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GILBERT WILLIAM GILL (1838-1910)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 G. W. Gill, one of the earliest known coin collectors in Memphis, TN. His fictional essay "What is the Use of Coin Collecting" appeared in the September 1883 issue of Numisma. -Editor Gilbert William Gill (1838-1910), was born on May 22, 1838, in Marylebone, Middlesex, England, son of Richard (1804-), and Elizabeth Chasey Gill (1803-). In 1861 he lived with his parents at Lewisham, Kent, England. He is listed among the passengers as 31 years old, a carpenter by trade, aboard the ship Hudson that arrived in New York on July 29, 1869. Gill moved to Memphis,Tennessee. Besides his trade as a carpenter Gill was also a very lucid writer and used to write pieces for the newspapers. Keep in mind Gill was a native Englishman and born into a country where slavery had been abolished before he was born. Moving into Memphis, Tennessee, not long after the Civil War the culture was still much the same as before the War and it did not sit squarely with Gill. Gill wrote a criticism of the politics at Memphis in the local newspaper that caused a large stir for weeks. Knowing it would create a stir he asked a friend Theodore Krekel to submit his essay to the Avalanche for publication. On July 11, 1880, it was published in the Sunday edition signed anonymously as "Southern Democrat" which caused outrage, indignation and an investigation into the author's identity. Gill is among the earliest known coin collectors of record in Memphis, Tennessee.  Gill correspondence with the Chapman Brothers postmarked January 30, 1886, 5 AM, Memphis, Tennessee. Gill purchased Pattern Pieces from the Chapman Brothers who acquired them directly from the U. S. Mint at Philadelphia.  To read the complete article, see: 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 .  Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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