H. F. BOWKER NUMISMATIC LIBRARY SALE

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 18, May 3, 2020, Article 2

Stephen Album Rare Coins is offering 113 lots from the H. F. Bowker Numismatic Library in their upcoming Auction 37. Howard Franklin Bowker (1889-1970) was a numismatist and philatelist, collecting and specializing in Chinese coins, stamps and banknotes. He created the first bibliography of Western language publications on East Asian numismatics.

Here are some selected lots. -Editor

Lot 3525: Revised Record of Gold and Silver Coins

Aoki, Atsushi, Revised Record of Gold and Silver Coins (Saisen kingin senpu), Edo, Meiwa year 7 (1770), 119 pages, yotsume toji (four-eye) binding. With approximately 200 hand-drawn illustrations of gold, silver and bronze coins, ex. H. F. Bowker Numismatic Library. Howard Franklin Bowker (1889-1970) was a numismatist and philatelist, collecting and specializing in Chinese coins, stamps and banknotes. He created the first bibliography of Western language publications on East Asian numismatics. Nakamura Fusetsu (1866-1943) was a Japanese painter in the yoga style. He was also known as a calligrapher. Kokotei is another name for Nakamura Fusetsu.

Lot 3629: Hong Wu and Da Zhong Coins

Nagoya Kosenkai, Hong Wu and Da Zhong Coins (Kobu oyobi Taichusen senpu), Nagoya, 1959, 54 pages, softcover with simple string binding. An excellent work on the Kyushu coins of the Edo period imitating the Ming dynasty Hong Wu and Da Zhong coins and cast by the Shimazu clan between 1573 and 1688, ex. H. F. Bowker Numismatic Library. Howard Franklin Bowker (1889-1970) was a numismatist and philatelist, collecting and specializing in Chinese coins, stamps and banknotes. He created the first bibliography of Western language publications on East Asian numismatics. Nakamura Fusetsu (1866-1943) was a Japanese painter in the yoga style. He was also known as a calligrapher. Kokotei is another name for Nakamura Fusetsu.

Lot 3672: Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

Royal Asiatic Society, Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Shanghai, collection of various volumes including No. XIV 1879, No. XV 1880, No. XVII Part I 1882, No. XVII Part I 1882, No. XXVII 1892-93, No. XXXIII 1900-01, No. XXXVIII 1907, No. XLVIII 1917 (2 copies), No. L 1919, No. LXXI 1940, group of 10 hardbound volumes, all with interesting articles on Numismatics with line drawings throughout, English and some Chinese text, lot of 10 volumes, ex. H. F. Bowker Numismatic Library. Howard Franklin Bowker (1889-1970) was a numismatist and philatelist, collecting and specializing in Chinese coins, stamps and banknotes. He created the first bibliography of Western language publications on East Asian numismatics.

Lot 3708: Chinese Banknotes

Smith, Ward D. & Brian Matravers, Chinese Banknotes, Shirjeh Publishers, Menlo Park, California, 1970, 225 pages, photos throughout, hardcover, English text with bank names in Chinese characters. An extensive alphabetical catalogue of Chinese banknotes with explanations of all the issuing entities, multiple appendices and indices. Most notes illustrated. Much more detailed than Pick. Best one-volume work on Chinese paper and still much referenced, ex. H. F. Bowker Numismatic Library. Howard Franklin Bowker (1889-1970) was a numismatist and philatelist, collecting and specializing in Chinese coins, stamps and banknotes. He created the first bibliography of Western language publications on East Asian numismatics.

Lot 3737: Bowker Archive

Various, LOT of personal papers, coin photos, articles, file folders a wide range of topics, plus 3 large 2010 Shanghai bronze medal honoring H. K. Bowker struck at the Shanghai mint with boxes and COAs, viewing recommended, large box of items, ex. H. F. Bowker Numismatic Library. Howard Franklin Bowker (1889-1970) was a numismatist and philatelist, collecting and specializing in Chinese coins, stamps and banknotes. He created the first bibliography of Western language publications on East Asian numismatics.

To read the complete lot description, see:
3737 Various (https://www.sarc.auction/Various_i36700230)

For more background on Bowker, here's an excerpt from his Wikipedia entry. -Editor

Howard Bowker was born on 3 January 1889 in Winona, Minnesota, the third of seven children. After graduating from the Crane High School (Chicago) in 1903, at the age of fourteen, he went to work at the Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company to help support the family.

He joined the navy in October 1912, and served for 34 years, including both World War I and World War II, mostly in administration, usually associated with payroll.

By 1910 Bowker was a self-proclaimed, self-employed coin dealer in the Chicago area. He became interested in Chinese coins while stationed in Hankow (1923-1924). He visited collections at the Smithsonian Institution, the American Numismatic Society, the University of Pennsylvania, and was an active member of the Numismatic Society of China, the Pacific Coast Numismatic Society, the American Numismatic Society, and the American Numismatic Association. His service with the Navy enabled him to collect both in the USA and overseas, and to meet with collectors (e.g. Kalgan Shih, Eduard Kann). He curated a large exhibition of Chinese numismatic material at the California State Numismatic Society's show in Santa Rosa in 1951 (featuring pieces from his collection, the A.G. Adams collection, pieces borrowed from A.B. Coole and other collectors). In the mid-1950s he provided consulting services to the Smithsonian Institution, a position that became official in 1958.

To read the complete Wikipedia article, see:
Howard Franklin Bowker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Franklin_Bowker)

To view the Bowker lots in the Album Auction 37, see:
Stephen Album Rare Coins | Auction 37 (https://www.sarc.auction/Stephen-Album-Rare-Coins-Auction-37_a42584?m=all&p=1&ps=50&so=1&q=bowker&hi=0&vm=0)