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Understanding 9/11tv Edgar Allen Poe Museum CSPAN August 23, 2017 4:57am-5:32am EDT
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we give back to the position of having the robust leadership and all the communities working together for the common good. >> located in downtown richmond, the white house of the confederacy's work confederate jefferson davis and his family lived in 1861 until april's 1865. following the end of the war it became a headquarters for the u.s. army in 1870 was given back to the city of richmond. the home has since been restored and is open to the public as a museum. up next we visit the edgar allen poe museum. >> edgar allan paul is the writer that put american literature on the mat. he's the one the first internationally influential american writer.
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he invented the detective story. he's a pioneer of science fiction. he developed a tale of psychological terror. he wrote the only poem the so famous it has an nfl team named after. he was also instrumental in the concept of art for art's sake. the idea of a piece of art and have to teach you something or have a moral it was a terror story scares you because it's doing this job. this also meant that because the story didn't have to teach you something didn't have to be rewarded. the villain could actually win in the end. richmond is like any other city. he refers himself as a virgini virginian. he grew up with foster parents. if it had not been for richmond he would've had the middle name alan.
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this is where he first fell in love. where he first wrote his portrait. where he had the formative inspiration that inspired literature for years to come. this is where he was married and had his first job in journalism. if it hadn't been from richmond how they produce a lot of the best work i would've had a chance to experiment in the early 20s and find his literary voice. >> the poe museum has been open since 1922. this is the world's largest collection of edgar allen poe's artifacts, manuscripts, clothing, personal items it consists of four buildings and surrounds an enchanted garden laid out in 1921 based on poe's poetry. it re-creates the point to one in paradise. [inaudible]
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and when the founders of the museum opened it, it was virginia's first museum the first monument to a writer, not to military political leader, but to a writer. it showed that virginia really cared about the power of words and the power of the imagination to shape her destination. this is edgar allen poe's boyhood bed. as for houston dream dreams were nobody ever dared to dream before. that is been passed on from his foster father to his business partner, but down to that family until he came to the poe museum. the piece of furniture in our collection had those kinds of stories that chain of ownership that leads to them so they can verify what they are, but also chairs to the boyhood home including this piece, this is
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the upholstery that would still on there. we also have artwork on life portrait from john and francis allen. there's only one other portrait and that's been lost that's also been lost but were the only place that has. [inaudible] that's quite appropriate because richmond is where they live, they live in homes all over the neighborhood, it's a street that poe would've been walked up and down the street and seen this house on multiple occasions but yet her yet we have the bed and this is where he would be. poe's foster father died in 1834. he was worth about three
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quarters of a million dollars. he was wealthy and had a huge mansion in downtown richmond. plantation, had property, and he could afford the finest things in life. he had next sense of library and that was a great advantage for poe. he was able to read from the allen library but allen never quite warmed up to him. seems to have been the foster mother's idea to take in. francisella was from the richmond society. she was orphaned herself as a child so she could sympathize. when she her post mother was dying and needed help, of course she jumped at the chance to take in eddie. she really wanted someone to take care of and she lavished the attention. unfortunately john had children
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his trying to keep them secret from his wife he didn't want to have to take care of someone else. but suddenly said as if they deserve something that edgar was never included in the will. they first opposed the sun that says that he he's this race disrespectful and there is just not one good thing about that boy. poe seems to have developed an interesting storytelling early on. one of his friends john hamilton mckenzie fell out of a tree and broke his arm. and then before it had a chance to he broke up his arm again and his mother told him don't go outside, stay home and just entertain this little kid edgar so they entertained him by telling stories. and john hamilton mckenzie
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recalls but paula tell him stories and he would embellish them and add them to the stories but eventually he got an interesting poetry and by the age of 13 he compiled in a poetry that he wanted his foster father to help them get up publish. his foster father said he's a little too proud of himself, the last thing you want to do is publish poetry but by the time his 18, he published his first book it was probably written while he was in richmond attending charlottesville, early on poe probably thought he would be like most writers of the day and live off of family money or teaching job or government job in the customs house.
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but he became the first american writer to make his living solely off his writing. i don't think those entirely by choice. who would've loved to inherited john allen's fortune but he did not leave it to him. after he had been expelled from west point allen would not take him back he would not have his wild dream of becoming a poet. so he entered literary contests and then got himself a job at a mixing before you know it he was a magazine us. he was editing different magazines any he struggled. his salary was about $500 a year which is about 17000 and the stay when he got to philadelphia he worked at graham's magazine and in a years time he brought
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that from a circulation of 6000 to about 40000. made the most popular journal in the country. he was making a salary of $800 a year while the owner was getting $25000 year so the owner was getting wealthy off oppose works but he wanted to do things his way but it never quite worked out for him. there were times where he was living hand to mouth. he might make $5 off of this palmer story the raven brought in 15, longer stories would get more money, the murders in the room brought about 50 he entered the gold i want about a hundred but it's been estimated from the time he was 18 and published his
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first book until the time his 40 he made a little over $6000. so, he wasn't famously wealthy but he was famous. as soon as one magazine another printed it and nobody hesitated to reprint his stories. even in europe they were reprinting his stories left and right making him a household name in france while he was struggling to feed his family here in the united states. but even during his lifetime he was a celebrity, he made it into newspapers and magazines people report on every little thing he did because he was a public figure. one of the events today from his life was his marriage.
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when he married virginia, he was 27 and she was 13. he was over twice her age, he was also her cousin but back then it was fairly common for cousins to marry one another. but the age difference was unusual. but in virginia at the time a girl of 12 to get married with her father's permission. her father was dead but her mother clinches poe's biological sister, she encouraged the match. when she was finding a home for her daughter she was also finding a home for herself because poe took in both of these women and gave them a home. if you look closely shouldn't sign a marriage bond sheathing could decide the legal document was not to her that poe decided to go on with her he does say that he was 21 years of age so
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she doesn't have to get the mail guardian, by this time her father and brother were both dead so she doesn't have somebody to get permission to get married to edgar. the ceremony they recalled oppose what did look a little younger than 21. there seems to have been genuine affection between edgar and virginia and that poe had doubts with depression. she provided him the support he needed and they said night no matter how poor he was he made sure she had a piano to play he would play the flute they would sing around and they would have concerts together. seems like a fairly happy home life while your writing stories about shopping or wife into little pieces. this had rumors of alcohol and
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drug use and during this time it made the news. in the journal right here was edited and there's an article here where english said he saw poe have to on the middle of broadway in english love to ridicule poe tempered try him as a drunkard. they betray them as the junk and drunken author in the black crow. the pole during his lifetime was developing a reputation as a heavy drinker. people who knew him said hewitt most the time without touching alcohol or even had a single glass of wine he was staggering drunk. his personality was changed and he would be sick for days afterward. you don't know what kind of tolerance he had maybe he was
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diabetic, you just don't know. but he drank a lot less than people nowadays think you did. after his death his first review was written by griswold who could not stand edgar allan poe. paul made front of him, griswold was horribly offended but was simmering just beneath the surface waiting for poe to die. once he died he wrote an obituary that startled and he went on to betray him as a man man no moral evil despicable person and his biography he pretrade him as a hopeless drunk. but post friends and family came just a fence and said this is not true this is not the pole that we know. and even as an enemy said the rumors of this use is just a
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baseless slander. over here we have a letter written by one of jutland's good friends. he recounts a very strange episode impose life in the last summer in 1849 poe was passing through philadelphia and showed up at his house terrified that people are trying to kill him. he wanted him to cut off his mustache so nobody would recognize him. later he said it was just a hallucination it wasn't real and they wrote about the account and somewhere they said wrote was he just drunk or on drugs and this is his response that he did not appear to have been drinking or drugs he was calm and measured so they're trying to figure out why was he hallucinating or
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maybe there were people after him we just don't know. even though the evidence seems to support an idea that he didn't turn quite as much is they thought and he didn't find inspiration by using opiate that's a popular reputation that poe has. he could go to the big cities up north. chrisman had about 15000 people, new york had 300,000 people philadelphia 200,000 people. poe needed to go to the big cities and make a name for himself. after his wife died who struggling to make a living and he found a financial backer those can be called the spineless. poe is raising money by selling subscriptions and his lecture tour brought him back where he
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encountered his sweetheart. but now poe returned to richmond, famous and somewhat successful poet. he was edgar the raven poe and he gave to successful well attended lectures at richmond, one person said he was spellbound and pole of the sta stage, he gave private readings around town. at one of the reasons the lady hosting him said he says give me back half the people ran and hid a sad little kids recommends them on the street and he would flap his arms like a big bird so he finally made himself as edgar the raven power when he showed up at her house.
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she was a wealthy widow, she had gone through six years of morning are ready was probably about ready to remarry. he showed up on announced and they would not let him into the house. they hadn't left a calling card or announced he was visiting. and he started arguing with the servants until myra came out said is that you? and she said, go away i don't want to see. he kept coming back again and again and convinced her that they should be married and they renewed their engagement after all those decades. there said to be married on october 17 as soon as he returned from philadelphia from which he never returned. on his last night richmond to spend most of the evening with his new fiancé, but after she said was very sick he had a fever and a weak pulse and after
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leaving he visited a dr. who lived near 17th broad street and left his walking stick taking the doctor's solar cane instead. we don't know why or what happened to it we had this letter, one of the last letters he ever wrote from septembesept, 1849 and he is writing to a point in philadelphia whose book he wants to edit. it's only a couple a days work will make a hundred dollars so he could release the money and it would go a long ways from helping with the upcoming marriage. but unfortunately he cut the seam stitch ship from richmond to baltimore. then he would catch the train which would take a few hours but he disappeared and we don't know
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his whereabouts until he's found at ryan's fourth ward pole. poe was found semi conscious trust in someone else's clothes. cheap, ill fitting rags, nothing like he would have worn. people were at a loss of figuring out what happened. one theory was that he was a victim of coping. the practice in which folks would find people who just got off the boat, joe them and you said as repeat voters using their close and dragging them to another polling place now, this theory was published as early as 1860. john r thompson delivered a lecture about his life and death. he helped popularize the theory
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that he was a victim of hooping. after his discovery he went to washington college hospital for four days. his dr. was john carter who wrote this account oppose final days. poe is delirious, in and out of consciousness not making any sense. he couldn't remember what had become of his luggage where was his change a close. why was he dressed in his other close. he seemed to lack any memory. then he started screaming the name riddle. we never figured out who reynolds was. and then you come down, his last words were lord help my poor soul. the dr. said it was a case of loss of nerve power. . .
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we know before he left richmond he'd been staying at the hotel on main street, but this trunk closed around in the tavern and
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people wondered for years why they have this trunk. it was a large piece so maybe he had a smaller piece to kerry with him to baltimore, so they had two trucks that they acquired it this and had a big legal battle that was his sister who was his close relatives but foss over the estate and finally they shouldn't have the right to oppose the works signed over the rights to rufus griswold, but the women battle over the trunk and pose the positions that were contained in. the reason they left the trunk of the tavern if he hadn't paid his hotel bill and they said they wouldn't give back his luggage until he paid the remainder of the money so that
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doesn't explain why it was still here and his sister eventually got hold of it. after her death she passed down to her foster niece who sold it to the museum back in 1923 for $35 now it's one of the prizes of the collection. this address is another one of the scandals about poe. who is buried under his monuments? for years, people wondered did he get buried under the monument or put the wrong person down there and a lot of the confusion stems from the fact that it was in an unmarked grave and 26 years after his death that the teacher and the students started a campaign to raise money for the nicest monument in the entire cemetery that is pictured here and they thought it would be appropriate if instead of
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having way back in the family plot if you were next to the sidewalk where everyone can see them as a place of honor he was the most famous so he's the one people should really want to s see. as you can imagine it fell apart and the newspapers reported about. his rib cage followed they scooped up the pieces and put them in the news spot and that cost a lothecost a lot of confuo make matters worse, he placed
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this monument on the side of the grave. it was the original grave and finally this section have to clear up all of the confusion. what happened is he already moved the body once in anticipation of the new monument, so he knew exactly where the body was before he moved it and exactly which body he was moving so no need to worry. he was buried under the monument and his mother-in-law is also with him and his wife, they moved her down from the bronx. his wife died two years before he did and by the time it was decided in the monument they already built over the cemetery and moved over all the bodies. the biggest fan ever personally went to the cemetery and rescued
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virginia's bones. and he kept them in after while somebody said maybe that is a bad idea. and now they are buried next to her husband so that is why he leaves three roses and under the monument. this is not only the few in the country so it helps preserve the heritage and reminds us that a big part of what makes us who we are is our culture, not just the visual arts but the literary arts. it's part of the history of our collective imagination. the people who come to the museums have never heard of patrick henry or thomas jefferson but they know it or allen poe. he truly is an international literary figure and we can say
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d.c. saturday september 2 on c-span2. [applause] the national medal of arts with forthe contribution to american letters in her service to the united states from 1993 to 1995. th
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