The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 2, January 14, 2007, Article 9

DICK JOHNSON ON LOUBAT'S MEDALLIC HISTORY OF THE U.S.

In response to John Adams' query last week, Dick Johnson writes: "I
have no recall of the Loubat hoard, but I do offer some suggestions
for your article.

"1)  Do not overlook mentioning the four-page flyer Loubat wrote to
promote the sale of the books.  ANS should have a copy if you do not
have one in your library.

"2)  I have owned or sold about a dozen sets of Loubat. I think I have
three sets left. I felt I never needed the Flayderman reprint since I
had such easy access to the original.

"3)  The physical book was a masterpiece of bookbinding at the time
of publication. Unfortunately, the paste used in the bookbinding
attracted varmints. I have observed copies with holes in bindings
and pages. It seems insect bookworms are as attracted to the book for
their lunch as human bookworms are attracted to its content for feeding
their intellectual hunger.

"4)  Volume two bears a different date of publication from volume one.
Elvira Clain-Stefanelli, in one of her numismatic bibliographies, listed
the set by the date in volume two - this has led to confusion. When I
first observed this I thought this was a second edition - not so.

"5)  Loubat did a fascinating job researching these medals. not just
the medals, but the data, the documents, and the dies!

"6)  Loubat, it could be said, was the 19th century Q. David Bowers,
leaving no stone or source unturned to learn everything he could about
this series of medals.

"7)  Loubat's editorial technique was what we call today "cut and paste"
-- reprpoducing entire documents whole. (A technique also employed on
occasion by QDB.)

"8)  What is missing from Loubat's massive 2-volume work was an analysis
of what he had gathered. I would have liked for him to have interpret
what he had; he had a duty to the reader to give a statement on how this
series fits in with history, with numismatics, with the concept of
awarding medals for outstanding human achievement. Instead, he left us
with the collection of the sterile documents alone, forcing the reader
to make his own judgments. Loubat, by his act of gathering all this data,
blew it by not giving us his insight, opinion, or summary. I would
have welcomed and respected such comments.

"9)  Loubat's love of these medals comes across in this book. More than
a "labor of love" Loubat did an incredible service to later generations
in researching and publishing this work.

"10)  Later researchers and writers have built on Loubat's core work by
revealing data that was unavailable to him in his time. An example of
this is the present writer's discoveries of biographical data on John
Antrobus(c1837-1907) the British-American painter, portraitist, designer
who Loubat could only identify as a Detroit artist. Antrobus designed
the U.S. Grant Congressional Medal, 1864 (Loubat 73) engraved by Anthony
C. Paquet and struck by the U.S. Mint."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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