The Museum CollectionLock of Edgar Allan Poe's Hair
Detail of Poe's Hair
In the inscription, G.W. Magers attests to the authenticity of the piece.
Lock of Poe's Hair
The piece was cut from Poe's head, after his death, by Joseph Snodgrass, who gave it to his friend G.W. Magers, in whose handwriting the piece is authenticated. James H. Whitty purchased the piece through George O. Smith and donated it to the Poe Museum.
Description: This lock of hair was cut from Poe's brow by Dr. Joseph Evans Snodgrass, the magazine editor Poe called for when he was found delirious in "Gunner's Hall," a Baltimore tavern and polling place, on October 3, 1849. Dr. Snodgrass gave the souvenir to G. W. Magers, in whose handwriting it is authenticated. Snodgrass was Poe's friend and a former editor (later owner) of the Baltimore Saturday Visiter, in which "Ms. Found in a Bottle" had been published in 1833. Snodgrass's lectured and wrote a number of times about Poe's final days and death. The hair is glued to the back of an envelope, which is attached to a board on which the donor, Poe collector James Whitty, wrote additional information.Search CollectionCategories
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