Papers relating to Edgar Allan Poe and John Henry Ingram's Poe collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

Boxes 1-7 contain material from originals in another institution. No copies, transcriptions, or digital photographs can be made without the written permission of the institution holding the original. The location of all known original documents is indicated on the individual folders.

Preferred citation:

Papers Relating to Edgar Allan Poe and John Henry Ingram's Poe Collection, MSS 16207, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
8 Cubic Feet 15 document boxes, 1 card file and 1 oversize folder
Creator:
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 and Ingram, John Henry, 1842-1916
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Papers Relating to Edgar Allan Poe and John Henry Ingram's Poe Collection, MSS 16207, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The copies and transcriptions of Poe related material in the first series, usually correspondence or manuscripts, includes the names of correspondents, location of the originals if known, the accession number of any material acquired by the University of Virginia and accessioned as a collection before being interfiled in this collection, which was formerly known as the "Poe transcripts." Also included on each folder is the reference to the page citing each item in "The Collected Letters of the Edgar Allan Poe" by John Ward Ostrom (1903-1993), a professor of English at Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. Some original appearances in print have been transferred to Rare Books. The second series contains non-contemporary correspondence about Edgar Allan Poe or the Ingram-Poe collection, particularly its purchase (see Box 8, Folder 18). Much of the correspondence is with the Librarian of the University, John S. Patton, or University of Virginia faculty. The third series contains various papers, articles, news clippings and printed material arranged chronologically by year, a checklist compiled by John Ward Ostrom, notes on Poe, thesis by Alevia Stiles Alexander, and the unpublished manuscript for "The True Story of Edgar Allan Poe" by John Henry Ingram, also available on microfilm M-2433. The last series contains Poe miscellany, including a cigarette card, photographs, post cards, prints, a scrapbook on Dr. Thomas Holley Chivers compiled by John Dewitt Miller and John Wilson Townsend, 6 Poe Miscellany scrapbooks compiled by John S. Patton, 13 etching blocks for John Henry Ingram illustrations, and an alphabetical index card file for Poe transcripts and copies.

He writes concerning the neglected condition of Poe's grave and a proposed monument to Poe, sent from Sarah H. Whitman to John H. Ingram.

He declines to write an article on Poe and discusses the work already done on Poe by Baudelaire and Hennequin.

He writes concerning a prose adaptation in one act of "The Tell Tale Heart."

Reynolds sends a caption and several corrections to his written statement about Poe given previously to [Harrison?] and discusses his Poe collection, all presumably to aid in the publication of "The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe" edited by Professor Harrison.

Includes Tabb's poem for the Poe centenary and copies of "Poe's Purgatory" and "Rejected."

Bewley sends a copy of his book on the family of Poe.

Weiss sends a copy of her book on the home life of Poe.

About 24 letters and postcards concerning Poe poems, manuscripts, editions, portraits, his desk at the "Southern Literary Messenger" office, and scattered comments about John R. Thompson.

Discusses a conference of people interested in Poe's philosophy as expressed in "Eureka" and refers to an article on Poe by O'Sullivan.

Praises Mourey's translation of Poe.

Writes on the subject of the authenticity of the small bust portrait of Poe offered to the University of Virginia Library by Mr. J.B. MonGar, supposedly painted by Edmund Darley in the 1840s.

Contains about 28 letters concerning her book, "Edgar Allan Poe: The Man," John R. Thompson, and other Poe related matters.

Tucker writes regarding a medical diagnosis of Poe's brain condition.

The postcard concerns information on a clipping.

Items include articles about Chivers and Poe; correspondence of John Wilson Townsend about Chivers, including one from Dewitt Miller, November [8], 1909, where he expresses the belief that Chivers published ten works (page 36); notes kept on Chivers works (pages 37-47); clippings about Chivers life and work (pages 49-59); letters from E.P. Chivers, grandson of Dr. Chivers, and from Emma Chivers Potter, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Holley Chivers, about biographical information (pages 61-73); photographs of Thomas Holley Chivers (page 77) and his daughter, Emma Chivers Potter (page 79); Charles W. Kent letter to Townsend, assuring him that the Raven Society would welcome the Chivers Scrapbook, October 10, 1911 (page 89); correspondence of John Wilson Townsend with institutions concerning whether they own any Chivers materials; (83-99); and "In Praise of Dewitt Miller," 1911, by Townsend (pages 107-115).

Items include correspondence of John Wilson Townsend with institutions concerning whether they own any Chivers materials; one letter, February 21, 1908, from Emma Chivers Potter, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Holley Chivers, about biographical information; two articles about Chivers, 1896-1897, and bibliographical notes about two books by Chivers.

Biographical / historical:

John Henry Ingram (1842-1916) was an English biographer and editor with a particular interest in the rehabilitation of the character and literary reputation of Edgar Allan Poe, which had been damaged by the memoir of Poe written by Rufus W. Griswold and published in 1850. He was the author of "Edgar Allan Poe His Life, Letters, and Opinions," editor of "The Works of Edgar Allan Poe" (The Ingram Edition), 1874-1875, as well as others such as "Elizabeth Barrett Browning," "Christopher Marlowe and His Associates," and "Chatterton and His Poetry." Ingram was born to John and Henrietta Smith Ingram at Finsbury, Middlesex, England. Upon his father's death, Ingram had to withdraw from the City College of London and obtained a Civil Service Commission and appointment to the Savings Bank Department of the London General Post Office on January 13, 1868. He spent his days employed in his work as a clerk and his evenings devoted to his real interest of studying and writing about literature, and collecting materials about Edgar Allan Poe. For a much fuller biographical summary of John Henry Ingram, please see the online biographical note: http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=uva-sc/viu00220.xml and the biographical sketch in the "Guide to the Microfilm Edition of John Henry Ingram's Poe Collection," Paul P. Hoffman, editor (1967).

Acquisition information:
This part of the Ingram-Poe collection was not actually purchased from Laura Ingram with the main body of the collection (1922 March 17) but assembled by Special Collections staff over the years, some from other manuscript accessions and some copies of materials from other institutions or owners. In 1933, Laura Ingram gave the University of Virginia her brother's unpublished manuscript, "The True Story of Edgar Allan Poe," found in boxes 12-13 of this collection.
Processing information:

This collection was originally cataloged as part of MSS 38-135 but it is not described in the guide to the Ingram-Poe collection. It was commonly called the "Poe transcripts" even though it consisted primarily of copies of Poe correspondence, not transcriptions. Rather than re-write the Ingram-Poe guide to include this material, we decided to split off these boxes and write a guide just for them. Some items in the collection were transferred from other collections in the University of Virginia Special Collections Library and these are noted in individual descriptions at the folder level. Some of this material consists of copies of Edgar Allan Poe papers held at institutions other than the University of Virginia and these folders and boxes (Boxes 1-7) are stamped with that information.

Arrangement:

Series I: Copies and transcriptions of Poe related material (Boxes 1-7); Series II: Correspondence about Edgar Allan Poe or the John Henry Ingram-Poe collection (Box 8); Series III: Papers, articles, news clippings or works about Poe (Boxes 9-13); and Series IV: Poe Miscellany, includes prints, scrapbooks (Boxes 13-16).

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard