Poe And Baltimore

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -- 1849) lived in Baltimore from 1833 -- 1835 and died destitute in the city in 1849. Although he lived in several other cities including New York, Philadelphia and Richmond, Baltimore treasures its connection with Poe. David Gaylin's book, "Edgar Allan Poe's Baltimore (2015), explores Poe's life and the Baltimore in which Poe lived. Gaylin, a lifelong student of Poe and a Baltimore native, worked in partnership with Poe Baltimore, a non-profit organization founded in 2013 to maintain the Baltimore house in which Poe lived at 203 North Amity Street. Poe Baltimore describes its mission as creating, funding, maintaining and interpreting The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum and celebrating the legacy of one of Baltimore’s most famous residents.

This short book of 128 pages consists of photographs and a running text; yet it is unique in the view it gives of Baltimore and Poe. The book offers a rare look at an important American city in the years before the Civil War. Gaylin has explored various archives to collect maps, drawings and daguerreotypes from the late eighteenth century to about 1850. The book shows the residential areas, commercial portions, harbor, buildings, open-air markets, churches, streets, and monumentation of a distinctive American city. The book also gives the reader a history of the changes in Baltimore's fortunes resulting from the building of railroads, the Civil War, and other factors. Gaylin concentrates on an 1835 riot in the city following a bank failure which earned Baltimore the nickname of ""Mob Town". Even without the connection to Poe, the discussion and pictures of early Baltimore makes this book worthwhile and entertaining.

Poe remains the focus of the book and Gaylin threads the story of his life into his depiction of the city. The book briefly tells the story of Poe's connection to Baltimore even though his residence in the city was brief. The book includes photos of the streets Poe walked and the homes of the friends who helped Poe further his literary ambitions. The book describes Poe's home, currently a National Historical Landmark, where he lived with his young wife and her mother, and its environs. There are extensive photographs of the site on which a delirious, shabbily-dressed Poe was discovered in 1849 a few days before his death in a Baltimore hospital. The book offers photographs and history of Poe's grave and memorial at the Westminster Burial Ground which at the time of Poe's death was part of Westminster Presbyterian Church. The book also discusses the history of the famous statue of Poe by Sir Moses Ezkiel. In 1921, the statue was installed in Baltimore's Wyman Park: it was moved to its current location at the University of Baltimore Law School Plaza in 1983. Thus, in its short space, the book offers a moving portrayal of Poe's life and of his memory in Baltimore.

This book is part of the "Images of America" series which captures local American history in short books of photographs. The book brings Poe and his Baltimore to life. I was absorbed in the short time it took to read this book. The book made me think about Poe again, about poems and stories I have read over the years and about works I have missed. It made me think about the Baltimore, a city I love and have visited many times even though somehow I have missed visiting the Poe House and Museum.