Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 49, November 26, 2000: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. SUBSCRIBER UPDATES Ruth Ziesing writes: "My husband Vince died two weeks ago. He was always interested in what you had to offer. Thank you very much." B. V. "Vince" Ziesing subscribed to The E-Sylum the week of the November 14, 1999 issue (Volume 2, Number 46). At the time, he was subscriber number 247. We have no new subscribers this week. The loss of Mr. Ziesing brings our subscriber count to 352. NOTES FROM JOEL OROSZ NBS Board member Joel Orosz writes: "I enjoyed this week's E-Sylum as much as ever. Two quick responses: I think that the gold samples in Eckfeldt and DuBois would be difficult to observe under a "Formica" disk. The disks were made of mica. With regard to coin thefts, I wrote about the theft of the Tammany Museum's coin collection in New York City, in "The Great Coin Heist of 1796", which was published in The Numismatist in February, 1999." MARIA THERESIA THALER LITERATURE Ralf W. Boepple of Stuttgart, Germany, writes: "I am writing in reply to Serge Pelletier's inquiry about the Maria Theresia Thalers. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the items Mr. Pelletier inquired about, but I would like to bring the following work to his attention: F. Leypold, Der Maria Theresien Taler von 1780. Vienna, 1976 (31 pp, 8 b/w tables). As this is a standard work, he might already know about it. If not, I will be more than happy to get into contact with him to see if there is anything I can do for him." Bob Knepper writes: "Serge Pelletier asked for Maria Theresa Taler information. Other than having a couple, I know little - but in 1998 I saw a book I probably would have purchased if the store had been open. It was "Lexicon of the Maria Theresien Taler" by Walter Hafner. Price was 795 Belgian francs. It was in the window of Willem van Alsenoy, Oudaan 6, Antwerpen, Belgium B-2000. Email at willem.van.alsenoy@pandora.be. I've purchased several "wildman" coins and medals from Mr. van Alsenoy but decided the book was not worth the addition of international postage." LIBRARIES LINK COLLECTIONS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS Newsscan Daily reports: "An international consortium of public and private libraries is developing a free online reference service that will direct queries to the appropriate reference specialist or research collection around the world. "We know the quality of information we have in libraries, and we want to bring that to the Internet," says Donna Dinberg, systems librarian at the National Library of Canada, one of the charter members of the Comprehensive Digital Reference Service. "We also know the chaos online," she adds, referring to the sometimes muddled search results produced by online services such as Yahoo! or AskJeeves. Among the members of the network are the Library of Congress, which is coordinating the effort, Yale and Harvard universities, the National Gallery of Art and the National Library of Australia. Specialty collections, such as the one at Duke University Divinity School, are included as well. The consortium is currently concentrated on English, but plans to be able to handle up to 20 languages eventually. (Hollywood Reporter 20 Nov 2000)" See http://www.newsscan.com/ to subscribe to Newsscan Daily.. MINT REPORT HELP WANTED Paul Hybert writes: "My copy of the U.S. Mint Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886 has a small ink blob covering a digit. Does anyone on this list have a copy of that report? On page 72, in the table for SWEDEN, what is the last number on the "Silver" row under the heading of "Coinage, 1885:" ? My copy shows it as "78,?81" Paul can be reached at: prh@ece.iit.edu 1850 ECKFELDT-DUBOIS AND THE STREETER SALE Dave Bowers writes: "Just a note to say that the 1850 edition of Eckfeldt and Dubois, with the gold sample, comes in two colors of cover--blue and red (I have copies of both). Also, in the Streeter Sale held by Parke-Bernet years ago there was a copy of this book--with a nice write up -- which, if I remember correctly, served to call widespread attention to the volume (at the time Thomas Winthrop Streeter's Americana collection was sold, there was not a great deal of interest yet, in numismatic circles, for the collecting of books). The Streeter sale brought good prices, partly because the Streeter trustees donated MONEY to certain institutions so that they could buy his books in the sale. I was a competitor for the Eckfeldt and Dubois book, but lost it and was amazed at the high price. I have the original suite of six or seven Streeter catalogues in my library at home -- not at the office where I am writing this -- and could provide more information. No doubt quite a few NBS members also remember the event which was held in the second half of the 1960s. It was quite a sensation at the time." [Editor's note: "THE CELEBRATED COLLECTION OF AMERICANA FORMED BY THE LATE THOMAS WINTHROP STREETER" was sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries of New York from 1966-70. The catalog consists of seven volumes plus an index volume. Streeter (1883-1965) was a consummate bibliophile who had holdings beyond the material sold by Parke-Bernet. For example, Streeter was also the "preeminent collector of railroadiana" and donated the core of the American Antiquarian Society's holdings of materials on canals and railroads. See this web page: http://www.americanantiquarian.org/canalsrr.htm From www.dartmouth.edu: "As chairman of the board of the Simms Petroleum Corporation from 1923 to 1930 Streeter made several business trips to Texas from his home in Morristown, New Jersey. These visits prompted his interest in collecting 'books, pamphlets, broadsides and maps relating to Texas history' between 1795 and 1845. Those acquisitions, totaling almost 2,000 imprints, are now in Yale University's outstanding Western Americana Collection." Has anyone ever compiled a list of the numismatic rarities in the Streeter library? Where are they now? Does anyone have a book from the Streeter sales? A copy of Jacob Perkins' Bank Bill Test came from the Streeter sales in 1967, where it realized $350 (as noted in Charles Davis' "American Numismatic Literature")] WATERMAN LILLY ORMSBY, JR. Most U.S. bibliophiles know of Waterman Lilly Ormsby as the author of the rare 1852 work, "A Description of the Present System of Bank Note Engraving." But did you know his son was also an important writer? As a reporter for the New York Herald in 1858, Waterman Lilly Ormsby, Jr. "crossed the western states as the first through passenger in the Butterfield Overland Mail stage from east to west." The accounts are collected in a 1942 work (reprinted in 1955) published by The Huntington Library of San Marino, CA, titled "The Butterfield Overland Mail." The book's introduction includes some biographical information about both Ormsbys. One interesting passage: "Twenty-four miles from our last station we came to the Maricopas Wells, situated in a large plain of alkali soil and coarse grass. There are, in all, six or eight wells, and the water is very good. We found a number of Indians there, and one of them had the audacity to ask me three bits (37 1/2 cents) for a small melon which he wished to sell. I showed him two three-cent pieces, and the look of insufferable contempt which he gave me would be worth a fortune to an actor in the right place. I am sure his melon would rot before he could get another chance to sell it." (p99) U.S. MINT POLICE STAGECOACH IN PARADE Speaking of stages, viewers watching Thursday's New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade were treated to the sight of a special U.S. Mint float promoting the 50 States Quarter series. Atop the float was an antique U.S. Mint Police stagecoach from the Denver Mint. And atop the stagecoach (I am not making this up...) was singer Tito Puente, Jr, belting out (or was it lip-syncing?) a tune. You don't see THAT every day... A search of the U.S Mint web site turned up a press release for last year's Macy's parade. Then, the float was promoting the Sacagawea dollar coin. "November 25, 1999 - The U.S. Mint became the first government agency to sponsor a float in the 73rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Approximately 60 million viewers were able to catch a glimpse of the new Golden Dollar featuring Sacagawea, only one week after coin production began at The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The Golden Dollar coin float, sporting a Denver Mint antique stagecoach, glided majestically from New York City's Central Park toward Herald Square. Actors dressed in vintage U.S. Mint Police uniforms escorted the coach and five-foot replicas of the Golden Dollar..." To find the full press release and see a picture of the stagecoach float, go to http://www.usmint.gov/ and enter "stagecoach" in the search box. And while it has nothing to do with numismatics, a related story from USA Today shows what can happen when parade floats run amok: "Meanwhile a woman who is seeking damages from the city and Macy's after she was injured during the store's 1997 Thanksgiving Day Parade has sued five more defendants for $10 million because of the accident. Maria Clohessy, 47, of Pearl River, N.Y., was one of four people injured when the Cat in the Hat balloon crashed into a street lamp at 72nd Street and Central Park West because of high winds." (23 November, 2000). Oh, the humanity!!! FEATURED WEB SITE This week's featured web site is an exhibit of Magicians' tokens. "Magicians' tokens have been produced since the late 1800's. Made of various materials including silver, copper, white metal, nickel, plastic and even wood, these tokens or coins served a variety of purposes." http://www.magictricks.com/museum/tokens/mustoken.htm 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)
