The Fuld Set of Small Format Chapman Catalogues, Some with Plates
Chapman, S.H. & H. EIGHTY-SIX SMALL-FORMAT CHAPMAN BROTHERS CATALOGUES. Philadelphia, 1879-1932. Includes the following: S.H. & H. Chapman in partnership: 73 catalogues, including Adams Nos. 1-5, 7-8, 10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 22-31, 33-46, 48-53, 55-73, 75-80, and 82-83. Virtually complete, excepting the large format sales and two very rare non-numismatic sales [Adams 21 and 54; Adams 6 and 17 have been delisted]. The great majority are hand-priced. Henry Chapman independently: 9 catalogues, including Adams Nos. 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 37, 43 and 51. A few are hand-priced. S.H. Chapman independently: 4 catalogues, including Adams Nos. 12, 18, 19 and 24. Of the above, the following plated sales are present: Adams No. 1 (Chapman collection, with 2 of the 4 plates); 2 (Bispham collection, with both plates); 14 (Chapman collection, Matthew Stickney's copy with all 3 plates); 34 (Boeing & Bridgman collections, with all 4 fine plates); and 78 (Morris collection, with all 5 fine plates). In addition, the following catalogues served as the brothers' account sales records: Adams No. 3 (Haines); 11 (Galpin); 68 (European Crowns); and 76 (Woodin & Rust). 8vo, bound in six volumes in black cloth, gilt; original gilt-printed white paper covers generally bound in. Some catalogues had been trimmed for previous bindings before being assembled into this set and rebound, with some resulting variation in size. Condition generally near fine. The Chapman Brothers have the distinction of being this country's first career numismatists, having pursued this avocation as a vocation from their youth. Following a brief apprenticeship with Captain John Haseltine, the firm of S.H. & H. Chapman, Numismatists and Antiquaries, was formed in June 1878. The principals were 21 and 19 years of age. They had been in business barely a year when they conducted their first auction. Sale one, which consisted of selections from stock, was notable for the quality of its content as well as the innovative introduction of phototype plates. With the Bushnell sale of 1882, the Chapman Brothers introduced their large-format plated catalogues, an extraordinary development combining scholasticism with shrewd marketing. The next 24 years saw Samuel Hudson and Henry proceed from one triumph to the next. In 1906 the brothers decided to dissolve their partnership. Together, they had conducted 81 auctions. While Samuel Hudson Chapman would go on to conduct another 28 sales and Henry Chapman a further 52, the present set concentrates on the small-format catalogues issued by the brothers as a partnership. The father-son team of Melvin and George Fuld burst upon the numismatic scene in the early 1950s, taking over responsibility for writing the "Token Collector's Page" for The Numismatist with the January 1951 issue. The ensuing decades saw them become highly esteemed experts in exonumia, with George also becoming heavily involved with colonial coins. Together, they formed a massive library, perhaps the best American numismatic library of its day, which was sold by Frank and Laurese Katen in two sales conducted in 1971. The present bound set of Chapman catalogues derives from this library, and includes nearly all of the small-format catalogues published by the duo as a partnership. It includes a number of scarce catalogues, including two--Adams 39 and 49, both offering miscellaneous material from the stock of John W. Kline--that are among the rarest Chapman catalogues of this period. This is a rare opportunity to add to one's library a nearly complete set of Chapman Brothers catalogues from the first half of their careers. Ex George & Melvin Fuld Library (Katen Sale 37 [1971], lots 915-920); ex Harry W. Bass, Jr. Library (Kolbe Sale 78, lot 69); ex Craig Smith Library (Kolbe Sale 95, lot 96); ex Cardinal Collection Library.
(Estimate: $7500)