Chapter Member
Spotlight Profile
May 2000
Chapter MemberSpotlight Profile
May 2000
Anne Poe Lehr
Reader, Bookseller
Obsessed. Addicted. Call it what you will. There is no doubt about it--Anne Poe Lehr is inhabited by the world's most voracious book worm. There seemingly is no satisfying her. She's better stocked than most local libraries and circulates boxes of her used books. Eventually, she started her own collector's--first edition--book related business, Poe's Cousin. Why Poe's Cousin? Take a look at her name again. And no, she doesn't know who annually leaves the cognac and roses at the gravesite. A comment about the photo above--it came in titled "Anne is not 50 because she is in London". Anne indicated that this photo was taken at a "non-birthday" celebration (a non-birthday apparently dreaded) with several author luminaries and others in attendance. She is surrounded by the gifts--all books. This must have been a wonderful occasion for Anne since she views authors as one with movie stars. A reader who has a great deal of respect for the aurhor. What could be better? Now, read on and see what happens to those who let an addiction take over.
IC
When you were single, were you often asked if you were related to Poe?
Anne
My "maiden" (I hate that term) name was Anne Poe Pierpont, so the question of my relationship with EAP did not arise very often.
IC
How exactly are you related to Edgar Allan Poe?
Anne
My great great grandfather Neilson Poe was Edgar Allan's cousin. He was married to Josephine Clemm, half sister to Poe's wife Virginia. I'm actually a distant cousin of Edgar Allan.
IC
How was it to have an illustrious ancestor who wrote such somber stories?
Anne
When I was growing up, I was much more familiar with EAP's poetry than with his frightening stories. I remember memorizing The Raven, Annabel Lee, and The Bells (not very original, I'm afraid). My mother introduced me to poetry at an early age, and I have loved it ever since. In my late teens, I began reading his stories and enjoyed his use of language as much as I did the plots.
IC
Did you have a sense of Edgar Allan Poe as a person?
Anne
Yes. I thought of him as a tragic figure. I romanticized the premature death of his wife, Virginia Clemm; his poverty; and his difficult childhood. Any drugs and alcohol that he may have been involved with did not dim my vision.
IC
Were there any legends, family myths, handed down about Edgar Allan?
Anne
It turns out that Neilson Poe was called to the dying Edgar Allan's bedside. Neilson hated Edgar Allan because Edgar had run off with his wife's half sister who was only thirteen or fourteen. The family thought that Edgar Allan had married her to get his hands on her mother Maria's pension. Neilson Poe ended up with Edgar Allan's trunk and sent it back. The family viewed Edgar Allan as a wastrel who ran off with a little girl and was always looking for money, going from relative to relative.One of Neilson and Josephine's sons, my great grandfather John Prentiss Poe, named one of his sons Edgar Allan Poe. At one point there were four living Edgar Allan Poes. Now there are two (the III and the IV.)
IC
What kind of fiction did you read as a teenager?
Anne
I have been a voracious and eclectic reader all my life. My school handed out multi-paged reading lists each summer, and I would start with "A" and read the entire list. I devoured Austen, the Brontes, Tolstoy, Ayn Rand, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Frances Parkinson Keyes, and many, many others. I learned history through historical novels like Gone with the Wind (read annually), War and Peace (read three times), and many authors who dealt with the Middle Ages. The Medieval novels led me to major in Medieval Studies at Barnard College, and to continue with graduate work at Columbia. I remember one summer that I devoted to Charles Dickens. I lay on the couch and read beautiful, multi-volume, leather bound editions of almost all of his novels. As an only child, I made friends with the characters in books, and still feel that they are a part of me.
IC
How about in your late twenties?
Anne
By my late twenties I had acquired a husband, and two sons. (I was 31 when my third son was born.) I was still reading historical novels, but wonderful authors like Sharan Kay Penman were not writing fast enough. I desperately needed a new genre, and discovered mysteries. I had read all the Nancy Drew's as a child, but had not continued to read mysteries. A friend gave me five or six cartons of paperbacks, so I started with Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time. That hooked me, and I read all of Christie, Tey, Sayers, Hare, Queen, etc. After the classics, I looked for new writers, and just kept reading a book or two a day.
IC
A day? Unless these were library books they must have been the nucleus of what was to become Poe's Cousin, right? Tell us what Poe's Cousin is and how it came about.
Anne
No, the books I read were not library books. In the beginning, they were paperbacks, followed by more paperbacks, and yet more paperbacks. All of my books were arranged by subject and author covering numerous walls of any home we lived in, plus towering TBR piles everywhere. I've always loved to share books, and eventually a system evolved whereby when I finished a book, I'd put it in a box, and my friends would borrow a box or two at a time. They'd actually then put their initials on the box when they finished it, to ensure that they wouldn't take it again! The problem for paperbacks, except paperback originals (PBOs), was that I had to wait a year for them to come out. This led to buying hardcovers of my favorite authors. This drove my poor husband completely around the bend. I was still a reader, not a collector, and I had a much better selection than any of the libraries in Westchester County, NY.When my third son was ready for high school, we moved from Scarsdale to White Plains. I wanted him in a less pressured academic environment. We bought a large house, and my Mom moved in with us. My husband was sure that this house would be large enough to remain uncluttered by my manic book acquisition. One day, I decided that it was time for me to find a new career, since two of my sons were in college, and the youngest was in high school. I knew that I wanted a home business, and I tried to think of what one activity had never lost its appeal - books was the answer! I told my family I was going to sell via catalog all my used paperbacks and hardcovers. Mysteries formed the largest part of my recent reading, and as a cousin of EAP, the name Poe's Cousin popped into my head. After sending away for numerous catalogs from advertisers in The Armchair Detective(TAD), I realised that my books were not what I wanted to sell.
Credit card mania followed. As a trained medievalist, I knew how to research arcane subjects, so I amassed a large library of reference books on first editions, points of issue, pricing, etc. Once every closet was full of books, I announced to my husband and mother that I was a bookseller. They were dumbfounded, to say the least, at the number of books that suddenly appeared, but they were extremely supportive. Luckily, Jon, my husband, thoroughly enjoys book fairs and conventions, and we are definitely partners in this venture. Many, many booksellers shared their expertise with me. Authors are extremely pleasant about signing books, and many have become my friends, along with booksellers and many of my customers. The book community is a very special one. Poe's Cousin has evolved into a way of life, and given me tremendous satisfaction.
IC
You are a New York native, aren't you?
Anne
Nope, I'm not a damn Yankee! I was born at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. I was raised in Avon, CT, where my father was headmaster of Avon Old Farms, a boy's boarding school. Since both my parents came from Baltimore, I always considered myself to be a Southerner. We are a family that can't seem to throw anything away, so I have become the official family archivist. That was my vocation prior to becoming a bookseller.
IC
I imagine you have an impossible "to be read" pile. How do you decide which book to read next?
Anne
With 10,000 titles available, I frequently complain that I have nothing to read. I pick books to suit my mood, from hard-boiled to historical to cozies, and occasionally a soup can.
IC
Authors seem to go crazy trying to promote their work--from doing book signings to giving out odd trinkets at conventions. As a reader and bookseller, what's the most effective method of book promotion you've encountered?
Anne
Personal contact works best with me. I enjoy giving new authors a chance. Good writing also helps. Writing is a solitary pursuit, and I often feel that it is unfair to expect authors to shine like movie stars at signings and conventions. Since I am an in home business specializing in first editions, and not a storefront, I do not receive very many galleys. It would be wonderful if authors would put me on their personal galley lists with publicists. Collectors want to know about interesting writers, and specialty book businesses like Poe's Cousin have a unique opportunity to recommend authors to the collecting community. Our hand selling of each book allows us to give equal weight to authors from small publishers, as well as from large ones.
IC
Why did you decide to specialize in first editions rather than sell the huge existing collection of books you already had?
Anne
After ordering many catalogs from dealers' ads in TAD, I discovered the wonderful world of first editions, and that British books were available, as well as American ones. The books in the attic tended to be very well read paperbacks and hardcovers, which had almost no monetary value. The field of first and limited editions opened up a whole new way to look at books. I love research, reading, and a challange, so I blindly leapt into a whole new field. Our credit rating has never been the same since. Tracking down issue points, authors' signatures, which book is the true first, etc. has been both exhilerating and daunting.
IC
So now you are maintaining two collections of books--those you read or have read for yourself and those intended for the first edition connoisseur?
Anne
Right. My books still go in and out of the house in bags for friends to read and enjoy, and my attic is extremely full, along with the bathtub on the third floor--we don't use it, so I filled it with books. The first editions are housed most carfeully in bookcases throughout the house. We live in a large rambling house, and as each of my sons leave, I turn his room into another sales room. Naturally we had to install central air conditioning for the books, since humidity control is vital. My personal to-be-read pile lives anywhere where the bookcases don't. There are enormous piles of books stacked everywhere, except in the living room. Some visitors think I'm a bit odd, but my friends tend to understand. What they understand is another story.
IC
What has been your greatest joy in operating Poe's Cousin?
Anne
Poe's Cousin has empowered me by proving that I could found and build a successful business from scratch. The wonderful network amongst authors, dealers, customers, and yes, even publishers has proved to be a joy beyond all expectations.
IC
What thought would you like to leave with our visitors?
Anne
Come visit Poe's Cousin on the web, by appointment, or at bookfairs and conventions, and let's explore books together.
IC
Thanks, Anne, for tearing yourself away from your books.
This interview was conducted for SinC-IC by Louise Guardino during the month of April 2000.
Anne Poe Lehr's "Poe's Cousin" link
poescousin@sinc-ic.org spot@sinc-ic.org
Read an earlier Spotlight Profile
