Thomas James Wise

Thomas James Wise (1859–1937) was an English bibliophile and a notorious literary forger. He was also a distinguished private book collector, with his Ashley Library in London becoming a destination for scholars.12

In 1934, John W. Carter and Henry Graham Pollard published An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets, revealing that approximately 40 to 50 pamphlets, which had commanded high prices, were forgeries and could all be traced back to Wise. Further research confirmed these findings and implicated Wise in other serious offenses, including altering his own copies of early printed books by using leaves taken from copies in the British Museum.2