Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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Attinelli's Foundational Bibliography of U.S. Numismatics
Attinelli, E.J. NUMISGRAPHICS, OR A LIST OF CATALOGUES, IN WHICH OCCUR COINS OR MEDALS, WHICH HAVE BEEN SOLD BY AUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES, ALSO, A LIST OF CATALOGUES OR PRICE LISTS OF COINS, ISSUED BY DEALERS, ALSO, A LIST OF VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS OF MORE OR LESS INTEREST TO NUMISMATOLOGISTS, WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES. New York, 1876. 8vo [29 by 19 cm], original printed paper covers. Folding frontispiece facsimile of the 1828 Watkins broadside; 123, (1) pages. Front cover signed by A.W. Jackman near top and with ink stamp of T.E. Leon near bottom, with most of the latter's last name lacking. Covers professionally restored, with the chipped original paper (exhibiting some loss) mounted on matching paper and missing border lines added by hand; interiors near fine. Untrimmed. Housed in a folding black cloth chemise within a black full morocco clamshell box; spine with five raised bands, ruled and lettered in gilt. Near fine, with restorations as described. The first substantial American numismatic bibliography and a remarkable work, published, as John Adams notes, "near the climax of the period that witnessed the establishment of coin collecting in the United States." With its colorful vignettes of dealers and collectors of the day and a plenitude of useful facts and fascinating lore, Attinelli's work brings 19th-century American numismatics to life. His word sketches of the great and not-so-great coin collectors, dealers, numismatists and scalawags of the day are indispensable in any attempt to understand the beginnings of commercial and organizational numismatics in the second half of the 19th century in America. Attinelli's meticulous cataloguing of the numismatic auction sale catalogues of the period parallels the thoroughness of Sylvester Crosby in his chosen field of American colonial coins. Parts II and III of the book comprise an in-depth bibliography of "Catalogues and Price-Lists" and "Publications issued in the United States." Both sections are, even today, of great value. Estimates vary as to how many copies of Numisgraphics were originally printed but they are invariably miniscule. Adams comments in the foreword to the Quarterman reprint: "Whatever the size of the original edition, relatively few copies got into circulation. The remainder, if any, seems to have disappeared quickly; Numisgraphics appeared on want lists as early as 1879. In any event, the book is extremely rare today, with less than a dozen copies known to exist. Half of these are impounded in institutions and the remaining half ardently hunted by numismatic cognoscenti." This appraisal, made three decades ago, may be a bit pessimistic, but Numisgraphics remains one of the great rarities of American numismatic literature and it has only begun to be fully appreciated, in both intellectual and economic terms. Clain-Stefanelli 11863. Gengerke page i: "The pioneering work on U.S. numismatic auctions... For researchers or collectors of early catalogs, it contains a wealth of information not found elsewhere." Kolbe 231. Sigler 141. Ex Allison W. Jackman Library (Henry Chapman sale of June 28-29, 1918, lot 1084); ex T.E. Leon Library; ex Charles Davis's sale of November 22, 1997, lot 345; ex Jim Neiswinter Library.
(Estimate: $3000)
Attinelli, E.J. NUMISGRAPHICS, OR A LIST OF CATALOGUES, IN WHICH OCCUR COINS OR MEDALS, WHICH HAVE BEEN SOLD BY AUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES, ALSO, A LIST OF CATALOGUES OR PRICE LISTS OF COINS, ISSUED BY DEALERS, ALSO, A LIST OF VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS OF MORE OR LESS INTEREST TO NUMISMATOLOGISTS, WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES. New York, 1876. 8vo [29 by 19 cm], original printed paper covers. Folding frontispiece facsimile of the 1828 Watkins broadside; 123, (1) pages. Front cover signed by A.W. Jackman near top and with ink stamp of T.E. Leon near bottom, with most of the latter's last name lacking. Covers professionally restored, with the chipped original paper (exhibiting some loss) mounted on matching paper and missing border lines added by hand; interiors near fine. Untrimmed. Housed in a folding black cloth chemise within a black full morocco clamshell box; spine with five raised bands, ruled and lettered in gilt. Near fine, with restorations as described. The first substantial American numismatic bibliography and a remarkable work, published, as John Adams notes, "near the climax of the period that witnessed the establishment of coin collecting in the United States." With its colorful vignettes of dealers and collectors of the day and a plenitude of useful facts and fascinating lore, Attinelli's work brings 19th-century American numismatics to life. His word sketches of the great and not-so-great coin collectors, dealers, numismatists and scalawags of the day are indispensable in any attempt to understand the beginnings of commercial and organizational numismatics in the second half of the 19th century in America. Attinelli's meticulous cataloguing of the numismatic auction sale catalogues of the period parallels the thoroughness of Sylvester Crosby in his chosen field of American colonial coins. Parts II and III of the book comprise an in-depth bibliography of "Catalogues and Price-Lists" and "Publications issued in the United States." Both sections are, even today, of great value. Estimates vary as to how many copies of Numisgraphics were originally printed but they are invariably miniscule. Adams comments in the foreword to the Quarterman reprint: "Whatever the size of the original edition, relatively few copies got into circulation. The remainder, if any, seems to have disappeared quickly; Numisgraphics appeared on want lists as early as 1879. In any event, the book is extremely rare today, with less than a dozen copies known to exist. Half of these are impounded in institutions and the remaining half ardently hunted by numismatic cognoscenti." This appraisal, made three decades ago, may be a bit pessimistic, but Numisgraphics remains one of the great rarities of American numismatic literature and it has only begun to be fully appreciated, in both intellectual and economic terms. Clain-Stefanelli 11863. Gengerke page i: "The pioneering work on U.S. numismatic auctions... For researchers or collectors of early catalogs, it contains a wealth of information not found elsewhere." Kolbe 231. Sigler 141. Ex Allison W. Jackman Library (Henry Chapman sale of June 28-29, 1918, lot 1084); ex T.E. Leon Library; ex Charles Davis's sale of November 22, 1997, lot 345; ex Jim Neiswinter Library.
(Estimate: $3000)