Primary sourcePhotograph1848
"Ultima Thule" Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe
Edwin H. Manchester · 1848
A daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe taken in Providence shortly after his suicide attempt in November 1848.
A photograph of Poe taken days after his suicide attempt, capturing his state during a personal crisis.
About this source
What it is
This is an engraved image made from the 'Ultima Thule' daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe, taken by Edwin H. Manchester in 1848 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Why it matters
The daguerreotype was taken just days after Poe's suicide attempt, during his troubled courtship of the poet Sarah Helen Whitman. It records his appearance at a moment of deep personal crisis, offering a rare physical trace of the emotional turmoil in Poe's final year of life.
Look closer
- What does the man's expression suggest about his state of mind at the time?
- Why might this image have survived and been reproduced as an engraving?
- How does knowing the circumstances behind a photograph change how you read it?
This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Edgar Allan Poe on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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