The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 13, March 30, 2003, Article 8

MICKLEY CATALOG VARIANTS

  Bruce Burton of Round Rock, Texas writes: "I've thought
  about asking this before, but have just never gotten around
  to it.  In the course of my buying/selling/collecting I have
  acquired two copies, both apparently original (1867), of
  W. Elliot Woodward's sale catalogs of the Joseph J. Mickley
  collection.  Each binding is a bit different and the books are
  slightly different sizes.  Some of the distinctions between the
  two are as follows:

 "Copy No. 1"
  This volume has a black leather spine (no lettering) and corners.
  The boards are marbled a tannish/brown. Preceding what
  would have been the title page in copy 2 (below), this one has
  two pages that announce this as Woodward's tenth semi-annual
  sale and then provide an introduction by Woodward after which
  is the text:

  "Please preserve this Catalogue for use at the sale, as it is proba-
  ble that none can be obtained at that time."

  The following title page starts "Catalogue of the Numismatic
  Collection formed by Joseph J. Mickley, Esq., ..." and toward
  the bottom states "Orders for the sale will be faithfully executed
  by the Auctioneers Edward Cogan, Esq., 100 William Street, ...."

  This volume is partially priced, presumably by a bidder at the
  sale.

  "Copy No. 2"
  The slightly smaller of the two has a small, printed errata strip
  attached near the spine on the last page (196).  This volume is
  bound in black leather with gilt printing on the spine that reads
  "Mickley Collection".

  The title page of this copy starts "Priced Catalogue of the
  Numismatic Collection formed by Joseph J. Mickley, Esq., ..."
  and omits any mention of "Auctioneers Edward Cogan, Esq.,
  100 William Street, ...."

  My questions:  Can someone provide information on how many
  variants of the Mickley Sale there were/are and how many
  catalogues of each variant were likely produced?"

  [I'll take a stab at answering some of Bruce's questions, and
  I'm sure our readers will have their say as well.   In the 19th
  century, the common practice was for catalogs to be furnished
  to bidders unbound.  If desired, the bidder would take it to a
  local bookbinder and have it bound according to his personal
  preference.  Official hardbound catalogs produced by the
  publisher are a much more recent phenomenon.  So finding
  copies with different bindings is not unusual - it would be more
  of a surprise to discover two that are exactly alike.

  Since the binding was subject to the whims and tastes of each
  catalog's owner, it was similarly up to the owner as to what
  items to include or exclude from the binding.  Errata notes,
  bid sheets, plates etc. could be bound in the volume in any way
  the owner decides.   For example, one of the owners decided
  to save and bind in the prospectus (i.e. announcement flyer) for
  the sale.  The other owner either didn't have a copy of the
  prospectus, or decided not to bind it in.

  As for the "Orders for the sale" text, dealers who planned to
  attend the sale in person would send copies of the catalog to
  their customers, but only after first printing or stamping their
  name and address on it.

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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