Plate Block of 4, $.03 US Postage Stamps, Edgar Allan Poe, 1949, S986

On the 100th anniversary of the death of Edgar Allan Poe, October 7, 1949 in Richmond VA; the USPS issued this 3-cent stamp as part of the Famous American Series, honoring the American writer, poet, editor and literary critic. Poe was considered part of the American Romantic Movement, best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, he was one of the earliest American operatives of the short story and considered to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Poe contributed to the emerging science fiction genre, also publishing works in the horror fiction, Gothic romance, crime fiction, detective fiction, comedy and satire genres. Poe was born on January 19, 1809 and died of unknown cause on October 7, 1849.