The Vault at Pfaff's

An Archive of Art and Literature by the Bohemians of Antebellum New York

The Diamond Lens Controversy

Picton, Thomas. "The Diamond Lens Controversy." New York Times, February 27, 1858, 4.
Electronic Source Available
Type
newspaper
Genre
letter to the editor
literary criticism
Abstract

Thomas Picton, former editor of the Sachem, adds his voice to the debate over the originality of The Diamond Lens.

People Mentioned in this Work
North, William

Thomas Picton asserts that William North was particularly proud of two of his works: The Living Corpse and the unpublished Microcosmos.

O'Brien, Fitz-James

Thomas Picton compares O'Brien to William North stating, "[a]ny person acquainted with the two parties cannot fail to draw a disparaging distinction between the scholastic attainments of the late Mr. North and the Hibernian pretensions of the ever-present and somewhat pertinacious Mr. Fitz-James O'Brien, whose sole merit in Saxon literature must be derived from his apochryphal descent from the Kings of old Erin."