Edgar Allan Poe — Nevermore

"The Raven", first published in January 1845, follows a man mourning his lost Lenore on a bleak December night, and a black bird that answers every question with a single word: "Nevermore". That word is the heart of this poster.

In the middle sits Gustave Doré's engraving for the poem: a man drags open a heavy fall of curtains with both hands, the raven sweeps over him with its wings spread, and a banner across the top of the picture carries the word "Nevermore". The plate glows out of the dark in ink and bone tones, its edges fading into black. Below it, "Nevermore." in large blood-red blackletter, then the line itself: Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." Poe's name runs along the top; at the bottom, "The Raven · 1845" and "Engraving · Gustave Doré · 1884".

Black, bone and red

Three colours and a lot of black: it holds its own on a pale wall or a dark one. Hang it in a gothic bedroom, above a bookshelf, or over the desk where you write late.

Engraving by Gustave Doré from the edition of "The Raven" published by Harper & Brothers in 1884, after his death (Metropolitan Museum of Art scan, public domain).

More posters of the writer are on the Edgar Allan Poe page, with the whole Gothic world next door.

Printed in Tunisia, paid on delivery.