Phantasia and The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe
Easton Press edition of this curated selection of poems and stories by Edgar Allan Poe in an edition equal to the 19th-century master of the macabre. Phantasia uses the raw matter of Poe’s own life, physically incorporating pulverized bricks excavated from his New York City home into a binding that creepily recalls the immuring central to several of his tales. The set is composed of Poe’s Phantasia and the companion volume The Raven. The former contains three sections: “Fantasies,” “Fantasias,” and “Fever Dreams,” each of which is introduced by a celebrated poem. The Raven companion volume features seven brilliant gouache-and-chalk pastel drawings by Natalie Frank which bring into focus Lenore, the flesh-and-blood woman whose loss inspired one of the most famous refrains in English literature: Nevermore. Limited to 250 Fine Press copies signed by Frank at the colophon, of which this is number 74. Housed in the original slipcase and including the publisher's prospectus.
San Francisco: The Arion Press, 2023. Phantasia is Smyth-sewn, square-backed with terra-cotta headbands affixed, and bound with textured paper sides over boards and a cloth spine imprinted with ivy motif by the artist and foil stamped titling, The Raven is hand-sewn with linen thread and bound in cloth-covered boards with foil stamped titling; pp. 176 and 32. Fine copies in a fine slipcase.