Edgar Allan Poe’s Pocket Watch
On June 12, 2019, Christie’s Auction House, in New York, sold Poe’s pocket watch (item 209). The final price was $250,000. The estimate was $80,000 – 120,000. The watch is described as “French. An 18K gold key-wound quarter repeating open-face pocket watch with metal guilloche dial Roman hour markers and spade hands. The cuvet (dust-cover) is engraved, “Enchappement A Cylindre En – Aiguilley – Edgar A. Poe – Pierre Huit Trous En Rubis.” The inside case-back cover is engraved with the case number 21705. The case is 51 mm.”
The summary provenance states “Edgar A Poe, with engraved inscription – acquired by John W. Albright, merchant tailor of Philadelphia and one of Poe’s creditors c. 1840-1842 – given to his brother, H.A. Albright in 1845 and as follows:
On H.A. Albright’s death bequeathed to his mother, Sarah Albright.
On her death in 1866 – bequeathed to her son, Robert W. Albright.
On his death in 1887 or 1888 bequeathed to his daughter, Catherine Staubus of Port Madison, Iowa.
Sold by the Staubus family c. 1894 to Adolf Michael (c. 1850 – 1924), jeweler of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
On his death in 1924 bequeathed to his nephew, G.A. Michael.
On his death sold by his widow to the antiques dealer Bod DeWitt also of Green Bay.
Sold by DeWitt to Major A.W. Schmidt of Crivitz, Wisconsin in 1977 – by direct descent to the current owner.
The watch ended up being the second most expensive item sold as the auction. The buyer was not identified. At the same auction was also sold a letter from Poe to Nicholas Biddle, dated January 6, 1841. The letter sold for $52,500, from an estimate of $20,000 – 30,000 Increasingly, auction houses tend not to list current owners, making it more difficult to trace provenance.
Excerpt from the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore‘s Annual Report and Newsletter 2019
