FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2022-012 DAILY FEATURE

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (January 19, 2022) – In Issue 2022-012 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps, we celebrate the birthday of a famous POEt with family ties to the Loveland community.  

NEVERMORE

American poet, writer and editor.  He was born in Boston on this day in 1809 and died in his beloved Baltimore at age 40.  He is Nevermore.  But his memory and legacy lives on.

He is Edgar Allan Poe.

Likely most readers of this article did get exposed in school to The Raven, perhaps Poe’s most memorable poem.   It is about a mysterious talking raven which visits a distraught lover and adds distress by keep repeating the word “Nevermore”.  (NOTE: Click on “The Raven” above for a recorded reading of the famous poem written by Edgar Allan Poe) 

The Baltimore Ravens NFL team borrowed their name from Poe.  They are Nevermore this season.

And then there is the case of the Poe Toaster.  In the early hours on each January 19th a mysterious figure appeared at the poet’s original Baltimore grave site, dressed in black and white scarf. The figure would toast to the dead poet on his birthday with a glass of cognac and then vanish.  This occurred each year from the 1930s to 2009.  The Toaster(s) identity is unknown.  They may be Nevermore.  But if you are in Baltimore, you should consider visiting the grave site on this day.

Here is Baltimore’s map from 1855 issued by one of the most famous and productive American cartographer, Colton.  He and his firm are Nevermore.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.