Rare Poe Letter at Auction

A rare Edgar Allan Poe letter is up for grabs from Boston's RR Auction. The short but "boldly penned" letter dated September 21, 1843 is addressed to Elwood Evans, a Philadelphia lawyer and potential literary journal subscriber. The author writes, "I have been absent from the city for the last few weeks and your note of the 15th is only this moment received. I have the pleasure of informing you that Mr. Dana's address is Chestnut Street, Boston."

Poe letters are uncommon and pricey at auction; even this brief and somewhat ordinary (contextually speaking) piece of correspondence is estimated to make $60,000-80,000. Online bidding has already commenced; the live auction begins on Monday, Sept. 28, at 1:00.

"Poe's autograph is excessively rare in any form and among the most sought-after of all literary figures," said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction.

Other highlights of next week's auction include a typed J. D. Salinger letter and a signed first edition of The Archaeology of the Industrial Revolution signed by Stephen Hawking.

Image Courtesy of RR Auction.