Mrs. Shew/Houghton’s Presentation Copy of The Raven and Other Poems

Many copies of Poe's 1845 The Raven and Other Poems (New York: Wiley and Putnam) exist, but only a few were presentation copies from Poe himself. One, inscribed to Mrs. S. H. Whitman, was in the H. Bradley Martin collection; it was sold at auction in 1990 and is currently not located. Another, inscribed to Miss Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, is in the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library. A third, also in the Berg Collection, was inscribed to John Bisco, the original publisher of the Broadway Journal. None of these copies is known to have markings by Poe beyond the inscriptions. Poe's own personal copy, with extensive manuscript changes (generally known as the J. Lorimer Graham copy, after an early owner), is in the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. Another presentation copy, previously untraced, is now in the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand. It is of particular interest as having been given to Marie Louise Shew, the woman who served as a nurse to Virginia, and later to Poe himself. To Mrs. Shew, Poe dedicated the poems "To M— L— S—" (M 1: 399–401), "To — — —" ("Not long ago, the writer of these lines") (M 1: 405–9), and "The Beloved Physician" (M 1: 401–4). She is also credited as a key inspiration for "The Bells" (M 1: 429–41). The current binding on the book, with the publisher's four pages of advertisements included, is leather and not the original publisher's binding. On the front cover is featured an ornamental shield bearing the motto "The honey for thee; the flower for me, " with small images of bees and flowers. The binding is stamped on an inner edge "R. Riviere & Son for S. M. Samuels, 1897" (fig 1). Another book with a similar binding was auctioned by Christie's on December 8, 2008. That book, a copy of Coleridge's poems (Sibylline Leaves London: Rest Fenner, 1817), has the same binding stamp, with a further comment that the book was from the Samuel M. Samuels sale of July 1, 1907 (Sotheby's, London). (Several other books with a similar binding and provenance are known. ) It also bears the armorial bookplate of Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull (1868–1918), a New Zealand merchant and bibliophile, from whose library it entered the collection of the National Library of New Zealand, named after him. A pencil inscription, by Poe, on the front flyleaf reads, "With the respects of the Author, " with no signature. The name "M. L Houghton" appears directly under the Poe inscription. Most likely, this name was written by Mrs. Shew, documenting her ownership. On the same page is a further note, in pencil: "E. A. Poe's autograph / JHI. " These are the initials of John Henry Ingram, Poe's English biographer. A separate note, in ink on a small slip of paper, reads, "Mrs. M. L. Houghton was the M– L– S—i. e. Marie Louise Shew—of the poet. JHI. "The rather impersonal inscription suggests that Poe may have presented it to Mrs. Shew in 1846, before their association became more familiar and emotionally entangled. Mrs. Shew, later Mrs. Houghton, sent this copy to John H. Ingram in April 1875. On January 3, 1875, Mrs. Shew/Houghton wrote to Ingram, "I have a little volume of Poems entitled 'The Raven and Other Poems by Edgar A. Poe' & published in 1845 and dedicated to Miss Elizabeth Barrett Barrett which I will send to you if you desire it" (Miller, Building Poe Biography Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978, 97, letter 31). In another letter to Ingram (dated about April 18, 1875), Mrs. Shew/Houghton apologized that "I am sorry the books did not reach you in good condition, " and commented, "The small one Mr. Poe gave me the first time I saw him and it was his last copy he said" (Miller, Building, 131, letter 37). She also specified that Ingram did not need to return the book to her. During the decade or so of his efforts to research Poe, Ingram accumulated an impressive collection of Poe material, including such remarkable items as the set of the Broadway Journal that Poe had given to Mrs. Whitman (now in the Huntington Library). The bulk of his collection eventually found its way to the University of Virginia, but Ingram himself sold off a number of the choicest items at auction or through dealers around 1888. (I have not been able to trace more precise details. ) This book appears to have been among these items, and it is likely that the buyer was Alfred Crampton, from whose auction of June 3–4, 1896, it was sold as lot 322 by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, in London. It was purchased by someone named Pearson, possibly a dealer or an agent for Samuel M. Samuels, for 1 pound 10 shillings. A clipping about the sale is tipped into the volume. At that time, the binding is noted as being "half calf, " suggesting that it had already been rebound once. It can only be speculated if it was still in the paper wrappers when it was given to Mrs. Shew, but the reason that so few copies survive in those wrappers is precisely that they were meant to be ephemeral and replaced by the owner. Other than being a valuable book with a significant Poe association, it provides no world-shaking revelations. It does include a number of penciled markings throughout the volume, although most of these are of uncertain origin. A list of these markings, with pagination that can be referenced in any copy of the 1845 edition of The Raven and Other Poems or either of the two facsimile editions, follows: It is not absolutely clear that any of these markings are by Poe, and even if they were, most are little more than indications of earlier versions already known and documented. Other differences from the earlier texts are not marked, so if the intention was to record all of the revisions, that effort remained inexplicably unfinished. The one set of changes that would be of particular interest includes the two minor verbal suggestions for "The Raven. " If Ingram made at least some of the other markings, and those that appear to have been erased are most likely his, they would attest to his dedication in serving as the editor and biographer who was trying to find what he considered the real Poe. Here, he may not have been peeling back what he might have seen as editorial meddling from Griswold, but instead exposing the fact that Poe was not really presenting unmodified versions of earlier texts, as Poe claimed in his preface. The history of the volume itself also demonstrates the worldwide appeal of Poe. It is not clear if Ingram ever had in his possession a full copy of the 1829 Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems, or if he merely had a transcription of the contents. In writing to Ingram on January 4, 1875, Mrs. Whitman says that Caleb Fiske Harris found a copy of the 1829 edition in New York, but did not buy it. He did hire "a copyist to make out a list of the contents of the book" (Miller, Poe's Helen Remembers Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1979, 243). On January 27, 1875, Ingram wrote asking why Harris had not bought the book and inquiring about the price. He also notes that he located a copy at the Peabody Institute, further stating that he was "hoping for a copy in MS. of it" (Miller, Poe's Helen Remembers, 51). On March 9, 1875, she wrote to Ingram again, noting that Harris had been dissuaded from purchasing the copy in New York for 50 (about 1, 395 in 2023 U. S. dollars), but hoped to obtain another copy "held by a friend of his in Boston" (Miller, Poe's Helen Remembers, 259). This later transaction apparently had occurred by May 11, 1875, when Mrs. Whitman says that Harris had sent Ingram copies of both the 1829 and 1845 poems (Miller, Poe's Helen Remembers, 288). There is no copy of this edition in the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays at Brown University, suggesting that perhaps he merely borrowed it.