GEORGE WILLIAM MASSAMORE, JR. (1842-1898)

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE

V21 2018 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 21, Number 1, January 7, 2018, Article 15

John Lupia submitted the following information from the online draft of his book of numismatic biographies for this week's installment of his series. Thanks! As always, this is an excerpt with the full article and bibliography available online. This week's subject is Baltimore dealer George Massamore. -Editor

Dr. George W. Massamore, Jr., is a fascinating personality : Confederate soldier, politician, musician, dentist, optician, fish and game warden, dog breeder, baseball team owner, philatelist, numismatist, coin and stamp auction cataloger, coin and stamp dealer, autograph, and Indian relic collector, and author. In his fifty-six years he accomplished much as an active citizen and hobbyist.

George William Massamore, Jr. (1842-1898), was born on March 5, 1842, at Manchester, Carroll County, Maryland, son of George Massamore, Sr. (1802-1877), a shoe maker, and Elizabeth Massamore (1814-1877).

In 1861, at age nineteen he enlisted in the Army of the Confederate States of America fighting under the command of General Elwell. In 1868 he graduated from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery.

In October 1880, he was a founding member and secretary of the Numismatic and Archaeological Society of Baltimore.

From December 1880 to June 1897 he held 46 predominantly stamp & coin auction sales, mainly but not exclusively conducted by William Seemuller.

In 1881, he married Susan R. House Harding (1838-1918), widow of William Henry Harding. They had four children.

Sun, Mon 26 Aug, 1889, 6 Massamore Fort McHenry medal

From 1883 to 1884, he was a baseball manager/owner at Baltimore for a baseball team in the Union League, the Monumentals. In November 1883, he was chairman of the committee of the Union League to meet with the National League at Washington, D. C. in order to seek recognition.

In 1889, he published Descriptive and Chronological Catalog of Confederate Currency.

Augustus G. Heaton's classic article, "A Tour Among the Coin Dealers" The Numismatist, January (1895) :

"Baltimore comes next in our tour. Dr. George Massamore is there to be sought in two or three places. As a coin dealer, he has a counter, showcase, and fireproof and show window in one side of the store on North Charles Street, the other side being given up to an optician's business. As a dentist he is found at times at his residence, and as a politician he has long held some office at this City Hall. There he is perhaps now less occupied, as the Republicans have been drawing so many teeth of late that his party has very little of even a jaw left. Dr. Massamore is of middle age, of mild pleasant manner, somewhat bald, and has been known many years as a coin dealer of experience and a cataloguer of many collections."

He died on April 7, 1898, and is buried in Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland.

To read the complete article, see:
MASSAMORE, Dr. GEORGE WILLIAM (https://sites.google.com/a/numismaticmall.com/www/numismaticmall-com/massamore-george-william)

The entire inventory of the Lupia Numismatic Library is for sale. Individual items will be available before the remaining archives are broken up into parcels sold at philatelic auctions in the U. S. and Hong Kong. Check NumismaticMall.com frequently as dozens of new items with estimates will be posted daily until everything is sold.

All inquiries will be given prompt and courteous attention. Write to: john@numismaticmall.com .