WILLIAM HARVEY STROBRIDGE (1822-1898)

The Strobridge stamp, coin, book, curio and antique dealership from 1862 to 1879 was a father and son family run business. From 1871-1878 he worked as a cataloguer for the George A. Leavitt & Company, auction house. Strobridge catalogued 29 sales of coins, and his son Timothy catalogued 8 coin sales.

William Harvey Strobridge (1822-1898), was born on January 9, 1822 at Barnet, Caledonia County, Vermont, son of Ebenezer Hinds Strobridge (1785-1878), and Elizabeth Kerr Harvey Strobridge (1787-1847).

He grew up with Henry Stevens who later became a renowned London collector.

On Christmas Day 1847, he married Margaret Lucretia Rix (1829-1855). They had three children : Harriet Elizabeth Strobridge (1848-1938), William Arthur Strobridge (1850-1860), and Timothy Rix Strobridge (1852-). Some report that they moved to New York in 1851 and others say 1853. He worked as a salesman for Fairbanks scale company.

Strobridge began to acquire Pompeian frescoes, including the terra cotta painted portrait of Hebe, that had gone into a Boston Exhibition in 1855.

On June 12, 1858, he married Sarah Janette Wilcox (1829-1906). They had a daughter Minnie E. Strobridge (1863-)

They briefly relocated to Baltimore, Maryland for Fairbanks scales. He also brought his collection of carved gems.

On Christmas Day 1860, visiting in-laws at Barnet, Vermont, the eldest son William Arthur Strobridge died at the home of Walter Harvey.

Tim Strobridge grew up during his father's business days as a dealer and learned the trade from him. However, he lacked his father's talent as a cataloguer.

He catalogued the 1230 lots of the William A. Lilliendahl collection and sold it at Bangs, Merwin & Company, New York, on May 26-28, 1862. The collection contained 170 Large Cents.

In the spring of 1878 he retired due to blindness necessarily handing the business over to his only surviving son Timothy Rix Strobridge (1852-1881), commonly known simply as T. R. Strobridge.

The 1880 U.S. Census lists him as a dealer in coins.

In July 1886, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sunday edition ran a story on W. H. Strobridge and his Curiosity Shop. The article tells us that Strobridge lost his eyesight several years ago costing him loss of employment. Moreover, his loss of sight did not interfere with his poetic compositions. He kept a curiosity shop in his sitting room at his residence. His collections included gems, terra cotta paintings, snuff boxes, Egyptian scarabs, seal rings, coins, medals, and tokens.

He died on Saturday, December 17, 1898, at his home 347 Greene Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.

To read the complete article, see:
STROBRIDGE, WILLIAM HARVEY (https://sites.google.com/a/numismaticmall.com/www/numismaticmall-com/strobridge-william-harvey)

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