The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Edgar Allan Poe [1385]
Gentlemen,
Could you oblige the Editor of the Southern Literary Messenger by sending him a copy of Rienzi (Bulwer’s novel) by mail. We wish to review it in the next number of the Magazine, and otherwise will not obtain it in time. If you can oblige us so far as to send the volume, please envelop it carefully, and mark on it the number of printed sheets it contains.
Very respy.
Yr. Ob. St.
Edgar A Poe
Carey and Lea to Edgar Allan Poe — February 20, 1836
February 20, 1836.
Edgar A. Poe, Esq., Richmond, Va., — I received your letter this morning, having no knowledge of the MS. Mentioned. I applied to Mess. Carey & Hart, who handed over the enclosed which I transmit agreeably to your direction and wish it safe to hand.
Lea and Blanchard to Edgar Allan Poe — September 28, 1839
Phila Sept 28/39 —
Dear Sir —
As your wish in having your Tales printed is not immediately pecuniary, we will at our own risqué & expense print a Small Ed say of 750 copies. This run if sold — will pay but a small profit, which if realized is to be ours. The copy right will remain with you, and when ready a few copies for distribution among your friends, will be at your service.
If this is agreeable will you have them prepared & Mr Haswell will be ready to go on, say by Tuesday —
Very Respt
Lea & Blanchard
To
Edgar A. Poe Esq
They shd (should) make 2 vols of a page like Isabel say 240 pages each.
Lea and Blanchard to Edgar Allan Poe — October 30, 1839
October 30, 1839
Edgar A. Poe Esqr., — The printing of a few extra copies of your tales on fine paper would be very troublesome to the printer. But if he is willing, we have no objection to six copies being printed at your cost.
We designed sending 20 copies of the edition to you on publication for private distribution.
Lea and Blanchard to Edgar Allan Poe — November 20, 1839
November 20, 1839.
Edgar A. Poe,
We have your note of today. The copyright of the Tales would be of no value to us; when we undertook their publication, it was solely to oblige you and not with any view to profit, and on this ground it was urged by you. We should not therefore be now called upon or expected to purchase the copyright when we have no expectation of realizing the Capital placed in the volumes. If the offer to publish was now before us we should certainly decline it, and would feel obliged if you knew and would urge some one to relieve us from the publication at cost, or even at a small abatement.
Edgar Allan Poe to Lea and Blanchard — August 13, 1841
Mess. Lea & Blanchard,
Gentlemen,
I wish to publish a new collection of my prose Tales with some such title as this — “The Prose Tales of Edgar A. Poe, Including “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, The “Descent into The Maelstrom”, and all his later pieces, with a second edition of the “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque”
The “later pieces” will be eight in number, making the entire collection thirty-three — which would occupy two thicknovel volumes.
I am anxious that your firm should continue to be my publishers, and, if you would be willing to bring out the book, I should be glad to accept the terms which you allowed me before — that is — you receive all profits, and allow me twenty copies for distribution to friends.
Will you be kind enough to give me an early reply to this letter, and believe me
Yours very resply
Philadelphia,
Edgar A Poe
Office Graham’s Magazine, August 13./ 41.
Lea and Blanchard to Edgar Allan Poe — August 16, 1841
Dear Sir, — We have yours of 13th int in which you are kind enough to offer us a “new collection of prose tales.”
In answer we very much regret to say that the state of affairs is such as to give little encouragement to new undertakings. As yet we have not got through the edition of the other work & up to this time it has not returned to us the expense of its publication. We assure you that we regret this on your account as well as our own, as it would give us great pleasure to promote your views in relation to publication.
We are
Very Resp
your obt St
Lea