5 ms·

The rarest book in American literature: Poe's Tamerlane

99 points by Jun8 2y ago

Jun8 2y ago
Here’s Sotheby’s listing for the book: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/the-library-of-dr-rodney-p-swantko/poe-edgar-allan-tamerlane-the-most-poignant-rarity https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/the-library-of-...
linearrust 2y ago
> The copy once held by the University of Virginia, Poe’s not-quite alma mater, was stolen in 1973 from the McGregor Room vault in Alderman Library. If it is never recovered, an unfortunate possibility, the number of known copies drops to eleven. At least one prominent Poe expert I know speculates it may have been destroyed to hide the evidence. Isn't it more likely that they were fans of Poe and took the book for themselves or they stole it for someone who was a fan of Poe. Doesn't seem likely anyone else would steal such a rare book only to destroy it.
- Maken 2y ago
  There is always the chance that whoever stole it knew it was "the most valuable book in the vault", and afterwards realised he lacked the necessary connections sell it.
  - lisper 2y ago
    It's also possible they didn't have a clue and just took it on a lark, and only afterwards realized the magnitude of what they had taken.
  - JKCalhoun 2y ago
    Yeah, my guess as well. From a few mysteries I have seen, a real thief would have stolen it only after having produced a number of forgeries that they could then sell through blackmarket back-channels when the news of the theft became known.
- qingcharles 2y ago
  It's possible they wanted it for themselves, but I know lots of addicts who steal shit because they know it is expensive, only to have trouble selling it later and then dumping it. OTOH I've been privy to some "don't tell anyone about what I'm about to show you" moments from a group in LA that liberated some treasures from an institution that wasn't properly preserving them. Some places will let you check out even very rare items on a short term if you pay a deposit (sometimes hundreds to low thousands, a tiny fraction of the item's worth) and then you just tell them it got stolen and lose your deposit.
- vimax 2y ago
  You steal it for yourself, then let slip you did at a party. Then destroy it to cover your tracks when you realize you fucked up.
tintedfireglass 2y ago
A content of a book is more important than the book itself. If the contents are preserved then what's the need of collecting the rare original copies other than cultural or heritage reasons?
- kombookcha 2y ago
  Differences between print editions can be important scholarly material. Did a printing error in the third run end up getting reproduced in later runs? Did an editor change this word at some point after the original publication, which wound up migrating into later editions of the work? Was that in agreement with the author, or done on their own? Was there originally a chapter break here to accomodate an illustration? What was the typeface like? What kind of ink was used - is the green tint on the chapter headings intentional, or did it fade over time? On a purely aesthetic media-nerd level it's also interesting. Books aren't just their plaintext. There is craftsmanship and artistry involved in how a work is intended to be presented, and without examples of the original prints this context can be lost. On a similar note, old movies are notoriously eclectic about different cuts and editions with scenes missing or added or lost to time. Having and preserving original reels is invaluable (especially because they're much more fragile in storage than books). Imagine watching Buster Keaton while a guy is actually playing live music and breaking out slide whistles while the crowd cheers and smokes and waves their hats - it's an experience that's closer to going to a club and seeing a comedy act, than streaming movies on the couch. That particular experience is largely inaccessible to us today because we don't have pristine fully staffed 1920s cinemas that we can walk into. But if you have an original printing of a book, you can in fact just 'walk in' and see what it was supposed to be like. :)
  - jajko 2y ago
    Its 2024, we can trivially preserve 100% of the original form of any book digitally, with all original intentions, bugs in creation etc. The actual physical book itself becomes just a curiosity (or investment), nothing fundamentally necessary. With such discussions we often move from facts to emotions of specific individuals/groups. Some people feel strong emotions about absolute preservation of such items. Others, not so much, priorities in our lives lie elsewhere.
JKCalhoun 2y ago
A little off-putting when the author is plugging their book (more than once) in the article. It turned my attention away from learning about Poe (which was why I was there reading the article in the first place). Now when he mentions a line from his book "That is a true unicorn", I immediately want to take issue with the author on whether anyone would have used that phrase in the 1970's when it is supposed to have been said.
- greenie_beans 2y ago
  that's what seems like every single lithub article is. still worth reading some of their articles, though
  - dmix 2y ago
    Yes people always complain but I personally have no problem with consuming 'content marketing' as long as a) the content is legitimately interesting and not low effort and b) the creator is legit, not some shady company.
- dsign 2y ago
  Oh, come on, give a bit of slack to somebody who puts the effort to write a book.
  - systems 2y ago
    so if you write a book you are allowed a pass , hmm, interesting on the other hand, its not good marketing for the book if people dont like your actions or behavior
    - stagger87 2y ago
      > you are allowed a pass A pass to write an article about a topic and mention a book you've written about said topic? (That is what we are talking about right?) Absolutely!
dsign 2y ago
I love the font-work on the cover. You may not think much of it, but today I was browsing some upcoming books "by-their-cover" and all of them were essentially some bad-ass-wanna-look character close up. Uniform to the bone. When did being original became such a liability?
- psunavy03 2y ago
  When something is proven to sell, being original is a risk because it may not sell, and then executives will come to you and go "why didn't you do this thing that's proven to sell?"
jmartrican 2y ago
Is the book any good? Like is the story/poems in it worth reading? Just asking cause I might want to read it if its good.
- jhbadger 2y ago
  It's a set of poems by Poe, written when he was a teenager. They are interesting if you like Poe's poetry, but they aren't as good as his later famous poems like The Raven, The Bells, and Annabelle Lee.

99 points by Jun8 2y ago

Jun8 2y ago

Here’s Sotheby’s listing for the book: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/the-library-of-dr-rodney-p-swantko/poe-edgar-allan-tamerlane-the-most-poignant-rarity https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/the-library-of-...

linearrust 2y ago

> The copy once held by the University of Virginia, Poe’s not-quite alma mater, was stolen in 1973 from the McGregor Room vault in Alderman Library. If it is never recovered, an unfortunate possibility, the number of known copies drops to eleven. At least one prominent Poe expert I know speculates it may have been destroyed to hide the evidence. Isn't it more likely that they were fans of Poe and took the book for themselves or they stole it for someone who was a fan of Poe. Doesn't seem likely anyone else would steal such a rare book only to destroy it.

Maken 2y ago
There is always the chance that whoever stole it knew it was "the most valuable book in the vault", and afterwards realised he lacked the necessary connections sell it.
- lisper 2y ago
  It's also possible they didn't have a clue and just took it on a lark, and only afterwards realized the magnitude of what they had taken.
- JKCalhoun 2y ago
  Yeah, my guess as well. From a few mysteries I have seen, a real thief would have stolen it only after having produced a number of forgeries that they could then sell through blackmarket back-channels when the news of the theft became known.
qingcharles 2y ago
It's possible they wanted it for themselves, but I know lots of addicts who steal shit because they know it is expensive, only to have trouble selling it later and then dumping it. OTOH I've been privy to some "don't tell anyone about what I'm about to show you" moments from a group in LA that liberated some treasures from an institution that wasn't properly preserving them. Some places will let you check out even very rare items on a short term if you pay a deposit (sometimes hundreds to low thousands, a tiny fraction of the item's worth) and then you just tell them it got stolen and lose your deposit.
vimax 2y ago
You steal it for yourself, then let slip you did at a party. Then destroy it to cover your tracks when you realize you fucked up.

tintedfireglass 2y ago

A content of a book is more important than the book itself. If the contents are preserved then what's the need of collecting the rare original copies other than cultural or heritage reasons?

kombookcha 2y ago
Differences between print editions can be important scholarly material. Did a printing error in the third run end up getting reproduced in later runs? Did an editor change this word at some point after the original publication, which wound up migrating into later editions of the work? Was that in agreement with the author, or done on their own? Was there originally a chapter break here to accomodate an illustration? What was the typeface like? What kind of ink was used - is the green tint on the chapter headings intentional, or did it fade over time? On a purely aesthetic media-nerd level it's also interesting. Books aren't just their plaintext. There is craftsmanship and artistry involved in how a work is intended to be presented, and without examples of the original prints this context can be lost. On a similar note, old movies are notoriously eclectic about different cuts and editions with scenes missing or added or lost to time. Having and preserving original reels is invaluable (especially because they're much more fragile in storage than books). Imagine watching Buster Keaton while a guy is actually playing live music and breaking out slide whistles while the crowd cheers and smokes and waves their hats - it's an experience that's closer to going to a club and seeing a comedy act, than streaming movies on the couch. That particular experience is largely inaccessible to us today because we don't have pristine fully staffed 1920s cinemas that we can walk into. But if you have an original printing of a book, you can in fact just 'walk in' and see what it was supposed to be like. :)
- jajko 2y ago
  Its 2024, we can trivially preserve 100% of the original form of any book digitally, with all original intentions, bugs in creation etc. The actual physical book itself becomes just a curiosity (or investment), nothing fundamentally necessary. With such discussions we often move from facts to emotions of specific individuals/groups. Some people feel strong emotions about absolute preservation of such items. Others, not so much, priorities in our lives lie elsewhere.

JKCalhoun 2y ago

A little off-putting when the author is plugging their book (more than once) in the article. It turned my attention away from learning about Poe (which was why I was there reading the article in the first place). Now when he mentions a line from his book "That is a true unicorn", I immediately want to take issue with the author on whether anyone would have used that phrase in the 1970's when it is supposed to have been said.

greenie_beans 2y ago
that's what seems like every single lithub article is. still worth reading some of their articles, though
- dmix 2y ago
  Yes people always complain but I personally have no problem with consuming 'content marketing' as long as a) the content is legitimately interesting and not low effort and b) the creator is legit, not some shady company.
dsign 2y ago
Oh, come on, give a bit of slack to somebody who puts the effort to write a book.
- systems 2y ago
  so if you write a book you are allowed a pass , hmm, interesting on the other hand, its not good marketing for the book if people dont like your actions or behavior
  - stagger87 2y ago
    > you are allowed a pass A pass to write an article about a topic and mention a book you've written about said topic? (That is what we are talking about right?) Absolutely!

dsign 2y ago

I love the font-work on the cover. You may not think much of it, but today I was browsing some upcoming books "by-their-cover" and all of them were essentially some bad-ass-wanna-look character close up. Uniform to the bone. When did being original became such a liability?

psunavy03 2y ago
When something is proven to sell, being original is a risk because it may not sell, and then executives will come to you and go "why didn't you do this thing that's proven to sell?"

jmartrican 2y ago

Is the book any good? Like is the story/poems in it worth reading? Just asking cause I might want to read it if its good.

jhbadger 2y ago
It's a set of poems by Poe, written when he was a teenager. They are interesting if you like Poe's poetry, but they aren't as good as his later famous poems like The Raven, The Bells, and Annabelle Lee.