The Flying Raven, Ex Libris for “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe drawn by Edouard Manet, 1875
The French poet and essayist Charles Baudelaire (1821-67) introduced Edgar Allan Poe to French readers in 1847. Baudelaire, who saw Poe as a “sacred soul” and something of a kindred spirit, translated many of the American writer’s words into French, including Poe’s poem The Raven, first published in 1845.
Thirty years later, in 1875, the symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-98) made a new translation. Mallarmé, who called Poe “the purest among the spirits… made of stars, made of lightning”, worked on the book with his friend and artist Édouard Manet (1832-83). Though Mallarmé’s translation drew praise, the book featured the original English text on the page opposite the French translation.
The head of Manet’s raven in profile was used for the poster advertising the publication, and his flying raven for the ex-libris. Despite it being the work of such talented artists, Le Corbeau was not popular beyond literary circles.
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary, from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
The Shadow that Lies Floating on the Floor, from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
Perched upon a Bust of Pallas, from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
Open Here I Flung the Shutter, from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, illustrated by Edouard Manet
The poem is arguable best read, but it sounds remarkably good when voiced by horror actor Christopher Lee:
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