Text: John H. Ingram, “Edgar Poe's Tamerlane,” Athenaeum (London, UK), whole no. 2945, April 5, 1884, pp. 441-442

[page 248:]

EDGAR POE'S ‘TAMERLANE.’

Mr. George Redway's long-promised reprint of Edgar Poe's ‘Tamerlane and other Poems’ has appeared. Prefixed to it is a preface, partly composed of extracts — chiefly unacknowledged — from publications of mine, and partly of abuse of me for having supplied the public with the information thus made use of. “The Editor” is welcome [page 442:] to the bibliographical information about both Tennyson and Poe, but I call upon him to retract his positive accusation that I made a false statement in the Athenæum, November 24th, 1883, when I claimed “to be the discoverer of the first edition of Poe's “Tamerlane,” at the British Museum. Dr. Richard Garnett, had he been applied to, could at once have confirmed my statement. Other allegations of this editor, based on the alleged authority of some American “Mrs. Harris,” are equally wide of the truth. Neither verbally nor in type have I ever claimed to be the possessor of a copy “of the original edition” of “Tamerlane,” nor have I declared the said copy to be “unique.” Nevertheless, this editor will find it as difficult to prove that the British Museum copy — of which he issues a very incorrect reprint — is unique, as now stated on his title-page, as he will to prove that “two or three copies,” as originally averred, are “known to have escaped destruction.” If, instead of slandering those who had done the work he is trying to profit by, the editor had applied to me for information, he could have been put in possession of many facts that would have made this exorbitantly priced book a valuable instead of, what it now is, a valueless item of bibliography.

JOHN H. INGRAM.