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Edgar Allan Poe: Mathew Brady Carte de Visite [CDV]....
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Sold on Apr 24, 2026 for:
$10,000.00
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Description
Edgar Allan Poe: Mathew Brady Carte de Visite [CDV]. A carte de visite portrait of Edgar Allan Poe produced by Mathew Brady, the most prominent American photographer of the nineteenth century. The image features a bust-length oval portrait of Poe, with delicate printed script below reading "Brady," "N. Y. NY," and "Edgar A. Poe." Along the lower edge of the mount appears the imprint: "Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1861, by M. B. Brady, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the U. S. for the So. District of New York." Measures 2 3/8" x 4", mount ruled in dark red.The verso bears the backstamp of E. Anthony's New York studio, including an engraved depiction of the studio building and the imprint: "Published by E. Anthony...from Photographic Negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery."
Photographic images of Poe are exceedingly scarce, and this Brady CDV ranks among the rarest nineteenth-century author portraits. We were able to locate only a handful of recorded examples, the most recent of which was sold by University Archives in November 2025 for $20,000.
The scarcity of Poe photographs is due in part to the fact that the author died in 1849, in the very earliest days of commercial photography, though he was also famously reticent to have his portrait taken. According to Michael Deas' Portraits and Daguerreotypes of Edgar Allan Poe, Poe had to be persuaded by a near-stranger to attend the sitting for this particular portrait when it was taken on November 9, 1848, less than a year before his death. Only days earlier, Poe had attempted suicide by laudanum while traveling to Providence in hopes of securing an engagement to Sarah Helen Whitman. Surviving the overdose, he arrived ill and convalescing. During his stay, he was convinced (reportedly by a new acquaintance remembered only as "Mr. MacFarland") to sit for a portrait, likely with the understanding that he would receive compensation, as was common for well-known literary figures. Whitman later referred to the image as Poe's "Ultima Thule" portrait, associating its somber circumstances with lines from Poe's poem "Dream Land":
"I have reached these lands but newly
From an ultimate dim Thule-
From a wild weird clime that lieth, sublime
Out of SPACE-out of TIME."
Condition: Excellent, with sharp corners and good contrast. A few very faint instances of foxing to the verso.
Reference: Deas, Michael. The Portraits and Daguerreotypes of Edgar Allan Poe, pp. 36-41. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1989.
Auction Info
2026 April 24 - 25 Americana & Political Signature® Auction #6327 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
April, 2026
24th-25th
Friday-Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 19
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 622
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% of the successful bid per lot.
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