Book - Works Of Edgar Allan Poe - 1849 Edition?

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I have a book titled Works Of Edgar Allan Poe published by Harper. The cover is green with gilt gold spine. The title page says Volume I - Tales. The preface says Preface To The 1849 Edition. Was this book indeed published in 1849?

-- Anonymous, November 07, 2003

Answers

No. The Harpers edition dates to only about 1920. The lack of dates on the title page, and the original dates on material which it reprints, have misled many. Any book dealer who is accustomed to handling old material will be able to confirm this just by the nature of the paper and binding. Further evidence is the fact that there was no 10-volume edition of Poe's works until 1895. (The real 1849, or actually 1850, edition of Poe's works were printed by J. S. Redfield.) The Harpers edition is quite common and appears on eBay, as sets and isolated volumes, all the time.

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2003

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