WILLIAM FOSTER LARDNER (1873-1934)

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V27 2024 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 27, Number 40, October 6, 2024, Article 14

During the recent ANA WFOM on Saturday, August 10, I met Mark Borckardt at the Heritage table and he led me across the room to the table of Jones and Horan. They are a company specializing in horological auctions. If you are wondering what horological means, it's about time. They had acquired a small group of choice coins that would appear in their October 10 auction. They were promoting the coins at the show and made a presentation at the EAC meeting.

I was most interested in a 1794 Large Cent, S-48, the Starred Reverse cent. This is in a PCGS holder as VF-20.

The coins were from the family of William Foster Lardner and had been preserved in wax paper envelopes for the past 90 years.

For those E-Sylum readers who complain that we don't include enough poetry, here is a poem about Lardner.

"Let's you and I, Pardner,
Toast young Foster Lardner
For by jolly he isn't a bluff;
He isn't a poser,
A snide or a noser,
A dude or a buckrum chuff.

He's a manly big chap
And he wins by a lap
And you bet your bloomin' buttons
The rest of the heroes
Have touched cold zeroes
He made them all look like muttons.

In the play Notre Dame
He's won the prize palm,
And carried the honors off easy.
With his dash and his swing
And his rollicking fling
He's happy-go-luck and breezy.

With his devil-may-care
Reckless, gay, debonair,
And don't give-a-hang tone about him.
He's made us all wonder
Just how in the thunder
We ever got on here without him.

For his laugh has a ring
And his tones fairly sing
And he keeps us feeling so jolly
That we get straightened out,
And lose sight of the doubt
That something's gone wrong with our trolley,

So it's bravo, young sir,
You've made a big stir
In the hearts of the feminine gender—
And that explains why
I've penned with a sigh
These verses to you which I tender."

Foster Lardner was born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on November 24, 1873, the son of William Sheperd Lardner (1846-1905) and Mary Foster Jones (1841-1919). His father had a drug store in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. His father wanted Foster to become a doctor but his interests were in a different direction. His brother Lynford (1880-1941) did become a doctor.

Foster showed an interest in the theater at a young age. He wrote his first play at age ten which was presented in a room in his home. As a youngster Foster put on productions in a barn with the admission charge being one pin. The circus came to town when he was thirteen and he followed by recruiting every kid in town to appear in his circus.

Lardner appeared in college theatrical productions and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1894. Between acting roles, he worked at his father's drug store. He was offered employment by Felix Morris and toured with the Morris company for two years. For two more years he toured with Ada Rehan and then the Daniel Frohman Stock Company.

Lardner moved to Providence in 1900 for work with the first Albee stock company. In 1906 Charles Lovenberg offered him a position as house manager in the Albee Theater. When a new theater was erected, he became the manager. In his role as manager, he read plays and selected those to be performed, interviewed and selected the cast and signed the players. In 1926 he became manager for seven theaters for Keith-Albee Enterprises. Lardner resigned in 1930 after a merger with RKO.

He married Sibilla Iarene Besler Gidney (1874-1956) in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 28, 1911, and had a daughter.

He joined the American Numismatic Association in June 1913 as member 1701. He frequently attended conventions and served on the board of governors in 1919 and 1920. At the 1928 convention, he entertained with magic tricks.

During the First World War, he did magic tricks for soldiers in hospitals. For Halloween in 1933, Lardner entertained 60 children at the Providence Hospital with magic tricks. The children proclaimed that it was the best Halloween ever.

Lardner collapsed on stage at the Elks' Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island, while entertaining about 400 members of the Providence Engineering Society. He died of a heart attack on May 17, 1934, and is buried at Princes Hill Burial Ground in Barrington, Rhode Island.

"Catalogue of the Splendid Collection of United States Cents: the Property of Mr. Foster Lardner: Containing Nearly One-hundred and Fifty Pieces, all in Choice Condition,"
The sale had the Lardner large cents with 146 lots. Fifty copies of the catalog were produced with four plates. The plates might allow for pedigree tracking.

"Catalog of the Collection of U. S. Fine Cents and Rare Gold. The Property of Mr. Foster Lardner."
The sale had a nice run of 1794 large cents, lots 5 to 54. Lot 12 was listed as Hays 8, the equivalent of S-48. The description does not match the current coin.

The catalog for the Jones and Horan sale of October 10. 2024, has 400 lots. Lots 45 to 400 include jewelry and timepieces. The eighteen coins from the Lardner estate are lots 27 to 44. The starred reverse cent is lot 43.

The highlight of the sale is lot 44, an 1834 proof half cent, PCGS PR66 proof cameo. It is the highest graded example of that variety.