Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination.

POE, Edgar Allan; Illustrations by Harry Clarke.

Item Number: 136186

New York: Brentano's, 1923.

Finely bound edition of Poe’s classic work. Small quarto, bound in full morocco, gilt titles to the spine, morocco spine label, raised bands, illustrated with 32 color plates. In fine condition, bookplate. Illustrated by Harry Clarke. An exceptional presentation.

The title "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" was first used by The World's Classics and printed by Grant Richard in 1902. The title of this collection was then adopted by Padraic Colum in 1908 in view of the growing reputation of Poe's taste for suspense, especially in the context of what his French critic M. Brunetiere called events "on the margin" of life. The original collection, in keeping with its title, deliberately excluded Poe's poems, comedies and essays. There are twenty-five tales including The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Descent into the Maelstrom.