The Poetical Works of Edgar Allen Poe

POE, Edgar Allan. The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, of America. With a Notice of his Life and Genius by James Hannay, Esq. And Twenty Illustrations by E. H. Wehnert, James Godwin, F. W. Hulme, and Harrison Weir. Second Edition. London: Addey & Co., Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, MDCCCLVI [1856].

8vo (approx. 17 × 10.5 cm). [xxxiv], 192 pp. Engraved frontispiece and 19 further wood-engraved plates and illustrations after the named artists, with the dramatic opening plate for “The Raven” facing the title. Original binding (as shown), all edges gilt.

A handsome mid-Victorian illustrated edition of Poe’s complete poetical works, containing all the major poems—“The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” “Lenore,” “The Bells,” “Ulalume,” “To Helen,” “The City in the Sea,” “Dream-Land,” and the youthful verses including “Tamerlane” and “Al Aaraaf”—together with James Hannay’s appreciative biographical and critical notice (dedicated to Dante Gabriel Rossetti).

The twenty atmospheric wood engravings, executed by the Dalziel Brothers after Wehnert, Godwin, Hulme, and Weir, are among the finest early British interpretations of Poe’s gothic romanticism. This second edition (following the 1853 first) was an important vehicle for establishing Poe’s poetic reputation in Britain during the 1850s.

Condition: Very good. Binding firm, plates and text clean with only occasional light foxing typical of the period. A pleasing example with the iconic “Raven” illustration prominently displayed.

A desirable and collectible illustrated Poe, ideal for the lover of nineteenth-century literature or fine book illustration.