BOSTON GAZETTE, Dec. 12, 1808

* Edgar Allan Poe's father theater ad

A curious literary item here as the top of page 3 has an advertisement for the "Boston Theatre" with the performance of: "THE WORLD", a theatrical performance, with one of the principal characters being "Mr. Poe" as "Dauntless". He was the father of Edgar Allan Poe.
Four pages, generally in nice condition.

Background: This isn't just a piece of old news; it is a haunting "smoking gun" from the final, crumbling days of David Poe Jr.’s career, appearing exactly 38 days before Edgar Allan Poe was born. While this rare newspaper bills David in the spirited, prominent role of "Dauntless" in the play The World, it captures the exact moment of a notorious theatrical scandal: his performance was so "wretched" that he was mid-show demoted to the role of a minor butler, sparking a scathing public review that called him a "mere stick" and a "total failure." This document represents the high-water mark of the Poe family’s professional collapse; it is a visceral, paper-and-ink link to the deep-seated paternal shame and public ridicule that defined Edgar’s infancy and likely fueled the "Poe Curse"—making it an electrifying artifact for any collector obsessed with the tragic DNA of America’s greatest master of the macabre.