Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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Rare Tom Elder Soapbox
Elder, Thomas L. [editor]. THE NUMISMATIC PHILISTINE. Volume I, Numbers 1 and 2. New York, October-November 1909. 8vo, self-covered as issued. 20 + 28 pages; text illustrations. A bit dusty, but near fine. Bourne 1900-33. A rare American numismatic periodical, and perhaps the most explosive. The impetus behind the publication was the contentious American Numismatic Association election of 1909, which saw Dr. J.M. Henderson and Frank C. Higgins running for president. Elder was firmly in the Higgins camp. A fierce fight ensued at the convention over the use of proxies for voting. Henderson and his supporters held an enormous number of proxies: four members brought with them 375 proxies (at a time when the membership was a small fraction of what it is today). Higgins graciously removed himself from contention, asking that Henderson be elected unanimously. If Higgins was willing to accept defeat, Elder clearly was not. He established the present publication to excoriate his enemies and rail against what he saw as the cabal running the ANA. Happily, the Philistine is leavened throughout by humor. That said, it makes the most cantankerous issue of Frossard's Numisma seem tame in comparison. A third and final issue, not here present, exists but is very rare. Ex M. Bourne Library.
(Estimate: $150)
Elder, Thomas L. [editor]. THE NUMISMATIC PHILISTINE. Volume I, Numbers 1 and 2. New York, October-November 1909. 8vo, self-covered as issued. 20 + 28 pages; text illustrations. A bit dusty, but near fine. Bourne 1900-33. A rare American numismatic periodical, and perhaps the most explosive. The impetus behind the publication was the contentious American Numismatic Association election of 1909, which saw Dr. J.M. Henderson and Frank C. Higgins running for president. Elder was firmly in the Higgins camp. A fierce fight ensued at the convention over the use of proxies for voting. Henderson and his supporters held an enormous number of proxies: four members brought with them 375 proxies (at a time when the membership was a small fraction of what it is today). Higgins graciously removed himself from contention, asking that Henderson be elected unanimously. If Higgins was willing to accept defeat, Elder clearly was not. He established the present publication to excoriate his enemies and rail against what he saw as the cabal running the ANA. Happily, the Philistine is leavened throughout by humor. That said, it makes the most cantankerous issue of Frossard's Numisma seem tame in comparison. A third and final issue, not here present, exists but is very rare. Ex M. Bourne Library.
(Estimate: $150)