Poe, Edgar Allan.

8vo (189 x 135mm.), first edition, first printing, half-title, publisher's advertisements (4, 8 pp.) at end, publisher's printed wrappers, blue half morocco gilt slipcase, chemise, minor foxing in a very few leaves, wrappers with few tears at spine edges, minor wear at edges, slipcase rubbed

Seven Gables Bookshop, 30th anniversary catalogue, item 152 (cataloguing slip laid in); the William E. Self family collection, sale, Christie's New York, 4 December 2009, lot 166

Allen, Israfel 667; BAL 16147; Grolier American 56; Johnson High Spots 62; NYPL/Gordan 485-86; Robertson (1921) 332-34; Robertson (1934) 1:53-54

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

First edition, first issue (in wrappers, with the New York imprint, and without the Tales) of "the most important volume of poetry that had been issued up until that time in America" (Allen). A fine copy of one of the greatest American books of its age, and one of the most difficult to find in fine condition in the original wrappers.

The title poem, "The Raven", was first printed in the American Review in January 1845; it "made Poe's name known both in America and England, and brought him an immortality that by no other means could he have attained... [and it] gave him fame as a poet such as no other American has received" (Robertson 2:224-25).