Poe as Reviewer of Death; or Medorus' Dream

In the December 1843 issue of Graham's Magazine (vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 319–20) is a brief but substantive review of Robert Tyler's long poem Death; or Medorus' Dream (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1843). This unsigned review was first tentatively assigned as having been Poe's work by William Doyle Hull in his 1941 dissertation "A Canon of the Critical Works of Edgar Allan Poe" (pp. 388–89). Hull's argument is mostly a series of short extracts from the review juxtaposed against a number of extracts from other reviews known to have been by Poe, primarily focusing on the dismissive statements about allegory. In his catalog, he assigns the item a number, an indication that he is confident in his conclusions, and summarizes his position as follows: "The general style, tone, attitude, and method convince me that this review is Poe's." He might also have noted Poe's close connection to Robert Tyler earlier in 1843. Robert, the eldest son of President John Tyler, was acquainted with Poe's friend Frederick William Thomas, and had been instrumental in trying to obtain for Poe a government appointment, although these efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. Such circumstances would perhaps explain a generally favorable review by Poe of a mostly forgettable poem by a mostly forgettable and thoroughly amateur poet.

Unfortunately, there has been no external evidence to validate the plausible but conjectured authorship of the review . . . until now. A copy of the December 1843 issue of Graham's Magazine, damaged but with the original paper wrappers, was recently offered for sale on eBay. The rear cover lists the table of contents and, in a separate section, the names of contributors for the issue. Poe's name appears near the end of the list of contributors, but not at all in the table of contents. For reference, I give the full lists of contributors and contents from the wrapper:

CONTRIBUTORS TO THE DECEMBER NUMBER.
N. R WILLIS, Author of "Two ways of Dying for a Husband," etc.	MRS. LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY, Author of "Zinzindorf, and other Poems," etc.
T. B. READ. WILLIAM H. C. HOSMER.	MRS. EMMA C. EMBURY, Author of "Constance Latimer, the Blind Girl," etc.
ALFRED B. STREET, Author of "The Burning of Schenectady and other Poems."	MRS. FRANCES S. OSGOOD, Author of 'A Wreath of Wild Flowers from New England," etc.
T. C GRATTAN, Author of "Highways and Byways," etc.	F. E. F., Author of "A Marriage of Convenience."
HENRY WILLIAM HERBERT, Author of "Cromwell," etc.	MISS C. MITCHELL. CAROLINE ORNE.
CHARLES J. PETERSON, Author of "Cruising in the Last War," etc.	HENRY T. TUCKERMAN, Author of "Rambles and Reveries," etc.
WILLIAM E. BURTON FRANCIS J. GRUND. "FITZ-CHARLES."	EDGAR A. POE, Author of "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque," etc. M. TOPHAM EVANS. S. D. PATTERSON.
ORIGINAL PAPERS.
Nora Mehidy, Or the Strange Road to the Heart of Mr. Hypolet Leathers. By N. P. WILLIS.	A Day in the Woods, Or English and American Game. By FRANK FORESTER.
Evening and Morning. By T. B. READ.	Marriage A La Mort. A Passage from the Annals of the Reign of Terror. By WILLIAM E. BURTON.
The Wife. By Mrs. F. S. OSGOOD.
Reply of the Great Oak at Geneseo to the Charter Oak at Hartford. By WM. H. C. HOSMER.	Oriska. By Mrs. LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY.
Intimate Friends. By F. E. F.	Truth—A Fiction
A Dream of the Past. By CAROLINE ORNE.	The Sister of Charity. By EMMA C. EMBURY.
The Mother's Jewel.	Reminiscences of Germany. German Dreams.
An Autumn Landscape. By ALFRED B. STREET.	By FRANCIS J. GRUND. The Masques of Jonson. By M. TOPHAM EVANS.
The Oriole or Hanging Bird. By Miss C. MITCHELL.
A Tale of Chamouny. By THOMAS COLLEY GRATTAN.	"How Old Art Thou?" By SAMUEL D. PATTERSON.
REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.
Poems of Samuel Rogers. With Numerous Illustrations.	Death; or Medorus' Dream. By the Author of "Ahasuerus."

Recognizing that Frank Forester was the well-known pseudonym of Henry William Herbert, all the names of contributors can be matched against the table...