this is the world's largest collection of edgar allen poe memorabilia, manuscripts, clothing, personal items. the museum consists of four buildings, all surrounding an enchanted garden laid out in 1921 based on poe's poetry. it recrates his poem to paradise. love for which my soul, the green island to see, a fountain and a shrine, all raised in very fruits and flowers, all the flowers are mine. and one of the founders of the museum opened it, it was virginia's first museum and first monument to a writer. not to a military, political leader, but to a writer and it showed that virginians really care about the power of words and the power of imagination to shape our destiny. this is edgar allen poe's boyhood bed. this is where he used to dreams dreams never dreamed before. it has been passed down from his foster father to his business partner, down to that family until he came to the poe museum. the pieces of furniture in our collection had those kinds of stories, that chain of ownership that leads them here that we can verify what they are. we also have chairs from his boyhood home, incl