Edgar Allan Poe to James Russell Lowell — November 24, 1842
Poe asks Lowell to retrieve The Tell-Tale Heart from the Boston Miscellany and consider it for the first issue of The Pioneer. Read the locally hosted manuscript images and searchable letter text.
The complete written face is visible in the preserved auction image, alongside a portrait. The composite JPEG is retained unchanged. The recipient’s docket on the reverse is described by the auction catalogue but is not pictured. Poe’s letter was identified as previously unpublished at the June 21, 2013 sale; Gabriel Mckee’s 2019 study confirms this publication history. The original manuscript has not been physically examined. The reading was checked against the visible handwritten letter, with comparison to the Poe Society transcription. Line breaks and superscripts are simplified; this is a reading text rather than a diplomatic transcription. The scans remain authoritative for punctuation, cancellations and layout.
Original publication
Edgar Allan Poe to James Russell Lowell — November 24, 1842
Date
1842-11-24
Credits
Edgar Allan Poe; Christie’s (source images)
Published in
Philadelphia
Where to find it
1 source images; 1 Poe letter
Reference collection
Susan Jaffe Tane collection (as reported in 2019)
Collection reference
Christie’s New York, sale 2717, lot 21
Checklist identity, source metadata, date, recipient, signature, complete supplied views and file hashes checked. No matching individual document found in existing holdings. Modern source commentary excluded.
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File / copy authenticity
Preserved files carry a SHA-256 fingerprint fixed at ingest; whether those bytes match the original capture is not independently verified.
Transcription / extraction
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The complete written face is visible in the preserved auction image, alongside a portrait. The composite JPEG is retained unchanged. The recipient’s docket on the reverse is described by the auction catalogue but is not pictured. Poe’s letter was identified as previously unpublished at the June 21, 2013 sale; Gabriel Mckee’s 2019 study confirms this publication history. The original manuscript has not been physically examined. The reading was checked against the visible handwritten letter, with comparison to the Poe Society transcription. Line breaks and superscripts are simplified; this is a reading text rather than a diplomatic transcription. The scans remain authoritative for punctuation, cancellations and layout.
The complete written face is visible in the preserved auction image, alongside a portrait. The composite JPEG is retained unchanged. The recipient’s docket on the reverse is described by the auction catalogue but is not pictured. Poe’s letter was identified as previously unpublished at the June 21, 2013 sale; Gabriel Mckee’s 2019 study confirms this publication history. The original manuscript has not been physically examined. The reading was checked against the visible handwritten letter, with comparison to the Poe Society transcription. Line breaks and superscripts are simplified; this is a reading text rather than a diplomatic transcription. The scans remain authoritative for punctuation, cancellations and layout.
The complete written face is visible in the preserved auction image, alongside a portrait. The composite JPEG is retained unchanged. The recipient’s docket on the reverse is described by the auction catalogue but is not pictured. Poe’s letter was identified as previously unpublished at the June 21, 2013 sale; Gabriel Mckee’s 2019 study confirms this publication history. The original manuscript has not been physically examined. The reading was checked against the visible handwritten letter, with comparison to the Poe Society transcription. Line breaks and superscripts are simplified; this is a reading text rather than a diplomatic transcription. The scans remain authoritative for punctuation, cancellations and layout.
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.
Checked letter reading text
Reading transcription · Review label: Known limitations
Edgar Allan Poe to James Russell Lowell — November 24, 1842
The complete written face is visible in the preserved auction image, alongside a portrait. The composite JPEG is retained unchanged. The recipient’s docket on the reverse is described by the auction catalogue but is not pictured. Poe’s letter was identified as previously unpublished at the June 21, 2013 sale; Gabriel Mckee’s 2019 study confirms this publication history. The original manuscript has not been physically examined. The reading was checked against the visible handwritten letter, with comparison to the Poe Society transcription. Line breaks and superscripts are simplified; this is a reading text rather than a diplomatic transcription. The scans remain authoritative for punctuation, cancellations and layout.
Philadelphia Nov. 24, 1842.
My Dear Sir,
Through some accident, I have only just now received yours of the 19 th .
About ten days ago, I wrote to the “Editor of the ‘Boston Miscellany’,” enclosing a brief tale, of the class you especially mention, and requesting him, if the article were not accepted, to hand it to you: — I did this in anticipation of writing you in a few days. As my letter requested an immediate reply, and as I have received none, I am at a loss what to think.
The tale in question is entitled the “Tell-Tale Heart”. Might I beg of you the favor to call upon the Editor of the “Miscellany” and ascertain his determination? If he decline the article, I should be glad to see it in your first number. But should there, now, be no longer time to get it in your first number, it will be unnecessary to say anything upon the subject to the “Miscellany”. In about a week I will forward something for your second number.
Most cordially your friend Edgar Allan Poe
J. Russell Lowell Esqre
“Edgar Allan Poe to James Russell Lowell — November 24, 1842.” 1842-11-24. Edgar Allan Poe to James Russell Lowell — November 24, 1842. Crypt of Echoes evidence ID LED-2026-f47dc0a146814128bee684f60fbbda25. https://cryptofechoes.com/evidence/LED-2026-f47dc0a146814128bee684f60fbbda25. Accessed [date].
Catalogue citation: Edgar Allan Poe to James Russell Lowell, November 24, 1842. RCL-400a. Susan Jaffe Tane collection (as reported in 2019); Christie’s New York, sale 2717, lot 21.
Underlying 1842 text by Edgar Allan Poe (died 1849), documented as previously unpublished in 2013; public-domain historical writing. Faithful manuscript reproduction supplied by Christie’s, sale 2717, lot 21. Modern auction commentary and the 2019 scholarly article are not republished.
