Once Upon a Midnight Dreary (Under the Lamp), illustration to The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

In 1875, poet Stéphane Mallarmé published Le Corbeau, his French translation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” Mallarmé asked his artist-friend Edouard Manet to provide illustrations for the limited edition publication, which sold for a mere 25 francs. Manet complied with a series of five lithographs which presented four crucial moments in the narrative, as well as an ex libris (bookplate). The dark, sketchy atmosphere of Manet’s compositions mirrors the foreboding tenor of Poe’s poem, which tells of a heartbroken lover tormented by the midnight intrusion of a talking raven in his chamber. One of Poe’s best-known works, the tale of the raven who quothed “Nevermore” has been a popular source for other artist-illustrators, including Gustave Doré, John Tenniel, and James Carling.