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Edgar Allan Poe Parents Theatre Ad In 1806...
Edgar Allan Poe Parents Theatre Ad In 1806...
Item # 724755
October 27, 1806
BOSTON GAZETTE, Oct. 27, 1806
* Edgar Allan Poe's father & mother theater ads
* Richard The Third and Rival Soldiers plays
* Eliza Arnold Hopkins Poe & David Poe Jr.
The top of page 3 under "Boston Theatre" is a notice for the performances of "RICHARD THE THIRD", with Mr. Poe as "Tressel" and "RIVAL SOLDIERS" with Mr. Poe as "Lenox" & Mrs. Poe as "Mary" re. the parents of Edgar Allan Poe.
Complete with 4 pages, nice condition.
background: This 1806 issue of the Boston Gazette represents a poignant archaeological fragment of American literary history, capturing David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Poe at the height of their itinerant professional lives just three years before the birth of their son, Edgar Allan Poe. The casting of the couple in Shakespeare’s Richard III followed by the comedic afterpiece Rival Soldiers illustrates the grueling versatility required of early 19th-century "strolling players," where they transitioned from the somber duties of Tressel to the lighthearted roles of Lenox and Mary in a single evening. Because David Poe’s acting career was famously short-lived and marred by stage fright—contrasted sharply by Eliza’s reputation as a "celebrated" talent—this specific theater notice serves as rare primary evidence of the transient, theatrical world that shaped Edgar’s heritage and his lifelong obsession with the "city of his birth." Preserved in exceptional condition, the artifact bridges the gap between the ephemeral world of the federal-era stage and the eventual legacy of a master of the macabre, making it a cornerstone for any collection focused on the Poe lineage or early American drama.
Category: Pre-Civil War
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$52.00
