Poe, Edgar Allan “The Indispensable Edgar Allan Poe” [The Book Society, 1950]

POE, Edgar Allan. The Indispensable Edgar Allan Poe. New York: The Book Society, 1950. First edition thus. 7.25” x 5”, xxxviii + 664pp. Selected and edited, with introduction and notes, by Philip Van Doren Stern. Blue and cream cloth in publisher's slipcase. Several dogeared pages and a handful with heavy annotations. Binding sound. Slipcase rubbed and worn along edges with a few small splits. Very Good- in Good slipcase. Philip Van Doren Stern assembled this volume as a substantial one-volume introduction to Poe's fiction, poetry, and criticism, selecting many of the works that established Poe's reputation as a pioneer of detective fiction, psychological horror, and the modern short story. Issued by The Book Society in an attractive slipcased format, the collection was intended as a durable library edition for mid-century readers discovering or revisiting Poe's most influential writings.