About this Item
First edition thus. No date; circa 1905. Printed in the United States of America. Rare sienna colored suede-like leather cover, bright gilt cover titles, light shelf wear, rub. Cover titles on bright gilded relief field with raised letters and ornate dentelle border. Frontispiece plate of sepia illustration of seated narrator gazing upon Pallas bust with raven atop: "I betook myself linking fancy unto fancy." Beautifully printed title page with red and green ornamentation. Second title page lists both "The Raven," and "The Bells." Thick leaves very good, bright, and clean. Gilded top edge. Dark hued marbled endpapers unusually sharp and intact. String-bind, fine; hinges intact. Sharp rarity of this classic edition. "The Bells" is a heavily onomatopoeic poem which was not published until after Poe's death in 1849. Perhaps best known for the diacopic (repetitive) use of the word "bells." The poem has four parts to it; each growing darker and darker as the poem moves from "the jingling and the tinkling" to the "moaning and the groaning" of the bells. Edgar Allan Poe's penultimate hazy narrative begins on a night in December when "The Raven" haunts the unnamed narrator who sits reading "forgotten lore" to sublimate the loss of his love, Lenore. A "rapping at his chamber door" reveals nothing, yet excites his soul to "burning". A similar rapping, slightly louder, is heard at his window. When he investigates, a raven enters his chamber. Paying no attention, the raven perches atop a bust of Pallas high above the door. Amused by the raven's comically serious disposition, the man asks that the bird tell him its name. The raven's only answer is "Nevermore". The narrator is surprised that the raven can talk, though at this point it has said nothing further. The narrator remarks to himself that his "friend" will soon fly out of his life, just as "other friends have flown before". The raven responds again with "Nevermore". The narrator reasons that the bird learned the word "Nevermore" from some "unhappy master" and that it is the only word it knows. Regardless, the narrator pulls his chair directly in front of the raven, determined to learn more. He thinks for a moment, and his mind wanders to his lost Lenore. He thinks the air grows denser and feels the presence of angels, and wonders if God is sending him a sign that he is to forget Lenore. The bird again replies in the negative, suggesting that he can never be free of his memories. The narrator becomes angry, calling the raven a "thing of evil". Finally, he asks whether he will be reunited with Lenore in Heaven. When the raven responds with its typical "Nevermore", he is enraged, and, calling it a liar, commands the bird to return to the "Plutonian shore", - but it does not move. The narrator's final admission is that his soul is trapped beneath the raven's shadow and shall be lifted "Nevermore". 4 1/2" x 6 3/4" design. Insured post. Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 022700
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