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This
single page item is a reproduction of the first page of Edgar
Allen Poe’s classic story, The Tell Tale Heart. It makes
for a terrific piece to frame and decorate a study or bedroom!
The
page is standard 8.5" x 11" in size and has been
hand antiqued via our own unique paper aging process to achieve
a look you won’t find anywhere else.
The
actual page contains the following text (though please note
that the formatting and font will be different as viewed on
this page – see photo for exact formatting and look!):
The
Tell Tale Heart
By
Edgar Allen Poe
TRUE!–nervous–very,
very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you
say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses—not
destroyed–not dulled them. Above all was the sense of
hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the
earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken!
and observe how healthily–how calmly I can tell you the
whole story.
It
is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain;
but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there
was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He
had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his
gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was
this! He had the eye of a vulture–a pale blue eye, with
a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold;
and so by degrees–very gradually–I made up my mind
to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the
eye forever.
Now
this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing.
But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely
I proceeded—with what caution–with what foresight–with
what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the
old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And
every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door
and opened it–oh so gently! And then, when I had made
an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern,
all closed, closed, that no light shone out, and then I thrust
in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly
I thrust it in! I moved it slowly–very, very slowly,
so that I might not disturb the old man’s sleep. It took
me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far
that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! would a madman
have been so wise as this? And then, when my head was well
in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously–oh, so cautiously–cautiously
(for the hinges creaked)–I undid it just so much that
a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye.
Our
antiqued paper is delicately laced with a subtle hint of gold
in the creases creating an almost magical look. (Although
it’s difficult to catch with a camera, you can see in
the image below how the shimmering is caught in the light)
CLICK
HERE TO ORDER NOW
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