University of Virginia Library

VII

NO. 13 WEST RANGE: A POE
MUSEUM

DURING the Centenary Celebration the
room which Poe occupied while a student
was used as a museum for Poeana. It was
opened on January 16 under the auspices of the
Raven Society, and visitors were admitted until
the 20th. A considerable collection of Poe material
was displayed. These memorials included
the bronze bust of Poe designed by Zolnay;
an oil painting of the Fordham Cottage by
Sadakichi Hartman; an autographed letter
of the poet's; the lace cap of his sister Rosalie;
the entire library of Poe literature presented
to the University of Virginia Library by Dr.
James A. Harrison, editor of the Virginia
edition of his works; a stuffed raven presented
by an alumnus from Montana; a number
of framed letters and poems by distinguished
literary men; engravings of Poe's

residences; and a very interesting group of
portraits of the author at various periods of
his life. This material was lent by the University
of Virginia, members of its faculty,
and friends.

This little room, 13 West Range, is the
only spot at the University of Virginia actually
reminiscent of the living Edgar Allan
Poe. That he did pass here and there on the
grounds is of course true; but that he dwelt
and dreamed in this dormitory has been satisfactorily
proven. It was the home of the
poet. Here he studied and wrote for the better
part of a year; here on the bare walls he
sketched the charcoal studies that served as
decorations; here on the last night of his residence
at the University he split a rough deal
table to furnish fire-wood. And to this spot
as to a shrine came many visitors during the
Centenary Celebration.

The room itself is one of the row of dormitories
built under Jefferson's direction about
eighty-five years ago. It forms part of what
is called "West Range," a long line of single
cloistral cells, in front of which extends a
covered walk or arcade, formed by the overhanging

roof supported by square brick columns.
It looks toward the west, giving a
view of the misty reaches of the Blue Ridge,
and nearer, toward the south, of the broken,
tree-clad Ragged Mountains,—the scene of the
poet's solitary rambles and lone communings.
Over the door is a simple bronze tablet, the
gift of Miss Whiton and Miss Bangs of Washington,
D. C., bearing the inscription: Domus
parva magni poetæ.

Within the single door is a severely bare
apartment. The room is about twelve by
fourteen feet in dimensions, with a comparatively
low ceiling. It contains one window
opposite the entrance, and on the right a grate
fireplace with a plain wood mantel shelf. On
either side of the mantel are recesses a couple
of feet deep. What it looked like in the poet's
day can only be conjectured, but it was probably
much the same as at present; indeed,
there is sufficient evidence to uphold the belief
that despite the hard use to which university
dormitories are subjected, the floor,
though patched, is composed in the main of
the very boards across which Poe's restless
feet paced, and that the mantel is the same
before which he brooded during long watches.

For many years the room was used as a
dormitory inhabited by a succession of superstitious
or hero-loving students. About 1900
and for three years thereafter the room was
the office of Professor Richard H. Wilson, of
the Department of Romance Languages. In
1906 the University turned the room over to
the Raven Society, an honorary society composed
of the literati and scholars of the institution.
This organization had taken the title
of Poe's famous poem for its name, and a
silhouette of that solemn bird as its insignia.
To do its patron honor, it desired to fit out
his old room. In 1907 a committee was appointed,
but, owing to financial difficulties,
could accomplish nothing. The fall of 1908
a committee composed of L. R. Whipple,
chairman; R. M. Jeffress, and J. B. Holmes,
was selected by The Ravens from their number
to furnish the room.

The society voted money from its own
treasury, and sent out an appeal to its alumni
members. The latter responded generously,
and with the funds secured from these sources,
the committee was able to carry out its intention.
After the consideration of several

plans it was decided to decorate and furnish
the apartment as a student's room in Poe's
time. The place had fallen into a state of serious
disrepair. With the assistance of the
University and Dr. W. A. Lambeth, the necessary
changes were made. Two unsightly
closets were removed, the floor was strengthened,
the mantel adjusted, the walls plastered
and tinted, and the paint renovated.

Then with the co-operation of the Biggs
Antique Company of Richmond, Virginia, and
a firm of decorators in St. Louis, Missouri,
the furnishing was partly completed. The
furniture is all solid mahogany, of the period
of 1830, and most of the pieces are genuine
antiques. Of particular interest is a heavy settee
which at one time was in the Allan home
in Richmond. The table, chairs and hangings
conform to this style. The room has been
suitably marked, and partly furnished, and
with the contributions that will doubless come
with the years, will finally contain worthy
memorials to the poet's fame.