Baltimore Saturday Visiter
Encyclopedia
The Baltimore Saturday Visiter was a weekly periodical in Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th century. It published some of the early work of Baltimore writer Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
.
History
It was established in 1832 by Charles Cloud and Lambert Wilmer, a friend of Poe. Popular at first, the Visiter later became abolitionist and in 1847 was absorbed by the abolitionist National Era of Washington D.C.Poe submitted to the Visiter six tales as entries to a contest sponsored by the publication. The newspaper promised a $50 prize for the best tale and a $25 prize for the best poem submitted by October 1, 1833. About 100 entries were received but the judges chose Poe's "MS. Found in a Bottle
MS. Found in a Bottle
"MS. Found in a Bottle" is an 1833 short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The plot follows an unnamed narrator at sea who finds himself in a series of harrowing circumstances. As he nears his own disastrous death while his ship drives ever southward, he writes an "MS.", or manuscript...
" for its originality. In addition to the $50 prize, the story was published in the October 19 issue of the Visiter. The contest, however, had some controversy. The winner of the poetry portion of the contest, "Henry Wilton," was revealed to actually be John Hewitt, the editor of the Visiter. Poe claimed Hewitt had won by "underhanded means."
General
- Entry for Baltimore Saturday Visiter. Guide to Maryland Newspapers. Maryland State Archives. Jan. 15, 2007.
- Entry for Baltimore Saturday Visitor. Guide to Maryland Newspapers. Maryland State Archives. Jan. 15, 2007.
- Entry for Baltimore Visiter. Guide to Maryland Newspapers. Maryland State Archives. Jan. 15, 2007.
- Entry for Saturday Morning Visiter. Guide to Maryland Newspapers. Maryland State Archives. Jan. 15, 2007.
- French, John C. "Poe and the Baltimore Saturday Visiter." Modern Language Ntes, Vol. 33, No. 5 (May 1918), pp. 257–267.
- Hall, Clayton Colman. Baltimore: Its History and Its People vol. 1. Lewis Historical Publishing Co. Digitized Sept. 11, 2006. p. 712, accessed Jan. 28, 2007.