Poe, Edgar Allan “The Bells” [Porter & Coates, 1881] Illustrated Edition

POE, Edgar Allan. The Bells.

Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1881. Illustrated edition. Publisher’s light blue paper-covered boards with rounded corners, tan cloth spine, and elaborate pictorial cover design stamped in green, gilt, and silver. Illustrated throughout by F. O. C. Darley, McCutcheon, Fredericks, Perkins, King, Riordan, and Northam. Boards soiled and rubbed with scattered staining and wear at edges and corners; spine toned. Internally clean and sound. Very Good-.

An elaborate late-19th-century gift-book presentation of Poe’s celebrated poem, with each stanza surrounded by richly detailed illustrations interpreting its progression from the joyous silver bells through wedding bells, alarms, and finally the ominous tolling of iron bells.