Poe's Most Valuable Books

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - this is episode 260 - the Wilmer Manuscript Collection.

When you think of Edgar Allan Poe, what works come to mind?  Perhaps The Raven or Annabel Lee - or one of his many stories such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, Berenice, The Pit and the Pendulum,  The Murders in the Rue Morgue or the Wilmer Manuscript Collection - well, maybe not the Wilmer Manuscript Collection - actually the Wilmer Manuscript Collection might be totally new to you - but hopefully not after this episode.

Transcript

https://poemuseum.catalogaccess.com/

George - plain text
Ghost of Mr. Poe - italics text

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - this is episode 260 - the Wilmer Manuscript Collection.

When you think of Edgar Allan Poe, what works come to mind?  Perhaps The Raven or Annabel Lee - or one of his many stories such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, Berenice, The Pit and the Pendulum,  The Murders in the Rue Morgue or the Wilmer Manuscript Collection - well, maybe not the Wilmer Manuscript Collection - actually the Wilmer Manuscript Collection might be totally new to you - but hopefully not after this episode.

So you might very well ask, what in the heck is the Wilmer Manuscript Collection, and what does it have to do with Edgar Poe?

Well, you came to exactly the right place.  Now when I began this episode, I didn’t  know very much at all about the Wilmer Manuscript Collection, but I understand that the ghost of Mr. Poe will soon be here to explain it all to us.

Greetings, Mr. Bartley.

Hello, Mr. Poe.  Now after the rather extensive comments from the last four episodes about your experiences at West Point - I want to get directly to the point and talk about a subject that is rather new to me -The Wilmer Manuscript Collection.

Certainly, Mr. Bartley.

Mr. Poe, what IS the Wilmer manuscript collection?

Mr. Bartley, the Wilmer manuscript collection is a set of manuscripts that I wrote dating to around 1828. One might say that they offer a glimpse into my formative of years as a poet and present some of my earliest known works in their original manuscript form because the collection consisted of many of my earliest works.

Well, Mr. Poe, why is the collection of  poems called the Wilmer manuscript collection?

Oh, Mr. Bartley, the collection is named after Lambert A. Wilmer, who was a very good friend of mine during our time in Baltimore.  And the Wilmer Manuscript Collection is described as containing the earliest of my manuscripts still in private hands.

Oh Mr. Poe, it seems to me that would make the Wilmer manuscript collection a particularly valuable and sought after collection for people who are really into your works - from wealthy enthusiasts to Poe scholars.

Certainly. Mr. Bartley, the Wilmer Collection contains the manuscript of poems such as Dreams and The Lake as well as portions of Tammerlane.  And they do have a remarkable ownership history, having been passed down through Wilmer's family for sometime before entering various collectors.

Mr. Poe - are any parts of the Wilmer Manuscript Collection on display in public libraries?

Ah, Mr. Bartley, that is a rather complicated issue.  You see, the collection is no longer intact as a single unit.  Some parts of the collection were separated early on. For example, two pages were had separated from the rest and were in the collection of William Evarts Benjamin in the 1890s.
Other manuscripts were originally in the possession of Lambert A. Wilmer's family. Most of the collection was still with Wilmer's family in 1894-1895 when it was examined by G. E. Woodberry and E. C. Stedman.
Therefore it appears that the Wilmer Manuscript Collection has been dispersed over time, with different parts potentially held by various private collectors, institutions, and even unknown locations.

Mr. Poe - Can you see them online in their original format?

Unfortunately, no, Mr. Bartley.  And I do have a fond fascination for my earliest manuscripts.

Mr. Poe, it  would be very useful for Poe scholars to have a collection such as the Wilmer Manuscript Collection  be available in some form online.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - many scholars believe the Wilmer Manuscript Collection serves as a link to my formative years as a poet, offering valuable insights into my early work, creative process, and the beginnings of my literary career.  But I do believe there are several online sources - such as the Edgar Allan Poe Musuem in Richmond - that have online photographs of many or of my other original manuscripts online.

Yes, Mr. Poe - I am familiar with the online manuscripts from the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, and highly recommend the presentation.  You can take your time and even magnify the parts you might not understand.

And Mr. Poe - I have included the URL to the online manuscripts at a the beginning of the transcript to this podcast episode.

https://poemuseum.catalogaccess.com/

Well, Mr. Poe - would you be willing to recite some of the works that are a part of the Wilmer Manuscript Collection.

First - let me note the location of two of the poems seem to be unknown, and I will forgo any portions of Tamerlane - due to its length.   And note that these poems were among the very first versions of my work.  Let me illustrate with some poems from that Collection.

"In an Album To _____" (also known as "I saw thee on thy wedding day")
"In an Album To the River" (later known simply as "To the River")
"Spirits of the Dead" (partial, lines 4 to 41)
Dreams
The Lake


First - dreams

Oh! that my young life were a lasting dream!
My spirit not awak’ning, till the beam
Of an Eternity should bring the morrow.
Yes! tho' that long dream were of hopeless sorrow.
’Twere better than the cold reality
Of waking life, to him whose heart must be,
And hath been still, upon the lovely earth,
A chaos of deep passion, from his birth.
But should it be — that dream eternally
Continuing — as dreams have been to me
In my young boyhood — should it thus be giv’n
’Twere folly still to hope for higher Heav’n.
For I have revell'd when the sun was bright
In the summer sky, in dreams of living light.
And loveliness, — have left my very heart
Inclines of mine imaginary [[In climes of my imaginings]] apart
From mine own home, with beings that have been
Of mine own thought — what more could I have seen?
’Twas once — and only once — and the wild hour
From my remembrance shall not pass — some pow’r
Or spell had bound me — ’twas the chilly wind
Came o'er me in the night, and left behind
Its image on my spirit — or the moon
Shone on my slumbers in her lofty noon [page 27:]
Too coldly — or the stars — howe’er it was
That dream was as that night-wind — let it pass.
I have been happy, tho' in a dream.
I have been happy — and I love the theme:
Dreams! in their vivid colouring of life
As in that fleeting, shadowy, misty strife
Of semblance with reality which brings
To the delirious eye, more lovely things
Of Paradise and Love — and all our own!
Than young Hope in his sunniest hour hath known.

I will present the poem The Lake

In youth's spring, it was my lot
To haunt of the wide earth a spot
The which I could not love the less;
So lovely was the loneliness
Of a wild lake, with black rock bound.
And the tall pines that tower'd around.
But when the night had thrown her pall
Upon that spot — as upon all,
And the wind would pass me by
In its stilly melody,
My infant spirit would awake
To the terror of the lone lake.
Yet that terror was not fright —
But a tremulous delight,
And a feeling undefin'd,
Springing from a darken'd mind.
Death was in that poison'd wave
And in its gulf a fitting grave
For him who thence could solace bring
To his dark imagining;
Whose wild'ring thought could even make
An Eden of that dim lake.

VISIT OF THE DEAD.
  * * * *  
Thy soul shall find itself alone —
Alone of all on earth — unknown
The cause — but none are near to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy.
Be silent in that solitude,
Which is not loneliness — for then
The spirits of the dead, who stood
In life before thee, are again
In death around thee, and their will
Shall then o'ershadow thee — be still
For the night, tho' clear, shall frown: [page 28:]
And the stars shall look not down
From their thrones, in the dark heav'n;
With light like Hope to mortals giv'n,
But their red orbs, without beam,
To thy withering heart shall seem
As a burning, and a ferver [[fever]]
Which would cling to thee forever.
But 'twill leave thee, as each star
In the morning light afar
Will fly thee — and vanish:
— But its thought thou can'st not banish.
The breath of God will be still;
And the wish [[mist or wisp]] upon the hill
By that summer breeze unbrok'n
Shall charm thee — as a token,
And a symbol which shall be
Secrecy in thee.

The next poem is "In an Album To _____" (later known as "I saw thee on thy wedding day")


2.
TO —— ——

I saw thee on thy bridal day —
When a burning blush came o'er thee
Though happiness around thee lay,
The world all love before thee:
 
And, in thine eye a kindling light
(Whatever it might be)
Was all on Earth my aching sight
Of Loveliness could see.
 
That blush, perhaps, was maiden shame —
As such it well may pass —
Though its glow hath rais'd a fiercer flame
In the breast of him, alas!

 Who saw thee on that bridal day,
When that deep blush would come o'er thee,
Though happiness around thee lay,
The world all love before thee.

Mr. Poe - it would be so useful - for so many reasons - for all the collection to be available in one place.

I do agree, Mr. Bartley - for your information, the collection originally contained eight texts, but not all of them have survived in manuscript form.  I believe that I created these poems in preparation for my 1829 preparation for my 1829 publication "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems" while I was in Baltimore.

Mr. Poe - then is it fair to assume that the Wilmer Collection is no longer intact as a single unit.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - it appears that different parts of the manuscript are now held in various locations:

For example - The "Tamerlane" portion (10 pages) is in the Pierpont Morgan Library. The leaf containing "Dreams" and "The Lake" is also at the Morgan Library.

A leaf with "In an Album To _____" and "In an Album To the River" was sold at Christie's auction house. 

In an Album — To the River —

Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of labyrinth-like water
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty — the unhidden heart —
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto's daughter —
But when within thy wave she looks
(Which glistens then & trembles)
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
My pretty self resembles;
For in my heart as in thy stream
Her image lightly lies —
The heart which trembles at the beam
The scrutiny of her eyes!

In an Album —
To the River —
Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of labyrinth-like water
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty — the unhidden heart —
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto's daughter —
But when within thy wave she looks
(Which glistens then & trembles)
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
My pretty self resembles;
For in my heart as in thy stream
Her image lightly lies —
The heart which trembles at the beam
The scrutiny of her eyes!

Mr. Poe, I believe that short poem was sold in 2009 by Chrstie's for 362,000.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - you might find it interesting to realize learn that "To the River" became quite popular after its initial publication. It appeared in several magazines and journals over the years, including the Gentleman's Magazine (1829), the Saturday Museum (1843), and the Broadway Journal (1845).

Mr. Bartley,  perhaps it would be more accurate to refer to a leaf as a page in a book.— at lease for now.

Mr. Poe, you know, before we delve into more discussions regarding your manuscripts and books, I thought it would be a good idea to devote  several episodes to book terminology such as leaf and folio.

Thank. You very much, Mr. Bartley - and I do hope that we can engage in more discussions about the world of rare publications and book collecting.

Now, if you will excuse me, I must take my leave.

Farewell, Mr. Bartley

Goodbye, Mr. Poe

Join us for podcast 261 for the beginning a series about Poe in Baltimore - this will be the period shortly after West Point, not the time that Baltimore spent in Baltimore shortly before his earthly demise - that will certainly be covered later.

Sources include Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn, The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Dwight R. Thomas and David K. Jackson, the Baltimore Edgar Allan Poe website, and the Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.