Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Poe-Chivers papers
- Dates:
- 1827-1885
- Creators:
- Chivers, T. H. (Thomas Holley), 1809-1858 and Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
- Abstract:
- A collection of material related to the Thomas Holley Chivers and Edgar Allan Poe controversy.
- Extent:
- 1.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Poe-Chivers papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection containing poems, manuscripts, and correspondence related to Thomas Holley Chivers and Edgar Allan Poe. There are 35 letters by Edgar Allan Poe to various correspondents and a large number of letters from Chivers to Poe. There are a few poems by Chivers, including "Hymn of Faith," "Noises of the Night," and "Lament for Shelley Lost at Sea," and a manuscript of "Life of Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Analysis; A Brief Summary of Poe's Birth, Life, and Death." The majority of the collection consists of letters regarding the Poe-Chivers controversy with various correspondents, including Maria Clemm, John Gierlow, Jedediah Hunt, Richard Malcom Johnston, William Gilmore Simms, and Sarah Helen Whitman.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet, literary critic, and editor. He is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre.
Thomas Holley Chivers (1809-1858) was born into a wealthy family in Georgia and trained as a doctor but focused his energy on publishing rather than medicine. In addition to submitting poems to various magazines and journals, Chivers published several volumes of poetry, including The Lost Pleiad in 1845, as well as plays. Chivers admired the work of Edgar Allan Poe and supported him financially and is now best known for his friendship with Poe. After Poe's death in 1849, Chivers accused Poe of plagiarizing both "The Raven" and "Ulalume" from his own work and that Poe learned to write poetry from him. Despite these claims, Chivers wrote the memoir "Life of Poe" (not published until 1952) and continued to defend Poe from attacks on his reputation until his own death in 1858.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Barker's Art Store, February 1924.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Huntington Library staff in approximately 1930; in October 2025, Gayle M. Richardson created the finding aid.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-08 08:27:48 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
mssHM 24216. RESTRICTED. Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Poe-Chivers papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191