Thomas Ollive Mabbott had, for nearly forty years, planned and prepared for a comprehensive and authoritative collection of all of the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Sadly, he lived only to see the volume of Poems make it into print. His widow, Maureen Cobb Mabbott, worked with several of TOM's assistants to complete volumes II and III, embracing the Tales and Sketches, an effort that occupied another decade of care and dedication. The material for subsequent volumes was not nearly as far along as it had been for the first three, meaning that even more effort would be needed to proceed with the edition. The responsibility fell to Burton R. Pollin, who had been personally selected by TOM. Harvard University Press declined to continue as the publisher. Instead, the publication was undertaken initially by Twayne, and then by Gordian Press (which also reprinted the first volume issued by Twayne, with a few minor corrections). Gordian produced single runs of each volume, comprising 500 copies each. The collected edition still remained incomplete when Pollin died in 2009. Because it was specifically designed to complement the Mabbott volumes on the poetry and works of fiction, there is no duplication of contents. Treating the combination of volumes as a single series, therefore, the set is often referred to collectively as the Mabbott/Pollin edition.