John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, but dropped out due to financial difficulties. Poe then joined the Army and published his first poetry collection <span class=\"title\">Tamerlane and Other Poems</span> in 1827. He attended West Point but, again, left the Academy due to financial hardship. Poe published his second poetry collection <span class=\"title\">Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems</span> in 1829 and his third poetry collection, <span class=\"title\">Poems</span>, in 1831.</p> <p>After leaving West Point, Poe shifted his focus from poetry to short stories, literary criticism, and editorial and publishing work at literary publications. In 1836, Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. Poe's work required the couple to move between Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and New York City.</p> <p>From 1840 to 1841, Poe created a prospectus for a literary magazine he proposed to edit and publish called <span class=\"title\">Penn Magazine</span>.</p> <p>From 1835 to his death, Poe wrote pieces of literary theory, such as \"The Philosophy of Composition\" (1846); literary criticism of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poetry; and genre-defining short stories, such as the Gothic horror short stories \"The Tell-Tale Heart\" (1843) and \"The Fall of the House of Usher\" (1839).</p> <p>Poe died under mysterious circumstances in 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland.</p>"}

custodhist

{"value"=>"<p>There are two inscriptions and one book label on the front endpaper of the autograph album. The oldest inscription states that the album was owned by B. W. Tomelinson of Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 1872. The next inscription notes the passing of the album from Steward Claycomb to Foster F. Claycomb on August 15, 1945. Near the inscriptions is a Susan Jaffe Tane Edgar Allan Poe book label.</p>"}

scopecontent

{"value"=>"<p>The Edgar Allan Poe autograph letter to A. S. Cummings in autograph album is an album housing letters and signatures dating from 1839 to 1872.</p> <p>The mounted and folded letter from Poe, dated July 4, 1840, is addressed to A. S. Cummings, the secretary of the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Philomataean Society. Poe thanks the Philomataean Society for an unnamed honor and asks Cummings to use his influence at the Society to aid Poe's <span class=\"title\">Penn Magazine</span> endeavor. Poe mentions enclosing a copy of his <span class=\"title\">Penn Magazine</span> prospectus.</p> <p>Aside from the Poe letter, the album includes mounted letters from Washington Irving, George R. Perkins, Charles Francis Adams, Horace Greeley, and William S. Tyler. These letters are interspersed with fragments of letters containing signatures with accompanying closing salutations. The album includes signatures from President Millard Fillmore, President William Harrison, James Hamilton, John Hamilton, and William S. Tyler.</p>"}

acqinfo

{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Susan Jaffe Tane, 2021.</p>"}

processinfo

{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Amy Lau</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}

date_start

1839

keydate

1839

date_end

1872

date_inclusive_start

1839

date_inclusive_end

1872

extent_statement

.25 linear feet (1 box)

prefercite

{"value"=>"Edgar Allan Poe autograph letter to A. S. Cummings in autograph album, Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library"}

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