MORE ON CARLING GRESHAM

President Wilson finally acted to shake the Society out of the doldrums, and found a figurative dynamo to serve as the new editor of The Asylum. Carling Gresham, a Florida dealer in numismatic ephemera, and an early enthusiast for the use of the personal computer, went to work with a will, and the first issue of The Asylum under his editorship was dated Summer, 1984. A colorful character, Gresham transformed the journal by adopting a chatty and informal style. He proved adept at inspiring new contributors; both Joel J. Orosz and Wayne Homren, for example, first published in The Asylum during Gresham's tenure.

Carling also managed (with the aid of one double issue) to get the journal on a regular publishing schedule. His lively editorial comments skewered everyone; even co-founder Kolbe was not immune. When George moved from Mission Viejo to the higher elevation of Crestline, the editor delightedly referred to him as "Mountain Man Kolbe." The regular appearance of The Asylum sparked a revival in the fortunes of the Society, and membership began to grow. The second dawn for the NBS, however, was destined to have but a short life.

As much a part of Gresham as his energy and wit was his pride; and it was that pride that led him to be quick to utter and publish decided opinions. One such opinion, expressed about the editor of The Numismatist, caused a storm that ultimately cost Gresham his position. In an editorial appearing in the Summer, 1985 issue of The Asylum, Carling blasted off a salvo at the lack of coverage the NBS had received from hobby publications, concentrating his fire particularly on The Numismatist, " Where HRH [His Royal Highness] Harris [N. Neil Harris, editor/publisher] won't print anything about NBS!" Gresham went on: "HRH appears to be one of a number of employees at ANA Hq. who believe that we, collectors AND dealers are working for them NOT the other way around." (Gresham, as can be seen in the passage just quoted, was fond of capitalization for the purpose of placing emphasis on an idea.)

Reaction, and counter-reaction, was swift - and seething. In the following number (Fall & Winter, 1985), the issue was debated in no fewer than nine pages of letters. Large Cent stalwart Denis Loring wrote to say he was " incensed at the diatribe against Neil Harris " George Frederick Kolbe, by now NBS president, who had been copied on Loring's letter, wrote to say that he agreed with Loring's sentiments. Former president and current board member, Cal Wilson, who had also been copied by Loring, wrote to say that he had " sought out Neil Harris during the Baltimore [ANA] Convention, and on behalf of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society, offered our sincere apologies."

Gresham printed all three letters, but responded in slashing style to each. Addressing Loring, he snapped "I reject you as a surrogate for HRH, and I reject your request for an apology." Gresham then suggested to Loring "Why don't you spend your time doing something creative for the NBS?" In response to Wilson's letter, Gresham accused him of groveling to Harris (who could offer publicity to Wilson's bibliopole business) and to Loring (who was one of Cal's major customers). Carling closed by snapping at Wilson: "Your patronizing attitude is very revulsive to me, but I understand the economics of your position."

This tart exchange was the last straw for Wilson, who on December 9, 1985 sent a letter to all board members recommending that Gresham be relieved of his duties and replaced by Joel J. Orosz, a charter member of the NBS who was then a museum curator. The board decided that Gresham should edit the first issue of 1986, with Orosz to take the reins for the remaining three. There followed instead an interregnum of several months, during which time no issue appeared, and the files of The Asylum, which were to have been transferred between the outgoing and incoming editors, were transferred only belatedly, and partially. As the summer of 1986 arrived, no issue of The Asylum had been produced for three-quarters of a year. Once again, the NBS appeared to be all but defunct.

During the next two years, the NBS did yet another imitation of Lazarus. Once again, the renaissance of the Society was led by the regular appearance of its journal. Editor Orosz managed to deliver it on time from the summer of 1986 through the summer of 1988. In fact, he became the first editor of The Asylum to produce four separate issues in a single calendar year (1987). This dependable publishing feat, however, was always a skin-of-the-teeth affair. Copy was in perpetually short supply, leading Orosz to write both a "From the Editor" column at the beginning, and a "Last Word" column at the end of every issue. Even so, three of the eight numbers emitted during these two years were an anemic sixteen pages. To his credit, deposed editor Gresham contributed four articles during these two years, providing the margin between publishing and missing an issue on more than one occasion. And there were some truly important pieces published: Gresham on Don Jose Toribio Medina, and P. Scott Rubin on the discovery of the 1907 ANA sale, for example.

Alan Luedeking writes:

To read the complete NBS History, see:
A History of the NBS (www.coinbooks.org/about/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
MYSTERY NUMISMATIST: CARLING GRESHAM (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n23a16.html)

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