The E-Sylum:  Volume 11, Number 2, January 13, 2008, Article 7

ON ANS LIBRARIAN CAMPBELL'S RETIREMENT

Joel Orosz writes: "We frequently toss off cliches like "a
lifetime of service," but in Frank Campbell's case, cliche
has become demonstrable fact.  Consider:  when Frank joined
the American Numismatic Society, I was one year old.  Upon
his retirement, I will be an AARP card-carrying fifty-one
year old.  The ANS library existed before Frank dedicated a
lifetime of service to it, but its richness and scope today
is essentially his creation.  He leaves that collection a
fit monument for his life's work.  Truly, the next ANS
librarian will have to quote Jefferson, speaking of following
Franklin as ambassador to France:  "No one could replace him:
I merely succeed him."

Roger S. Siboni writes: "When a few of my Colonial numismatist
friends and I including Ray Williams, Roger Moore, Jack Howes
and Neil Rothchild all took a research trip to the ANS Library,
we asked Frank for volumes and volumes of material on various
subjects ranging from inscribed Maris', to Vatican coinage
that may have inspired St. Patrick Halfpennies to John Work
Garrett's original notebooks. Frank cheerfully handled our
many varied requests. In fact, Frank saw how much fun we were
having, and he decided to just put out on the table the
original partnership agreement forming Machin's Mill. The
very same clandestine partnership that produced some of today's
most highly sought after colonial coinage. We were speechless!"

George Kolbe writes: "Over the years, what has been most
striking in terms of Frank Campbell's half century stewardship
of the American Numismatic Society Library is his unwavering
devotion to preserving, maintaining, and expanding the library
and, at the same time, making its vast resources available
to all serious students of numismatics. But we all know this.

"In personal terms what I particularly like about Frank is
his utter lack of pretension. In the course of visits to the
society's stately headquarters building in Audubon Terrace,
Frank and I would often venture out to lunch in the neighborhood
after exploring the treasures of the library. In the early
years this was perceived to be perilous. Yet Frank was
completely comfortable in a changing neighborhood-he grew
up there.

"We might visit a cafe favored by locals, a deli or, heaven
forbid, we even went to McDonald's on occasion. Often, we
would take a stroll afterwards; once or twice we detoured to
walk by the large complex where Dr. Sheldon and Dorothy Paschal
lived while at Columbia University Medical Center. Other times
we absorbed the local atmosphere and talked about not much
of anything and everything. These are my favorite memories
of an uncommon man who I am proud to call a friend."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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