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Translations: Baudelaire, Translator of Edgar Allan Poe

Histoires extraordinaires   |   Le Corbeau
    Manuscrit trouvé dans une bouteille   |   La Chute de la maison Usher


Baudelaire published extensive translations of Edgar Allan Poe’s works from 1852 until 1865. These translations reflect the affinity he felt for Poe as a poet and writer. Baudelaire admired the visionary quality of Poe’s text and related to him on many levels . Both lived in poverty, suffered from addictions and depression. Both were under appreciated by the literary establishment of their times. Both embraced mysticism, the fantastic, the macabre and the grotesque in their writings. Finally, both were searching for answers to philosophical questions in their aesthetic and literary pursuits. It is also worth noting that Baudelaire’s translations and critical notes provided some form of income to the poet who was constantly facing a difficult financial situation.

With the exception of four poems, Baudelaire’s translations focused on Poe’s short fiction. Baudelaire chose the tale “Mesmeric Revelation,” published in the Wiley & Putnam edition of 1845,as his first translation of Poe. It appeared in 1848 in La Liberté de penser, a philosophical and literary periodical that was published during the Second Republic. There was a hiatus of three years in Baudelaire’s publication of translations during which he devoted time to reading and studying Poe’s fiction, poetry and philosophy. Between 1848 and 1855 Baudelaire published some translations of Poe in newspapers such as Le Pays. Translations of complete works started appearing in 1856 with the publication of Histoires extraordinaires, followed by Nouvelles histoires extraordinaires in 1857, Aventures d’Arthur Gordon Pym in 1858, Eureka in 1863, and Histoires grotesques et sérieuses in 1865. Baudelaire’s translations were published by Michel Lévy who bought the rights for several of the texts. Through his translations, commentary and criticism, Baudelaire contributed to the favorable reception Poe generally received in Europe and to the high esteem in which European symbolist and surrealist poets held Poe.

 

Histoires extraordinaires, traduction de Charles Baudelaire.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
Histoires extraordinaires / par Edgar Poe ;
traduction de Charles Baudelaire.

Paris : Michel Lévy frères, libraires éditeurs, 1856.
John Hay Library Harris Collection
of American Poetry and Plays

 

 

This first edition bound in quarter morocco over marbled boards is rare. The spine is lettered in gold capitals: “Edg. Poe Histoires extraordinaires,” and decorated with small figures. Baudelaire’s translation of Poe’s tales was well received by the general public in France.

 

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Le Corbeau, traduction de Charles Baudelaire.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
Le Corbeau, tr. par Charles Baudelaire,
et orné de gravures sur bois de Daragnès.

Paris, L. Pichon, 1918.
John Hay Library Harris Collection
of American Poetry and Plays

 

 

This translation of Poe’s “The Raven” is illustrated by Jean Gabriel Daragnès (1886-1950), a French artist who began his career as a painter. He became well-known for the etchings and prints he created to illustrate works written by his contemporaries such as Colette, Francis Carco, Jean Giraudoux, Pierre Mac Orlan, and Paul Valéry.

 

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Manuscrit trouvé dans une bouteille, traduction de Charles Baudelaire, vignettes originales en couleurs de Pierre Falké.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
Manuscrit trouvé dans une bouteille,
traduit par Charles Baudelaire ;
vignettes originales en couleurs
de Pierre Falké.

Paris : René Kieffer, 1921.
John Hay Library Harris Collection
of American Poetry and Plays

 

 

Poe’s “Manuscript Found in a Bottle” was originally published in 1833 and is the story of an unnamed narrator who survives the capsizing of ship traveling from Java. After five days of floating on the remains of the ship and avoiding a threatening whirlpool, the narrator observes a nearby vessel, whose presence creates waves strong enough to throw him onboard. While exploring the captain’s cabin, he discovers some paper upon which he records the present manuscript, places it in a bottle and resolves to later toss it in the ocean. Shortly after he learns that the ship is heading directly for the South Pole, a giant sheet of ice cracks and exposes a whirlpool that devours the ship and its passengers, including the narrator. The story itself is a reproduction of the found manuscript. Regarded as one of Poe’s best pieces of science fiction, “Manuscript Found in a Bottle” received the award for best short story upon its original publication in a Baltimore newspaper. The success encouraged Poe to publish a collection of stories in 1840 under the name Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque.

Pierre Falké (1884-1947) is a French artist who is well-known for his humoristic drawings in newspapers and magazines. He became a book illustrator and contributed his drawings to editions of classic works by Charles Perrault, Rudyard Kipling, Daniel Defoe, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, and Victor Hugo.

 

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Nouvelles histoires extraordinaires, original drawings by Carlo Farneti.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
Nouvelles histoires extraordinaires.
Edition illustrée de treize gravures hors texte.
Paris : A. Quantin, imprimeur-editeur, 1884.
John Hay Library Harris Collection
of American Poetry and Plays

 

Poe’s 1839 “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a Gothic story about an unnamed narrator and his visit to the house of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher. Physically and emotionally ill, Usher calls upon his friend to come to his decaying, gloomy and mysterious estate in the hopes that his company will cure his melancholy. Shortly after his arrival, Usher’s twin sister, Madeline, also physically ill, dies of an unidentifiable disease. One night, while reading out loud, the narrator hears noises that Usher claims are coming from the tomb of his sister, whom he believes has been buried alive. Madeline then appears, cloaked in bloody white robes, and attacks Usher, who dies of fear. The narrator flees the enchanted house, which quickly crumbles to the ground. This story was originally published in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine in 1839, and later reprinted in a collection of stories in 1840 and 1845.

This edition of Edgar Poe’s Tales contains three original drawings by Carlo Farneti (1892-1961). This artist was born in Naples and moved to Paris in 1926. He illustrated works by Emile Zola, Edgar Poe and Baudelaire.

 

 

 

 

 



La Chute de la Maison Usher, traduction de Charles Baudelaire, dessinés et gravés par Daniel Wapler.La Chute de la Maison Usher, traduction de Charles Baudelaire, dessinés et gravés par Daniel Wapler.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849
La Chute de la maison Usher / traduction de Charles Baudelaire ;

bois dessinés et gravés par Daniel Wapler.
Paris : Éditions de Georges Servant, 1922.
John Hay Library Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays

This is no. 179 of a limited edition of a translation of "The Fall of the House of Usher," with original wood engravings by Daniel Wapler.

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