The most money before his death was made by his booklet called "The Conchologists
First Book: Or a System of Testaceous Malacology, Arranged Expressly for the use of
Schools" published in 1830.   None of Poe's other works paid him more than to keep
him in cheap whiskey nor did they require reprinting as did his shell book.   Poe
plagiarized much of the information directly from a book by Capt. Thomas Brown,
entitled The Conchologists' Textbook: and even used the same pictures of the shells
put in a back -to-front fasion starting with the most primitive families and ending
with the more advanced families rather than the other way around as was one in
Europe at that time.  Poe only acted as ghost writer for his friend, Professor
Thomas Wyatt, who wanted to publish a cheaper version of his more expensive book on
shells that was not selling too well but could not use his own name because that
would then hurt the sale of his first book even more.  So Poe was paid $50 to put
his name on the book and front for the others that really made money off the book.
Edgar Allen Poe died broke, a drunkard and unknown and after his death his works
became well known and started to sell.
 
Stewart Jones wrote:
 
> For what it's worth....
>
> The version of the Poe story which I choose to believe is in an article I
> wrote several yeara ago, which said:
>
> "Edgar Allen Poe was the innocent subject of a literary scandal in the
> mid-nineteenth century.  He wrote an introduction to "The Conchologist's
> First Book" in 1839, and the publisher, to promote sales, attributed the
> entire book to him.  Poe, unjustly accused of plagiarism, was subjected to
> the wrath of the literary world."
>
> Unfortunately, I can't quote the authenticating source for this.  I know
> that it was in a book in the Sanibel Library (and on page 239, no less!),
> but at this point I can't cite the name of the book or the author.  It may
> be worth another trip to Sanibel to find out!  Any excuse is good enough for me.
>
> sj
 
--
Jim and Bobbi Cordy
of Merritt Island, Florida.
 
Jim Specializes in Self-Collected
Caribbean & Florida Shells
 
Bobbi in Shell Creations