Museum News

Think Poe was just a tortured soul who only wrote scary stories? Think again. Poe invented the detective story, helped develop the science fiction genre, and made many other positive contributions to science and culture. On June 24-26, 2013 in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Poe Museum and the UVA Small Special Collections Library will co-sponsor the first Positively Poe Conference devoted to an exploration of how Poe made the world a better place. Be a part of this first-ever Positively Poe Conference by registering today. Here is more information about this exciting event:

Poe’s reputation as a tortured, tragic figure, melancholic poet and the “master of the macabre” has fueled his popularity for over a century and a half, while debunking stereotypes and myths associated with that reputation has always been an essential part of Poe criticism. Going beyond the debunking of the popular caricature, we would like to discover the “positive” side of Poe’s life and work. Just as his life had its ups and downs, his writing, too, reflects a wide range of experience, not exclusively the dark and dismal. We therefore invite papers on a broad diversity of subjects with a focus on the life-affirming and vital elements in Poe’s work. Papers may cover (but are not limited by) such themes as:

Poe and ethics (his ideas of love, friendship, manners)
Poe and art (aesthetic ideas in literature and criticism)
Science, philosophy, Eureka
Social and family life
Literary circles, friends and followers
Success stories of Poe’s poems and tales at home and abroad.

If you are interested in attending, just complete this registration form PositivelyPoeConferenceRegistrationForm and mail it to the address on the form or register online here.

For more information, contact Alexandra Urakova at positivelypoe@gmail.com.

The Poe Museum in Richmond’s annual Poe Birthday Bash has been getting bigger and better every year, attracting visitors from around the globe; but this year’s celebration promises to be bigger than ever because it will be celebrating the birthdays of both Edgar Allan Poe and his horror classic “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

On January 19, 2013 from noon to midnight, the Poe Museum will celebrate its biggest Poe Birthday Bash ever to honor both Poe’s 204th birthday and the 170th anniversary of the first printing of his greatest horror story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” with a day of festivities featuring no fewer than six performances, five tours, four historical interpreters, two films, a Poe trivia showdown, and the opening of the first public exhibition of the Museum’s most recently acquired artifact, the coveted first printing of “The Tell-Tale Heart.” In addition to this prized artifact, the exhibit will also feature sixteen original illustrations for comic book adaptations of the story by acclaimed artists Richard Corben and Michael Golden.

What’s Happening at Poe’s Birthday Bash:
Among the activities going on at the Poe Birthday Bash will be a reading of “The Tell-Tale Heart” at twelve-thirty; a walking tour of neighborhood Poe sites at one; a living history performance by Poe’s fiancées Sarah Helen Whitman, Elmira Shelton, and Virginia Clemm Poe at three; birthday cake with Poe’s cousin Dr. Harry Lee Poe at four-thirty; a multilingual reading of “The Raven” at five, a performance of Poe’s works by English actor Tony Parkin at five-thirty; and a candlelight walking tour of neighborhood Poe sites by an actress portraying Poe’s fiancée Sarah Helen Whitman at eight. Guided tours of the museum will be available throughout the day, and live music will be performed after nine. The evening with conclude with an actress portraying Sarah Helen Whitman, who was a devoted Spiritualist, attempting to contact Poe’s spirit at eleven fifteen and a champagne toast to Poe at midnight.

Tentative Schedule:

12:00 pm: Guided tour. Gift shop sale: select items, up to 50% off! In store only, not valid for online purchases. Ongoing until 4:00 P.M.

12:30 pm: Performance of “the Tell-Tale Heart”

1:00 pm: Lecture on The 170th Anniversary of “the Tell-Tale Heart” by Chris Semtner, Curator of the Poe Museum

2:00 pm: Walking tour of Poe’s Richmond led by Chris Semtner. Guided tour

2:00 pm: Instrumental music inspired by Poe’s poem “The Valley of Unrest” composed and performed by Victor X. Haskins on the trumpet

3:00 pm: Showdown of Poe’s Brides

4:00 pm: Art sale at the bar. Ongoing until 11:00 pm, featuring works by the Clockwork Collective and Abigail Larson. Guided tour

4:30 pm: Cutting of Poe’s Birthday Cake

5:00 pm: Reading of “the Raven” and other poems

5:30 pm: Live from London via telecast, a performance of “the Tell-Tale Heart” and other Poe stories by actor Tony Parkin

6:00 pm: Guided Tour

6:30 pm: Film screening of a 2010 animated short of “the Tell-Tale Heart” directed by Michael Swertfager. Guided tour

7:00 pm: Film screening of a 1928 experimental silent version of “the Fall of the House of Usher” directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber

7:30 pm: Poe Trivia (with Poe Museum merchandise prizes)

8:00 pm: Living History Walking tour of Poe’s Richmond led by Poe’s fiance, the poetess Sarah Helen Whitman.

9:00 pm: Live music by The Blue and the Grey

http://www.facebook.com/TheBlueAndTheGrey

10:00 pm: Reading of “The Black Cat”

10:15 pm: Live music continues

11:15 pm: Living History Seance performed by Sarah Helen Whitman

12:00 am: Champagne toast

Click here for photos from last year’s Poe Birthday Bash.

From January 19 until March 31, 2013, the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia will feature a special exhibit celebrating the 170th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s horror masterpiece “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Opening on Poe’s birthday, January 19, the exhibit brings together the Poe Museum’s recently acquired first printing of the story and loans of sixteen original drawings for comic book adaptations of the story by acclaimed illustrators Richard Corben and Michael Golden.

Michael Golden is one of the world’s most popular comic artists, having provided artwork for G.I. Joe, The Adventures of Superman, Batman, The Micronauts, and several other series. The artwork in the exhibit, which is among his earliest published work, was printed in Marvel Classics #28 in 1977.

Richard Corben began his career in animation before turning to underground comics. In 1976 he adapted a Robert E. Howard story into what is considered the first graphic novel, Bloodstar. His illustrious career has included work in album covers and movie posters, collaboration on a graphic novel with rock musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie, and an award-winning short film Neverwhere. The artwork on display was printed in Edgar Allan Poe’s Haunt of Horror #2 in 2006. One of the pieces will be an unpublished alternative cover design.

Admission to the exhibit is included in the price of Poe Museum general admission. The January 19 opening will coincide with the Poe Museum’s annual Poe Birthday Bash running from noon to midnight and featuring readings, live music, and a lecture about the legacy of “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

The exhibit was made possible by loans of artwork from the collections of Richard Corben and James Vacca.

Here is the latest issue of the Poe Museum’s newsletter Evermore. This issue features information about the museum’s upcoming Poe Birthday Bash, its new exhibit on “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and the kittens found in the Enchanted Garden.

Fall2012newsletter

The Poe Museum is regularly contacted by Poe family members looking for information about their relationship to Edgar Allan Poe. Although, the Museum’s main focus is Edgar Allan Poe, but its archives do contain some material related to his extended family. Among the pieces concerning Poe’s genealogy, George Poe, Jr.’s bible and the typescript of The Poe Family of Maryland are the most informative. These documents from the museum’s collection may not be of use to everyone seeking Poe genealogical information, but we hope they will be of interest to both Poe family members and the general public. You can read the documents by clicking on the links below.

The first piece is a Poe family that originally belonged to George Poe, Jr. (1778-1864). George’s father was Edgar’s grandfather’s brother, which means George and Edgar Poe’s father, David Poe, Jr., were first cousins. George Poe, Jr. was a successful banker, and both Edgar Poe and his father asked him for loans. George rejected a 1809 request from Poe’s father but did send Edgar Poe $100 in 1836 in order to help Edgar‘s mother-in-law open a boardinghouse.

This is a picture of George Poe, Sr. (1744-1823) and his wife Catherine Poe (1742-1806).

The most interesting feature of this bible is the family history contained on the pages seen here. Notice the diagram of a Poe family burial plot at Westminster Burying Grounds in Baltimore. Edgar was buried in the same cemetery but in a different plot—that of his paternal grandfather David Poe, Sr. In 1875, Edgar’s remains were moved to their present location near the cemetery gate.

This following link takes you to a PDF of the pages of Poe family births and deaths from the bible:

George Poe’s Bible

The next piece reproduced here is a typescript entitled The Poe Family of Maryland. It was given to the Poe Museum in 1930 by the granddaughter of Edgar Poe’s cousin Amelia Poe, twin sister of Neilson Poe (1809-1888). Edgar called Nielson his “worst enemy in the world.” Before Edgar married his cousin Virginia Clemm, Neilson, who was married to Virginia’s half-sister Josephine Emily Clemm, offered to take Virginia into his own home to see that she was properly educated.

Here is a fine photograph of Neilson Poe’s father Jacob Poe, brother of George Poe, Jr.

The link below takes you to a PDF of the typsecript:

The Poe Family of Maryland

The above images were pasted onto pages of the typescript. Also included was this photograph of a pastel portrait of Edgar Allan Poe. Notice it is copyrighted 1893. That is the year Neilson Poe’s daughter Amelia Poe requested that the original 1868 pastel by Oscar Halling (then in the possession of Neilson’s son John Prentiss Poe) be photographed in order to sell the photos at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

Over the years, Poe relatives have contributed to the Poe Museum’s collections by donating pieces like Virginia Clemm Poe’s trinket box, Edgar Allan Poe’s vest, and Amelia Poe’s album containing Poe’s manuscript for “To Helen.” They have also donated portraits of various Poe family members. This is said to represent William Poe (1755-1804), the youngest brother of Edgar’s grandfather David Poe, Sr.

The Poe Museum would not have survived for the past ninety years without the help of Edgar Allan Poe’s relatives around the world. The museum will always be grateful for their contributions.

Dear Friend of the Poe Museum,

This morning two busloads of students arrived at the Poe Museum. In addition to touring the museum’s exhibits, the groups participated in a scavenger hunt, watched a performance of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and took a walking tour of neighborhood Poe sites. These are just a few of the programming options we now offer teachers in order to address the ever changing needs of their students. When classes are unable to visit the museum, we bring activities to schools and libraries throughout the Mid-Atlantic region or hold video conferences with schools outside the region. As teachers’ needs evolve, the Poe Museum will continue to adapt and to find new ways to cultivate a lifelong love of reading in audiences of all ages. This is one reason the Poe Museum has continued to serve for the past ninety years, and this is how it will thrive for the next ninety.

With all the changes taking place in its exhibits and programming, now is a great time to be a part of the Poe Museum. Earlier this year, we hosted a major exhibit of dozens of Poe manuscripts and letters which boosted our summer admissions by 26%. In June, students from across the country travelled to Richmond for the Fifth Annual Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers’ Conference. In October, we placed a marker on the grave of Poe’s first and last fiancée Elmira Royster Shelton because the legend on her gravestone has completely worn away. Throughout the year, the museum’s renowned collection continued to grow with the major acquisitions of the first printing of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the only surviving manuscript for Poe’s poem “To Helen,” and several important books about Poe’s life and work from the collection of influential early twentieth century Poe scholar James Southall Wilson. In the year ahead, we look forward to hosting another Young Writers’ Conference as well as the first Positively Poe Conference, at which leading Poe scholars will explore Poe’s life affirming contributions to the arts and culture. We are already booking group tours for the spring semester and preparing for next year’s exhibits.

As the Poe Museum prepares for another exciting year, we continue to face challenges ranging from recent severe weather that caused the cancellation of several tours and off-site programs to the expenses associated with maintaining both our artifacts and the two-hundred sixty-year-old building that houses them. The Poe Museum has lasted ninety years because generations of donors have supported it along the way, and the museum will continue to promote Poe’s legacy for another ninety years with the help of you and future generations of members and donors. We are mindful that the City of Baltimore has closed the Poe House. As a private museum, we do not take our supporters for granted. If you have not made your annual donation to the Poe Museum this year, now is a perfect time to do so. You can donate right now by clicking this link. Your gift of $20, $50, $100, $500, or more can help us keep the Poe Museum’s programs available and affordable for audiences of all ages.

Evermore,

Harry Lee Poe
President

Even after ninety years, the Poe Museum’s collection continues to grow. Here are a few of the recent acquisitions made possible by the Poe Museum’s friends.

First Printing of “The Tell-Tale Heart”

Almost everyone has read Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous short story of madness and murder, but this week the Poe Museum in Richmond finally acquired the coveted first printing of “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The story first appeared in the inaugural issue (January 1843) of the Boston magazine The Pioneer, edited by poet James Russell Lowell (1819-1891). Since only three issues were published before Lowell discontinued the magazine, copies are now relatively rare. Considered the most ambitious literary journal of Antebellum America, The Pioneer’s three issues contained contributions by Poe, Lowell, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Poe Museum President Dr. Harry Lee Poe commented on the Poe Museum’s acquisition of the important first printing, “This is a prize for any collection especially because it is the story that is included in all the anthologies.” The piece will will go on display at the Poe Museum during the Museum’s day-long celebration of Poe’s birthday on January 19, 2013 from noon until midnight.

Though the story is a favorite with today’s readers, “The Tell-Tale Heart” was rejected the first time Poe tried to publish it– the publishers of the Boston Miscellany writing in their rejection letter, “If Mr. Poe would condescend to furnish more quiet articles, he would be a most desirable correspondent.” Lowell, however, liked the story and acquired it for the first issue of his own magazine, paying Poe ten dollars for the work. A number of magazines soon reprinted the story, but, owing to the lax copyright laws of the time, Poe did not receive any royalties for these unauthorized reprints. Two years later, the editor of Poe’s next collection of short stories did not select it for inclusion in what would be the last collection of Poe’s tales published during his lifetime.

The twentieth century’s leading Poe scholar Thomas Ollive Mabbott called Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” “a supreme artistic achievement,” and the tale has long been a favorite among readers. A staple at readings of Poe’s works, the story has been adapted several times to film, including the 2009 movie “Tell-Tale” starring Josh Lucas and the upcoming “The Tell-Tale Heart” starring Rose McGowan. It even inspired an episode of the television program “The Simpsons” in which Lisa built a diorama based on the story.

Plaster from Poe’s Home in Baltimore

On October 25, the outgoing Curator of the Poe House and Museum of Baltimore, Jeff Jerome, presented the Poe Museum with a piece of horse hair from the Poe House. The plaster was removed from the interior east wall of the front room during a wall repair, and Jerome saved a few pieces of the plaster the repairmen discarded at that time. This piece, which measures about seven inches in width, may be a remnant of the house’s original (ca. 1830) plaster and would, therefore, date to the time of Poe’s residence in the building from early 1833 until August 1835. During Poe’s residence there, he wrote some of his major early tales including his first horror story “Berenice.” He lived in the house with his grandmother Elizabeth Poe, his cousin Henry Clemm, his aunt (and future mother-in-law) Maria Poe Clemm, and his cousin (and future wife) Virginia Clemm.

This piece will be a welcome addition to the Poe Museum’s collection of building materials from various buildings (most of which have been demolished) in which Poe lived or worked. Among the Poe-related building materials already in the Poe Museum’s collection are bricks from the office in which Poe worked for the Southern Literary Messenger, bricks from the headquarters of Poe’s foster father’s firm Ellis and Allan, granite from the home in which Poe was married, bricks from Poe’s home in New York City, a mantle from Poe’s bedroom in Richmond, locks and hinges from other Richmond buildings associated with Poe, lumber from the Southern Literary Messenger office, an urn from the garden in which Poe courted his first fiancée, and the staircase from Poe’s boyhood home. The Poe Museum’s collection of furnishings from Poe-related buildings includes the author’s bed, the chair on which he sat while editing the Southern Literary Messenger, and paintings from his home.

An Article about Poe

Another fine addition to the Poe Museum’s collection was the recent gift of Michael Blankenship of Roanoke, Virginia. The gift, the April 1891 issue of Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly contains the article “Some Memorials of Edgar Allan Poe” by Clara Dargan Maclean, who reports on her visits to the surviving residences of Poe and her interviews with people who knew him. The article contains some fine engravings as well as some interesting details about Poe’s death. Maclean was a proponent of the theory that Poe’s death resulted from cooping, the practice of abducting and drugging of men to force them to vote multiple times. The actual cause of Poe’s disappearance and death remains a mystery.

Appropriately enough, Blankenship donated the piece to the Poe Museum on Halloween. This magazine will be added to the Poe Museum’s reference library, which boasts already thousands of books and periodicals about Edgar Allan Poe’s life and works.

Below are some of the beautiful engravings from the article.

Join us on Friday, November 30 from 6-10 P.M. when the Poe Museum’s historic Enchanted Garden comes alive with thousands of lights as the Museum rings in the holiday season with the free “Poe Illumination.” Guests will enjoy hot apple cider and traditional Christmas music while costumed interpreters show them what Christmas was like during Poe’s time. Additionally, the Poe Museum will be displaying some of the actual gifts Poe gave his friends and family in Richmond. Included in the display will be a small watercolor Poe himself might have painted and a book of children’s stories he autographed and gave to a young girl. Kids can enjoy making Victorian Christmas crafts while adults can visit our cash bar for mulled wine. Click here for photos of last year’s Poe Illumination.

It’s that time of year again. You and your kids are looking for fun Halloween activities, and you can’t do much better than Poe’s Pumpkin Patch, an afternoon of Poe-themed fun and games for children eleven and under. The event will take place in the Poe Museum’s garden on Sunday, October 28 from 2-5 P.M. Be sure to dress up for the costume contest and practice your technique for the mummy wrapping contest. Don’t forget to pick up a pumpkin (while supplies last). Make sure your kids grow up weird by taking them to Poe’s Pumpkin Patch!

Event is included in price of Poe Museum general admission. For more information, call the Poe Museum at 804-648-5523.

On October 25 from 6 to 9 P.M. the Poe Museum will celebrate Poe’s horror masterpiece “The Masque of the Red Death” with an Unhappy Hour featuring live music by Little Black Rain Clouds and Robert Andrew Scott, paranormal investigation demonstrations by Spirited History, psychic readings by Miss Emma, a performance, a costume contest, the ever popular cash bar, and a new exhibit of artwork inspired by the story. Be sure not to miss the only Halloween party in Richmond with real ghosts. Wear your weirdest costumes for the costume contest. Admission is by an optional $5 donation. Overflow parking is available at the Holocaust Museum parking lot at 21st and Canal Street.

For more information, call 888-21-EAPOE or write info@poemuseum.org.

(Artwork above by Abigail Larson)