Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 27, July 2, 2000: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. SUBSCRIBER UPDATES We have two new subscribers this week: Stoffel Vogelaar of Ireland, and Robert Zavos of Pittsburgh. Welcome aboard! This brings our subscriber count to 299. Who will recruit number 300? ANA SCHEDULE The American Numismatic Association has published the schedule for the upcoming convention in Philadelphia. The full schedule is posted on the ANA's web site at: http://www.money.org/annualcvnschphi.html Not a "Great Debate" or even a not-so-great debate anywhere on the agenda... Still, there will be several events of interest to numismatic bibliophiles and researchers: NBS activities include our annual general meeting, which will take place at 11:30 AM in Room 201C of the Convention Center. More details in future issues. NBS will also host a Numismatic Literature Symposium. Moderated by NBS Board member Dr. Joel Orosz, the symposium will be held on Friday, August 11, from 2 pm to 3:30 (in the same room as the general meeting earlier that day). Participants include NBS Board member Pete Smith, who will be speaking on the books published about the Philadelphia Mint, and Eric Newman, who will be discussing one of the earliest authors on a numismatic topic in the United States, Beale Bordley. Other events of interest for numismatic bibliophiles include the following Numismatic Theater talks: "Exploring the Digital Library", by ANA Librarian Nawana Britenriker (August 9, 11am) "Noted Philadelphia Numismatic Dealers and Collectors 1850-present", by NBS Board member and past president P. Scott Rubin (August 9, 5 pm) "First the Book: Building a Core Numismatic Library", by COIN WORLD editor Beth Deisher (August 13, 9am) NBS members and E-Sylum subscribers (in addition to those named above) make up a large percentage of presenters at the convention, including John Adams, Q. David Bowers, Richard Doty, Michael Fey, George Fuld, David Ganz, Greg and Lisa Heim, David Lange, Tom Sheehan, Bob Van Ryzin, John & Nancy Wilson, and Myron Xenos. Did I miss anyone? Great job, folks! LAKE BOOKS MAIL BID SALE #53 Fred Lake of Lake Books (formerly Function Associates) writes: "we have completed the catalog for our Mail-Bid Sale #53 of numismatic literature. The catalog contains 692 lots that cover the broad spectrum of reference material from Ancients to Modern. The sale has a closing date of July 25, 2000. The catalog can be sent as an email attachment in one of three different formats. They are MS Word, WordPerfect or PDF. To obtain a copy, write to Fred at fredlake@aol.com." HODDER PUBLISHES GOLD RESEARCH Michael Hodder's long-awaited research on American gold bars has been published by the American Numismatic Society in the American Journal of Numismatics (Second Series), No. 11 (1999). "Western American Gold and Unparted Bars: A Review of the Evidence" (p85-149, 9 plates). DAHLONEGA MINT BOOK UPDATED An article in the July 4, 2000 issue of Numismatic News notes the publication of a revised edition of "The Neighborhood Mint: Dahlonega in the Age of Jackson" by Sylvia Galley Head and Elizabeth W. Etheridge. "Beyond the original content from the 1986 printing, this publisher added several high-quality plates that include a newly discovered picture of the mint. Beyond this, a set of color photographs display a nine-coin set from the mint." For ordering information, contact the publisher, Gold Rush Gallery, at (888) 740-1774. While we don't ordinarily reference commercial web sites, here are some interesting Dahlonega Mint-related items including the above-mentioned discovery photo (circa 1877), and a "Letter from C.C. Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate States of America, to Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown, April 3, 1861, concerning proposals that the CSA continue operating the Dahlonega Mint after declaration of War (Written slightly more than a week before War was declared)." http://www.dahlonegagold.com/125.htm http://www.dahlonegagold.com/mem_ltr.htm RATION TOKEN CATALOG UPDATED Bob Dunfield notes that a very useful 1970's-era book on U.S. Ration Tokens has been revised by the Society of Ration Token Collectors. "The new catalog of ration tokens is revised and updated, and from the table of contents sheet that I received, appears to be quite comprehensive! It retails for $45 to non-members, and for $29 to members. The old catalog which I have is numbered, and as such may be of value, since I believe that it was issued in small quantities to the early club founders. Those interested in purchasing the new catalog for their token reference library, and/or wishing to join the club, may contact: The Society of Ration Token Collectors, Attn.: Thomas B. Smith, SRTC Secretary, 618 Jay Drive, Gallipolis, OH., 45631-1314. Dues are $8/year." MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS John and Nancy Wilson write: "We think that Brad Karoleff did a wonderful job on his "Most Important Events in Numismatic History." On our list we would have added Numismatic News, which predates Coin World. Chester L. Krause started this company on a shoestring and it is now one of the leading "Hobby Companies" in the world, with dozens and dozens of numismatic titles. Yes, we would also have had Coin World on the list." A NICE, QUIET PLACE TO READ Regarding Peter Jones, Henry Bergos writes: "I visited him at his home and may have bought some books from him after he left Seaby. He and Donna were great. One interesting thing - planes kept flying over and disturbed us. The house shook! After a while one particular plane passed and the WORLD SHOOK. The books actually moved on the shelves. After I asked about this, he told me their house was in the fly lane for Heathrow. "They" told him that the Concorde wouldn't be any different from regular planes. Ours isn't the only government that LIES!" CAROTHERS EDITIONS Henry also writes about the Carothers "Fractional Money" book: "There are three printings of this book - 1) The original PhD dissertation, which is probably near impossible to get. 2) The Bowers paperback reprint 3) Kelley's 1967 hard cover reprint. The Kelley can be gotten for about the same money as Bowers paperback. They were mostly sold to libraries as this was Kelley's main business. I was the distributor of these. I don't remember but I think there were 2500 copies printed of this great quality publication." BOOK PRESERVATION NBS Board member Joel Orosz writes: "back in the early 80s, when I was earning a Master's Degree in Museum Studies, we were taught that the ideal relative humidity (RH) at which to store books was 50%, at a temperature of 65-68 degrees F. Maybe the standards have changed since, but I would have grave concerns about storing books at an RH higher than 55% -- anything above that would almost certainly create conditions conducive to the growth of mold and mildew on the book." Darryl Atchison writes: "My question relates to reading old books and catalogues. For example, I recently received a publication published in the mid 1870s, which I would swear has never been opened since the binding is so stiff. Obviously, I purchased this text TO READ. I don't just want to relegate it to some cool, dark and dry bookshelf. This would be akin to storing coins in a bank vault and never being allowed to see them. This is not what I got interested in numismatics for. I would look readers comments and suggestions on care and handling of old (and new) publications, specifically those - such as this instance - which are difficult to read due to the condition of the binding and or pages. Thanks for your help." Mike Jones writes: "I guess this subject is a headache for most book collectors. As for myself, I use simple common sense. ONE: each book/catalog should be protected by placing it in a clear archival sleeve with sensitive closure....this would at least eliminate dust and the rubbings from each other especially taking it out and placing back in the bookshelf ... glass-fitted doors are a must for bookcases TWO: never, ever pull books from shelves by grabbing the head of spine ... sooner or later you will have nice books with tender spines. THREE: never, ever open books flat on a table to read ... either hold in your palms and open at a V angle or place supports at each cover so that they do not open flat. FOUR: I just hate it when I see some good books displayed slanted on bookshelves .... they're gonna buckle sooner rather than later. FIVE: There have been many talks over the years about maintaining proper temperature and humidity for coins and books ... this is quite unrealistic for most of us ... common sense for each region must be used. SIX: simple repairs are a must! ... tears must be closed before they get to be ugly ... if plates had tissue guards originally and are not there, it's best to substitute with some imagination, otherwise the plates and the facing text pages will turn on you ... sometimes it is best to lightly trim edges of brittle untrimmed pages so that they don't get deeper in trouble, though some purists will disagree ...if the original staples holding them booklets together are about to rust or rusted, best take them out and replace them or just lay loose within, as once the rust starts in, nothing can be done to take the spots off. SEVEN: best never to buy books with problems to begin with, as they will cost you in a long run ... scotch-taped pages with browning ... more than minor foxing ... rebound using modern covers ... waterstaining ... etc. I am sure each collector has his tolerance level and you know what that is for yourself..." WORD OF THE WEEK: BIBLIOKLEPT Here's our last installment from A.Word.A.Day, available at this address: http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/index.html biblioklept (BIB-lee-uh-klept) noun A person who steals books. [Biblio- book + Greek klept thief.] "Towards the Persons who frequent your Library maintain a courteous Demeanour, but the utmost Vigilance. For as it is your duty to guard well the Books which are the Riches of your Treasury, so you cannot afford to relax those Restrictions which may save you from Despoilment and the most grievous Loss. The Biblioklept or Thief of Books is your eternal Foe." Charles Robinson, April hath 30 days, Library Administrator's Digest Mar 1, 2000. BREEN'S SCIENTIFIC METHOD Stuart Segan writes: "As hackneyed is the party line that Breen is the greatest researcher of US numismatics, so too is the rebuttal in which Breen is reduced to "pure conjecture, speculation, guesswork, and embellished hypothesis." Further, Moulton's assertion that "Breen did not necessarily change the face of American numismatic scholarship for the better" is absurd and wrong. Scientific method, and Breen's application of same to American numismatics, is at the heart of the controversy. Scientific method is not concerned with facts so much as it is with method and hence the use of the word method and not fact. If one formula or way of looking at a situation leads to "truth" we are closing in on what is known as theory. To cite one example, Newton developed a theory, often referred to as the Theory of Gravity. Within limits (no pun intended for those familiar with the "little rocks") Newton was able to predict the motion of moving bodies nearly precisely and for a wide range of moving bodies. The generality of the theory was so profound it was not proved "wrong" for 150 odd years. To complete the example, Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was able to account for some ridiculously small wobble in the movement of at least one of the planets that was not accounted for by Newton's theory. While Newton technically was "wrong" it would be the dilettante that runs around saying "Newton was wrong, Newton was wrong." Now back to our humble domain of American numismatics. Breen to a degree constructed a theory of American numismatics. His theory when applied to various situations at the US Mint resulted in predictions that were correct. Needless to say in other cases the predictions were wrong - no big deal really. It is the dilettante that hangs his hat on Breen's mistakes and looks no further at the groundwork Breen provided. It is method and not fact with which we are concerned. It is sad that this discussion continues. Breen's admirers (and yes, I am obviously one of them) at their best understand scientific method and intuitively appreciate Breen's humble approach to the overall question of American numismatics. At their worst Breen's admirers overlook a great deal of flaws both professionally and personally in order to keep the ideal of his work fresh. Breen's detractors at their best grant that Breen did some good work but there are lots of mistakes. At their worst, they lose sight of scientific method altogether and see only the mistakes. Breen's method in my opinion flowered around the late 1940s which makes it about 50 years old. We might quibble that the "facts" in the Encyclopedia are wrong. It is riddled with method and that IS Breen's contribution. Breen for this reason changed the face of American numismatic scholarship most decidedly for the better." FEATURED WEB SITE This week's featured web page is referred to us by Dave Perkins. The page includes several reviews by Mike Locke of U.S. numismatic books. http://www.rahul.net/karenml/book_review.html Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ There is a membership application available on the web site. To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. For those without web access, contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer, 5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21704 (To be removed from this mailing list write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
