The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe: with Notices of His Life and Genius by N. P. Willis, J. R. Lowell, and R. W. Griswold. In Two Volumes. New York: J. S. Redfield, 1850. [together with] The Literati: Some Honest Opinions About Autorial Merits and Demerits, with Occasional Works of Personality. Together with Marginalia, Suggestions, and Essays. By Edgar A. Poe. With a Sketch of the Author, by Rufus Wilmot Griswold. New-York: J. S. Redfield, 1850. [Together with] The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe with a Memoir by Rufus Wilmot Griswold and Notices of His Life and Genius by N. P. Willis and J. R. Lowell. In Four Volumes. IV. Arthur Gordon Pam, &c. New York: Redfield, 1856.
THE FIRST EDITION OF THE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE IN ORIGINAL CLOTH.
-------------------
Very rare in original cloth. This was released in different cloth colours, and this is probably a married set, though have been kept together since at least the 1980s. Volumes one and two are most often found together as volumes three and four were separately released but do form this set which ended up being printed across a six year span. It is scarcely encountered. See Sotheby's Dec 18th 2019 lot 79 where volumes one and two (only) of this edition sold for $5,250 (USD). Our set is mixed issue, as with essentially all sets, between the first and second impressions.
-------------------
Provenance:
Ex-libris bookplate of Robert R. Dearden, Oak Lane.
-------------------
Size: 127 x 192 mm (approx., each)
Condition:
[(2), h.t., frontis, t.p., 1ff., v-xx, 483pp., 2ff., (2)]; [(2), t.p., 1ff., v-vi, pp.7-495, (1)]; [(2), t.p., iii-xxxix, 607pp., (2)]; [(1), h.t., t.p., 2ff., ix-xi, pp.13-447, pp.1-4, pp.7-10, (2)].
All volumes bound in their original publisher's full cloth bindings, in different colours as issued. Volumes one, two and four have been attractively rebacked, each with minor loss to their backstrips, but otherwise are well preserved. The front board of volume three is a little fragile, joints cracked, but all boards of all volumes are attached with the rebacked volumes being especially secure as one might expect, hinges reinforced to the rebacked volumes, but attractively so, preserving the original pastedowns and endpapers. There is a blind-stamp to ffep in volume four, presumably from the shop at which that was originally retailed. Several other ownership inscriptions, bookplates, to endpapers and pastedowns in each volume, showing that these volumes have been kept together since at least 1983. Bindings a little rubbed. The set stands together without shelf lean, but volume three if placed on its own has a minor shelf lean. Text blocks mildly toned throughout, scattered spotting, free from marginalia. Some scattered marks throughout, not affecting sense or legibility of text. Very minor dampstaining in volume two. Some small edge tears. Pencil correction to pp.93 in volume one. Edge tears with loss to pp.237-240 in volume one, with minor loss of text to pp.237/238. Small number of leaf edges remain unseparated in volume three. Some leaves dog-eared. Generally bright and clean through the text blocks.
