What was the name of Poe's first collection of short stories, published in 1840?

Edgar Allan Poe's first short-story collection was Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, published in 1840.

The Philadelphia firm Lea & Blanchard issued the collection in two volumes. It gathered stories Poe had previously published, including “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “Ligeia,” “William Wilson,” and “Berenice.” The publisher was encouraged by the attention surrounding “Usher,” but the book was not a major commercial success.

Poe received no royalties for the edition; his compensation consisted of 20 complimentary copies. He dedicated the collection to Colonel William Drayton, a former congressman and judge who may have helped support its publication. In the preface, Poe defended his use of terror, arguing that its source was the human soul rather than German literature.

A common mix-up is confusing this book with Tamerlane and Other Poems, Poe's first published book, which appeared in 1827. Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque was specifically his first collection of short fiction, not his first book overall.