Read Poe’s August 19, 1836 letter asking Hiram Haines to review the Southern Literary Messenger, with a local manuscript reproduction and searchable reading text.
Preserved manuscript image — complete written faceEnlarge image ↗
About this source
Complete written face of Poe’s letter to Hiram Haines, dated August 19, 1836 by the Poe Museum catalogue (object 1024.1). The photographed written face itself has no date; the catalogue supplies it. Poe asks Haines to notice the August Southern Literary Messenger in the American Constellation and identifies the issue’s editorial writing as his own. This local reproduction preserves the museum’s supplied 769 × 960 pixel image without alteration; the PDF embeds the same JPEG. The addressed reverse and the catalogue’s two other images have not been acquired and are not included. The reading text was transcribed directly from the visible manuscript, with normalized line breaks and expanded superscripts. The museum’s manuscript image is the authority for uncertain punctuation and handwriting.
Original publication
Edgar Allan Poe to Hiram Haines — August 19, 1836
Date
1836-08-19
Credits
Edgar Allan Poe; The Poe Museum (source reproduction)
Published in
Richmond, Virginia
Where to find it
1 written face
Reference collection
The Poe Museum, Richmond, Virginia
Collection reference
1024.1
Full written face, recipient and signature inspected; date supplied by repository catalogue. Date/correspondent, checklist key and file hashes compared against holdings. Publication history and serial renewal record checked.
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Complete written face of Poe’s letter to Hiram Haines, dated August 19, 1836 by the Poe Museum catalogue (object 1024.1). The photographed written face itself has no date; the catalogue supplies it. Poe asks Haines to notice the August Southern Literary Messenger in the American Constellation and identifies the issue’s editorial writing as his own. This local reproduction preserves the museum’s supplied 769 × 960 pixel image without alteration; the PDF embeds the same JPEG. The addressed reverse and the catalogue’s two other images have not been acquired and are not included. The reading text was transcribed directly from the visible manuscript, with normalized line breaks and expanded superscripts. The museum’s manuscript image is the authority for uncertain punctuation and handwriting.
Preserved manuscript image — complete written face
Complete written face of Poe’s letter to Hiram Haines, dated August 19, 1836 by the Poe Museum catalogue (object 1024.1). The photographed written face itself has no date; the catalogue supplies it. Poe asks Haines to notice the August Southern Literary Messenger in the American Constellation and identifies the issue’s editorial writing as his own. This local reproduction preserves the museum’s supplied 769 × 960 pixel image without alteration; the PDF embeds the same JPEG. The addressed reverse and the catalogue’s two other images have not been acquired and are not included. The reading text was transcribed directly from the visible manuscript, with normalized line breaks and expanded superscripts. The museum’s manuscript image is the authority for uncertain punctuation and handwriting.
Reading text transcribed from the manuscript image
Complete written face of Poe’s letter to Hiram Haines, dated August 19, 1836 by the Poe Museum catalogue (object 1024.1). The photographed written face itself has no date; the catalogue supplies it. Poe asks Haines to notice the August Southern Literary Messenger in the American Constellation and identifies the issue’s editorial writing as his own. This local reproduction preserves the museum’s supplied 769 × 960 pixel image without alteration; the PDF embeds the same JPEG. The addressed reverse and the catalogue’s two other images have not been acquired and are not included. The reading text was transcribed directly from the visible manuscript, with normalized line breaks and expanded superscripts. The museum’s manuscript image is the authority for uncertain punctuation and handwriting.
Compare reading text with the preserved source. Line breaks and spacing are retained; long lines wrap to fit the screen. A file's role does not establish that its text has been checked.
Reading text transcribed from the manuscript image
Reading transcription · Review label: Known limitations
Edgar Allan Poe to Hiram Haines — August 19, 1836
Complete written face of Poe’s letter to Hiram Haines, dated August 19, 1836 by the Poe Museum catalogue (object 1024.1). The photographed written face itself has no date; the catalogue supplies it. Poe asks Haines to notice the August Southern Literary Messenger in the American Constellation and identifies the issue’s editorial writing as his own. This local reproduction preserves the museum’s supplied 769 × 960 pixel image without alteration; the PDF embeds the same JPEG. The addressed reverse and the catalogue’s two other images have not been acquired and are not included. The reading text was transcribed directly from the visible manuscript, with normalized line breaks and expanded superscripts. The museum’s manuscript image is the authority for uncertain punctuation and handwriting.
Richmond. Va.
Dr Sir,
Herewith I send you the August number of the “Messenger” — the best number, by far, yet issued. Can you oblige me so far as to look it over and give your unbiassed opinion of its merits and demerits in the “Constellation”? We need the assistance of all our friends, and count upon yourself among the foremost.
The contributions have, in most cases, the names of the authors prefixed. All after the word Editorial is my own.
If you copy any thing please take my Review of Willis’ Inklings of Adventure — or some other Review.
With sincere respect
Yr. ob. st.
Edgar A. Poe
H. Haines Esqr
“Edgar Allan Poe to Hiram Haines — August 19, 1836.” 1836-08-19. Edgar Allan Poe to Hiram Haines — August 19, 1836. Crypt of Echoes evidence ID LED-2026-e12a668ab4f1493ab058257263c9fa07. https://cryptofechoes.com/evidence/LED-2026-e12a668ab4f1493ab058257263c9fa07. Accessed [date].
Catalogue citation: Edgar Allan Poe to Hiram Haines, August 19, 1836. RCL-158. The Poe Museum, object 1024.1; catalogue image 1016. Text printed in Americana 36 (January 1942), page 70.
Poe’s text was printed in Americana, January 1942, volume 36, page 70. The University of Pennsylvania Online Books Page reports no issue or contribution copyright renewals for that serial; the underlying text is treated as public domain in the United States. This is a faithful reproduction of the handwritten page. Credit: The Poe Museum, Richmond, Virginia, object 1024.1. Modern catalogue commentary is not reproduced.
