Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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Extremely Rare Cogan Burglary Broadside
Cogan, Edward. STOLEN FROM THE STORE OF EDWARD COGAN, NO. 48 NORTH TENTH STREET. Philadelphia, c. 1859. Small broadside [22.25 by 14.5 cm], printed on one side. Matted and framed, with black wooden frame measuring 30.25 by 22.5 cm; wire hanger on back. Old photocopies of articles from the August 1866 and April 1867 issues of the American Journal of Numismatics, with handwritten notes, affixed to back. Fine. The only example of which we have ever heard. Edward Cogan's Philadelphia shopfront was broken into shortly after the sale of the William C. Tripler collection on October 28, 1859. The Tripler collection had been purchased outright by Cogan, who sold it via auction at his store, hiring William C. Cook to call the auction. (It is of interest to note that the Tripler sale may indeed be considered Cogan's first public auction, with his three earlier sales apparently being conducted by sealed or written bids.) In a letter dated 19 March 1867 and published in the April 1867 issue of the American Journal of Numismatics, Cogan discussed the sale and subsequent burglary: "I had bought the Collection some time before of my friend Mr. Tripler, and the sale was made in my store, No. 48 North Tenth Street, Philadelphia, at 8 o'clock in the morning, and concluded at half-past nine, very much to my satisfaction, as by the result I felt very certain--too certain, however, as the result will show--that I was running upon velvet, and was going to make a good thing out of the Collection. It was only a portion which I had selected from the Cabinet, which contained a very large quantity of duplicates, and was getting on very well with this position [sic, portion]--when on a sudden my hopes were dashed to the ground, by my store being broken open, and almost the entire assortment was stolen, and the only consolation left me, was that I was not a positive loser by the purchase..." From this, we would guess that the burglary took place in late October or early November 1859, and that this circular broadside was printed soon after. This was purchased by George Kolbe at an ANA convention quite some time ago; for years it hung on the wall of his office in California. A very interesting and potentially unique piece of American numismatic history. Ex George F. Kolbe Library (Kolbe & Fanning Sale 158), lot 413 at $1600 hammer.
(Estimate: $1000)
Cogan, Edward. STOLEN FROM THE STORE OF EDWARD COGAN, NO. 48 NORTH TENTH STREET. Philadelphia, c. 1859. Small broadside [22.25 by 14.5 cm], printed on one side. Matted and framed, with black wooden frame measuring 30.25 by 22.5 cm; wire hanger on back. Old photocopies of articles from the August 1866 and April 1867 issues of the American Journal of Numismatics, with handwritten notes, affixed to back. Fine. The only example of which we have ever heard. Edward Cogan's Philadelphia shopfront was broken into shortly after the sale of the William C. Tripler collection on October 28, 1859. The Tripler collection had been purchased outright by Cogan, who sold it via auction at his store, hiring William C. Cook to call the auction. (It is of interest to note that the Tripler sale may indeed be considered Cogan's first public auction, with his three earlier sales apparently being conducted by sealed or written bids.) In a letter dated 19 March 1867 and published in the April 1867 issue of the American Journal of Numismatics, Cogan discussed the sale and subsequent burglary: "I had bought the Collection some time before of my friend Mr. Tripler, and the sale was made in my store, No. 48 North Tenth Street, Philadelphia, at 8 o'clock in the morning, and concluded at half-past nine, very much to my satisfaction, as by the result I felt very certain--too certain, however, as the result will show--that I was running upon velvet, and was going to make a good thing out of the Collection. It was only a portion which I had selected from the Cabinet, which contained a very large quantity of duplicates, and was getting on very well with this position [sic, portion]--when on a sudden my hopes were dashed to the ground, by my store being broken open, and almost the entire assortment was stolen, and the only consolation left me, was that I was not a positive loser by the purchase..." From this, we would guess that the burglary took place in late October or early November 1859, and that this circular broadside was printed soon after. This was purchased by George Kolbe at an ANA convention quite some time ago; for years it hung on the wall of his office in California. A very interesting and potentially unique piece of American numismatic history. Ex George F. Kolbe Library (Kolbe & Fanning Sale 158), lot 413 at $1600 hammer.
(Estimate: $1000)