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This census is believed to record all known
surviving copies of Tamerlane
and Other Poems. The provenance of each entry is established as
authoritatively
as possible, given the sketchy and often convoluted bits of information
available. In nearly all case, the chain of owners has gaps, especially
among the early owners, whose names are generally known only if the
owner
left an inscription. |
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Copies with paper cover intact:
- Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
(rebound,
with wrappers intact) The list of prior owners of this copy is as
follows: 1.
Richard Lichtenstein, Boston clerk at Burnham's Antique Book Shop in
Cornhill
(purchased about 1874 in a book stall in Boston for 15 cents); 2.
Dodd, Mead & Co., New York booksellers; 3. George T.
Maxwell,
New York collector (purchased from Dodd, Mead & Co. from their Catalogue
of Americana, no. 30, dated October 1892, for $1,850. This owner
had
it rebound, for $400, in crushed brown morocco in Paris by Lortic, but
fortunately retained the original wrappers); 4. Thomas
Jefferson
McKee (1840-1899), New York attorney and collector (purchased April 25,
1895 for $1450, from the Maxwell auction); 5. George H.
Richmond,
New York bookseller (purchased at an Anderson Galleries auction in New
York on November 22, 1900 (lot 591), for $2,050 and immediately
resold); 6.
Frederic Robert Halsey (1847-1918), New York attorney and collector
(purchased
in 1900 from G. H. Richmond for $2,550); 7. Henry E.
Huntington
(1850-1927), New York and California collector, bought most of Halsey's
Poe collection. John W. Roberston states that Huntington bought both of
Halsey's copies of Tamerlane, but sold one as a duplicate to a
Boston
collector for $11,600 (Robertson, vol. II, p. 65); 8. Henry E.
Huntington
Library (donated by H. E. Huntington in 1919-1922). (A
handwritten
note by Joseph Katz, on the rear flyleaf of his copy of New
Glimpses
of Poe, 1902, says "In Boston, at an auction sale, April 28, 1892,
I saw a bookseller of New York buy for $1,850 'Tamerlane and Other
Poems'.")
- Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center,
University
of
Texas,
Austin, Texas (formerly in the William H. Koester collection. This copy
was originally found in Virginia about 1895, the only copy discovered
outside
of New England.) The list of prior owners of this copy is as follows: 1.
Wade Keyes (an early owner, whose name is written on the title page of
the book); 2. Thomas Dwight Samuel (another early owner, whose
name
is written on the book); 3. Eugene Lemoine Didier (1838-1913),
Baltimore; 4.
William Evarts Benjamin, New York bookseller (purchased in New York in
1888); 5. Frederic Robert Halsey (1847-1918) (purchased about
1901-1905); 6.
Henry E. Huntington (1850-1927) (purchased by Huntington in 1919, but
sold
as a duplicate); 7. Frederick R. Halsey (purchased through
George
D. Smith for $10,500); 8. Frank Brewer Bemis, a Boston
collector
(purchased through George D. Smith on February 18, 1919, for $11,600); 9.
Frank J. Hogan (1879-1944) (purchased through Dr. Abraham Simon Wolf
Rosenbach
(1876-1952), Philadelphia and New York bookdealer); 10. William
H. Koester (1888-1964), Baltimore businessman and collector (purchased
in January 1945 through New York dealer John F. Fleming at an
auction
by Parke-Bernet Galleries, for $15,500); 11. University of
Texas
(purchased in 1966 along with the bulk of Koester's collection). (A
handwritten
note by Joseph Katz, on the rear flyleaf of his copy of New
Glimpses
of Poe, 1902, says "Now in 1925 is found in a New England attic
another
copy which is sold by Mr Goodspeed to a private collector for
$11,600.")
- Berg Collection, New York Public Library (the
Young-Berg
copy)
(formerly in the collection of Owen D. Young. This copy was discovered
in 1925. On the cover, in ink, is the handwritten price of "9d.") The
list
of prior owners of this copy is as follows: 1. Martha M.
Nelson,
a school teacher, aged about 19, to Susan Saunders, a nine-year old
pupil,
in Milford, MA (presented by the teacher in 1834. Inscribed on the back
of the front cover: "Presented to Susan Saunders from Martha A.
Nelson."); 2.
Susan Saunders (the young girl wrote her name "Susan Saunders" on the
front
cover and on page 23, "Susan Saunders aged 10 years."); 3. Mrs.
Ada S. Dodd, Worcester, MA (the niece of S. Saunders); 4.
Charles
Eliot Goodspeed (purchased in 1925); 3. Owen D. Young
(1874-1950)
a New York attorney and president of General Electric Co. (purchased
about
1925, for $17,500); 4. Dr. Albert Ashton Berg (1872-1950), New
York
collector (Dr. Berg purchased a half-interest in Young's collection); 5.
New York Public Library (donated by Mr. Young and
Dr.
Berg in 1941).
- Lilly Library, Indiana University (from the
collection of
Josiah
K. Lilly.) (This copy was officially discovered in 1925) The list of
prior
owners of this copy is as follows: 1. Unknown, apparently in
New
Hampshire (sold at auction abput 1919, perhaps for $11,500); 2.
William F. Sullivan, Nasha, NH; 3. Charles Eliot Goodspeed,
Boston
bookseller (purchased in 1926 for $20,000); 4. Josiah Kirby
Lilly,
Jr. (1893-1966) (purchased from C. E. Goodspeed in 1926 for $25,000); 5.
Indiana University (donated by Lilly in 1964).
- Private Collection, California (formerly in
the H.
Bradley
Martin
Collection. This copy was discovered in 1926 or 1927 in the New York
area.
This copy appears to have been intentionally notched, a small v-shaped
cutout, on the middle of the front edge and near the middle of the
bottom
edge, suggesting that it was marked as a remainder.) The list of prior
owners of this copy is as follows: 1. Martha Ann Flint (the earliest
known
owner, her signature being on the inside of the front cover); 2. Sigurd
Neandross, Ridgefield, NJ (1926 or 1927); 3. Dr. Abraham Simon Wolf
Rosenbach
(1876-1952), Philadelphia and New York (February 1927, for $15,000); 4.
Mrs. George Blumenthal, Paris (about 1927, for $28,500); 5. consigned
by
the Blumenthals to A. S. W. Rosenbach for sale (April 1931), but no
purchasers
came forward; 6. Gabriel Wells, New York (Wells purchased the
Blumenthal's
entire Poe collection in 1933, for $50,000); 7. H. Bradley Martin
(1906-1988)
(Martin bought Well's entire Poe collection in 1935-1940); 8. Private
collector
(purchased at the auction of the collection of H. Bradley Martin,
Southeby's,
New York, January 1990).
- Alderman Library, University of Virginia (This
copy
was
discovered
about 1929.) The list of prior owners of this copy is as follows: 1.
Phatimer Kinsell, Boston (an early owner whose name is known from his
inscription
on the title-page. Southeby's 1988 catalogue notes that it was "given
to
his sweetheart.") 2. Mary Reed, Waldoborough, Maine (the
sweetheart
mentioned in the inscription by Kinsell); 3. Patrick Kevin
Foley
(1856-1937), Boston bookdealer; 4. Arthur Swann, New York
bookdealer
(purchased in 1929 for a sum that exceeded $20,000); 5. Mrs.
Shereburne
Prescott, Greenwich, CT (purchased prior to 1933, apparently through
New
York bookdealer James Drake); 6. Clifton Waller Barrett,
Charlottesville,
VA (also purchased through James Drake); 7. The University of
Virginia
(donated by Mr. Barrett about 1956); 8. Stolen from the
Alderman
Library about 1974, current whereabouts are unknown.
- Joseph Regenstein Library, University of
Chicago. n.
William
E. Stockhausen, Dorset, VT (Purchased after 1959. Stockhousen died in a
traffic accident in the Spring of 1973 or 1974); 1. Samuel
Adams
(an early owner whose name is know only by the inscription on the
cover); 2.
Unknown, apparently a postman in Bedford, MA; 3. Seven Gables
Bookshop,
New York (owned by Michael Papantonio. Purchased in 1954 for about
$10,000
from Whitman Bennett, New York bookdealer, who sold in on consignment
from
the prior owner); 4. Jean and Donald Stralem, New York
(purchased
in 1954); 5. William E. Stockhausen (1898-1974), New York
collector
(purchased in 1970. Stockhausen died in a traffic accident in the
Spring
of 1974); 6. Joseph and Helen Regenstein Library, University of
Chicago (purchased in 1974, through New York dealer John F. Fleming
(1910-1987)
at a Sotheby Parke-Bernet auction, for $123,000).
- Private Collection, New York (This copy was
discovered in
1988.
Displayed at the Richmond Poe Museum, Oct. 1998-present.) The list of
prior
owners is as follows: 1. An antiques shop in southern New
Hampshire; 2.
private collector, Massachusetts (Purchased on February 29, 1988 for
the
remarkably low price of $15); 3. Private collector, New York
(purchased
on June 7, 1988 from Sotheby's auction in New York for $198,000,
apparently
through Baltimore book dealer Stephan Loewentheil). (This copy has a
circular mark on the cover, apparently made by the bottom of a drinking
glass. The original low purchase price strongly suggests that the
antique shop owner had no idea that the "Bostonian" noted as the author
was Poe, or it was mistakenly thought to be a facsimile.)
Copies with damaged or missing paper cover:
- British Library (rebound, wrappers removed)
The list
of prior owners of this copy is as follows: 1. Samuel G. Drake,
a Boston bookseller; 2. Henry Stevens, Vermont bookseller
(purchased
in 1859 from S. G. Drake); 3. The British Library (purchased in
1860 from Mr. Stevens as part of a lot of Boston tracts imprints. The
book
is stamped with the receiving date of October 10, 1867. The payment was
made in 1867, at one shilling for each title he had sent.) (A
typeset
facsimile, bound in vellum, of this copy was printed in London in 1884
by George Redway, with an introduction by Richard Herne Shepherd. The
number
of copies is presumed to be 100. This facsimile is sometimes referred
to
as a second edition. It corrects some of the typographical errors
present
in the original)
- Berg Collection, New York Public Library (the
Howe-Berg
copy)
(This copy, formerly in the collection of W. T. H. Howe, was discovered
in 1937.) The list of prior owners is as follows: 1. Andrew
McCance,
a Boston bookdealer; 2. William. T. H. Howe (1874-1939), New
York
and Cincinnati.(purchased about 1937 through New York bookdealer Alfred
F. Goldsmith); 3. New York Public Library (donated by Dr. Berg
in
1940-1941).
-
William Andrews Clark Library,
University of
California,
Los
Angeles (lacking wrappers) (This copy was discovered in 1914 or 1917.
It
is possible that this copy never had the paper covers and was instead
sold
as unbound sheets as part of the remainder of Thomas's stock. This copy
is marked "M. Hathaway's Book. No. 23." A photographic facsimile of
this
copy was produced in 1923, with separate bibliographic notes by William
Andrews Clark, Jr., and an appreciation by James Grant Wilson.) 1.
M. Hathaway (an early owner whose name appears as an inscription on the
title-page. Southeby's 1988 catalogue says it is "A Hathaway."); 2.
Unidentified woman, Boston; 3. Patrick K Foley (Purchased in
September
1917 with several insignificant books); 4. A. S. W. Rosenbach,
Philadelphia
and New York bookseller (purchased in September 1917 for $3,000.
Rosenbach
offered the book to Mrs. George Blumenthal of Paris, who chose not to
purchase
it. It appeared in two of Rosenbach's sales catalogues: Catalgoue
of
Rare and Important Books, Broadsides, and Autograph Letters Relating to
America, 1917, Arno no. 7, no. 1003, where the price is given as
"Price
upon application" and Catalogue of an Exhibition of Rare Books,
Autograph
Manuscripts, Literary Documents; comprising English Literature from
Chaucer
to Conrad, 1921, Arno 49, p. 24, described as "As issued with the
original
stiching," with no price given.); 5. William Clark Andrews
(1877-1934),
Montana copper-mining heir and collector (purchased in 1923 for
$9,500); 6.
University of California (donated in 1926).
-
Richard Gimbel Collection,
Free
Library of
Philadelphia
(front
wrapper damaged, rear wrapper lost. The front cover is missing a
triangular
piece approximately 1 inch along the spine edge and two inches along
the
top edge, breaking some of the ornamental border, but not touching the
title. The cover is reproduced in The Poe Log, 1987, p. 82. The
title page of this copy is reproduced as the frontispiece in the
American
Art Association catalogue, Rare & Valuable Books, Autographs,
Manuscripts:
Property of Edgar W. Dunbar, 1938.) (This copy was found in Maine
about
April 16, 1938.) The list of prior owners is as follows: 1.
Joseph
Bigelow, a carpenter in Bloomfield, Maine (his name is known only from
his inscription on the title page, which reads "Joseph Bigelow [/] book
[/] Bloomfield." On the lower margin of the last page also appears the
initial "J."); 2. Edgar W. Dunbar, Skowhegan, Maine collector
(Dunbar's
other Poe items were less significant, including a 2nd edition of The
Conchologist's First Book, 1840, and the 3 volumes of The Works
of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, printed in 1850); 3. James F.
Drake,
New York bookseller (purchased for $4,300 on December 12-13, 1938 for
Col. R. Gimbel); 4.
Col. Richard Gimbel (1898-1970); 5. Free Library of
Philadelphia
(donated
in 1971, in accordance with the last will and testament of Col. Gimbel).
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