NEW BOOK: THOSE WHO LED THE WAY

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V24 2021 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 24, Number 4, January 24, 2021, Article 5

Dave Lange submitted this note on a great new book by Dave Bowers. Thanks! -Editor

Coin Collecting Those Who Led the Way book cover

I recently received a great little book purchased on eBay. It's an octavo volume by Q. David Bowers that was published by Stack's Bowers in 2020, but somehow had escaped my codex radar completely. I don't remember seeing anything about this in The E-Sylum or any other publication. Perhaps, it's mentioned at the SB website or in its mailings, but in this age of pandemic it's been a long time since I received more than a few publications that are shipped to my company address. For example, I've received just three hard copies of The Numismatist since March! Where did they all go?

The title is Coin Collecting: Those Who Led the Way. It's an anthology of biographies dealing with the dozen individuals depicted on the cover. I haven't had a chance to sit down and read this book, but it certainly tops my stack of publications awaiting that quiet moment.

There's an interesting aside that illustrates the dire situation of the U. S. Postal Service during the month of December. The tracking history reveals that this book was shipped to me from Lake Allen, Texas on the 8th, arriving in Dallas two days later. It was in Jackson, Mississippi on the 11th and Jacksonville, Florida, my regional distribution center, on the 12th. It stalled there for eight days until arriving at my local Florida post office on the 20th. Three days later it was processed through Jersey City, New Jersey, only to arrive back in Jacksonville on the 26th. The seller initiated a "package research case" that was posted the following day, only to see the USPS abruptly close it on the 28th without explanation. On the 30th my package had gotten to Sarasota, which is closer than Jacksonville but still not where I have my box. It finally was placed into a locker at my station the following day, more than three weeks after mailing.

Don't even ask me about all the packages I've shipped that are still transiting the nation almost a month later.

The twelve chapters (presented in alphabetical order) are: Harry W. Bass, Jr., Virgil Brand, The Chapman Brothers, Walter H. Childs & the Childs Family, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., John J. Ford, Jr., The Garrett Family, Col. E.H.R. Green, B. Max Mehl, Eric P. Newman, Emery May Holden Norweb, and Joseph & Morton Stack.

The book was produced by the firm as a holiday gift for clients and consignors. Nicely illustrated in color, the Newman chapter was contributed by Len Augsburger. It's not available for sale, but I'm glad we had a chance to document its existence. As Darryl Atchison noted in an earlier issue, 2020 turned out to be a great year for numismatic book publishing. -Editor