ASYLUM SUMMER 2017 ISSUE PUBLISHED

The Asylum v35 n2 Summer 2017
Table of Contents

NBS 2017 Board of Trustees Slate of Candidates

Benjamin Bell: Memories of a Good Friend by Carlos Jara and David Fanning

United States Numismatic Literature from 1943 by YN Kellen Hoard

A Teeny Island of Numismatic Bibliophile Bindings by George F. Kolbe

ASSOCIATIONS: Autographs • Annotations • Inscriptions by Joel J. Orosz

Jorge Ferrari’s Unpublished Magnum Opus by John W. Adams

Benjamin Bell; 1943 Blue Book

George Kolbe; Ferrari's Unpublished Magnum Opus

J.S.G. Boggs Legal Art $1,000 Bill

Message From the President
Dear Friends,

This is the last message I will be sending to all of you, as my tenure as your President is ending as soon as the election votes are counted.  The incoming Officers and Board of Trustees slate is packed with strong leaders and bibliophiles.  With the addition of new faces on the Board, our organization will remain a vibrant part of the numismatic community.  I would like to leave office with a few thoughts on the NBS, and my hopes for the future.

While change is sometimes hard to accept, or even comprehend, we as literature collectors are faced with a somewhat perplexing problem.  New technologies have allowed us to digitize the content of most of the extant numismatic literature with appropriate permissions.  When I first heard about the Newman Portal, I was a bit skeptical of the possibilities.  But now that I have seen its true potential, I am in awe of its capabilities, and its usefulness in the research communities.  Hence the dilemma…If we should “buy the book before the coin,” what would compel us to purchase, much less collect, numismatic literature if it is easily accessible online?

My answer is quite simple.  Any of you who have entered a public or private library, bookstore, or rare book room, and have held history in your hands, can attest that the feeling is quite unique and thrilling.  The smell of the book, the beauty of the binding, and the feel of the old, fragile pages in your hand, can take us all back in time to the world of the author, and the state of the hobby at that moment.  A computer screen has yet to replicate that feeling, that excitement when we purchase a rarity, hold it in our hands, and put it on your shelf.  I hope it never does.

So, my friends, let us go boldly into the future together.  There should be a respectful balance between the newest technologies and the physical world of numismatic literature.  I see an important place for both in the future of collecting.

Thank you all for mentoring and guiding me through my collecting journey the past 35 years, and I look forward to continuing to support the NBS long into the future.  It has been an honor to serve as an Officer for the past 6 years.  

With warmest regards,
Marc Charles Ricard

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http://www.coinbooks.org/about/membership.html

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