Edgar Allan Poe Signature
During his time at the University, Edgar Allan Poe participated in a few debates of the Society and served briefly as secretary pro tempore at one meeting. This clipping of Edgar Allan Poe’s signature was originally cut from the Society’s minute book in the late 1800’s and lost to the Society for many years. However, this theft turned out to be rather serendipitous, as it saved Poe’s signature from destruction in the Rotunda Fire of 1895 (in which most of the Society’s archives were destroyed). Over the next century, Poe’s signature came into the possession of an order of nuns in Oregon. The Society was able to acquire the signature from the sisters, and it now resides in the Special Collections of Alderman Library.
