Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 166 25 Feb 2023
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From the Jack Collins Archives: the Breen Half Cent Book
Collins, Jack, et al. PHOTOGRAPHS, CORRESPONDENCE, AND OTHER ARCHIVAL MATERIALS RELATING TO WALTER BREEN'S ENCLCYLOPEDIA OF UNITED STATES HALF CENTS. Various locations, late 1970s and early 1980s. Consists of the following: 1. Original photographic negatives and full-size (8.5 by 11 inch) printed contact sheets depicting important half cents from the following collections: The Bareford collection. 2 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Beymer collection. 6 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Bird collection. 2 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Connecticut State Library collection. 10 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Davy collection. 20 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Guth collection. 9 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Hanson collection. 31 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Harriman/Weber collection. 15 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Naftzger collection. 10 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Oghigian collection. 5 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Partrick collection. 14 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Smithsonian collection. 11 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Tettenhorst collection. 20 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. A final folder includes images used in compiling the section of the book on grading, and includes 7 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. Contact sheets generally depict 36 exposures, plus or minus. Some of the 162 contact sheets are duplicates, and a few of them are partials, but, even accounting for these, there are thousands of exposures represented in this group, depicting coins from many of the finest collections of half cents in existence in the early 1980s when these would have been produced. All of the photography is presumably by Jack Collins. A number of the contact sheets include handwritten notes on the back regarding images that were printed in the book, with corresponding marks on the image backgrounds. 2. Correspondence. Includes letters among and between Jack Collins, Walter Breen, Eric P. Newman, Ron Guth, Q. David Bowers, Gary Meghrig, Bill Michal, Dai Nippon (the printers), John Peters, P. Scott Rubin, First Coinvestors, the Library of Congress, Spink, Russ Logan, and others. Several letters are signed by or in the hand of Walter Breen. 3. Other papers. Includes lists for use in proofing, various legal agreements, photographs, lists of coins, provenance notes and printouts, information on shipping, the final binding design (covers without text block), customs and other practical matters stemming from the book being printed in Japan, and so forth. 4. Original printing negatives for the enlarged color illustrations at the end of the Encyclopedia. Twenty full-size negatives (20 by 26 inches), each comprising four pages. Includes blanks. Marked for printing. Paper materials generally vary in condition from very good to fine, with many bearing folds or wrinkles from mailing, use and storage; photos are generally marked up for editorial use, but are otherwise usually fine. An important archive of material relating to the publication in 1983 of Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793–1857. Although Breen began compiling his half cent book in the 1950s, it was eventually set aside while the author attended to making a living and working on other projects. The energy provided by Jack Collins reinvigorated the project. As extraordinary as Breen could be, his business sense was negligible-he struggled his entire life to make ends meet while being widely acknowledged as the foremost American expert in a field awash in money. Collins brought business acumen and social skills to the project, gaining the cooperation of most of the major half cent collectors of the day, arranging for the printing and distribution of the volume, handling its marketing and promotion, and-most importantly-getting the work out of Breen. It would likely never have been completed without him. This archive is genuinely significant. The 162 contact sheets here present include thousands of photographs, including many of the finest half cents in existence. It should be emphasized that many of the photographs were not used in the Encyclopedia, and that these images provide a remarkable insight into a number of highly important collections. The correspondence includes letters on the preparation and printing of the book, the borrowing of significant half cents and other coins for photography, the distribution of the title, contracts between the parties involved, a possible lawsuit, etc. A fascinating group of material. Acquired privately from Kolbe & Fanning in 2013; ex Cardinal Collection Library.
Estimate: 2000 USD
Collins, Jack, et al. PHOTOGRAPHS, CORRESPONDENCE, AND OTHER ARCHIVAL MATERIALS RELATING TO WALTER BREEN'S ENCLCYLOPEDIA OF UNITED STATES HALF CENTS. Various locations, late 1970s and early 1980s. Consists of the following: 1. Original photographic negatives and full-size (8.5 by 11 inch) printed contact sheets depicting important half cents from the following collections: The Bareford collection. 2 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Beymer collection. 6 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Bird collection. 2 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Connecticut State Library collection. 10 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Davy collection. 20 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Guth collection. 9 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Hanson collection. 31 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Harriman/Weber collection. 15 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Naftzger collection. 10 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Oghigian collection. 5 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Partrick collection. 14 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Smithsonian collection. 11 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. The Tettenhorst collection. 20 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. A final folder includes images used in compiling the section of the book on grading, and includes 7 contact sheets with corresponding negatives. Contact sheets generally depict 36 exposures, plus or minus. Some of the 162 contact sheets are duplicates, and a few of them are partials, but, even accounting for these, there are thousands of exposures represented in this group, depicting coins from many of the finest collections of half cents in existence in the early 1980s when these would have been produced. All of the photography is presumably by Jack Collins. A number of the contact sheets include handwritten notes on the back regarding images that were printed in the book, with corresponding marks on the image backgrounds. 2. Correspondence. Includes letters among and between Jack Collins, Walter Breen, Eric P. Newman, Ron Guth, Q. David Bowers, Gary Meghrig, Bill Michal, Dai Nippon (the printers), John Peters, P. Scott Rubin, First Coinvestors, the Library of Congress, Spink, Russ Logan, and others. Several letters are signed by or in the hand of Walter Breen. 3. Other papers. Includes lists for use in proofing, various legal agreements, photographs, lists of coins, provenance notes and printouts, information on shipping, the final binding design (covers without text block), customs and other practical matters stemming from the book being printed in Japan, and so forth. 4. Original printing negatives for the enlarged color illustrations at the end of the Encyclopedia. Twenty full-size negatives (20 by 26 inches), each comprising four pages. Includes blanks. Marked for printing. Paper materials generally vary in condition from very good to fine, with many bearing folds or wrinkles from mailing, use and storage; photos are generally marked up for editorial use, but are otherwise usually fine. An important archive of material relating to the publication in 1983 of Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793–1857. Although Breen began compiling his half cent book in the 1950s, it was eventually set aside while the author attended to making a living and working on other projects. The energy provided by Jack Collins reinvigorated the project. As extraordinary as Breen could be, his business sense was negligible-he struggled his entire life to make ends meet while being widely acknowledged as the foremost American expert in a field awash in money. Collins brought business acumen and social skills to the project, gaining the cooperation of most of the major half cent collectors of the day, arranging for the printing and distribution of the volume, handling its marketing and promotion, and-most importantly-getting the work out of Breen. It would likely never have been completed without him. This archive is genuinely significant. The 162 contact sheets here present include thousands of photographs, including many of the finest half cents in existence. It should be emphasized that many of the photographs were not used in the Encyclopedia, and that these images provide a remarkable insight into a number of highly important collections. The correspondence includes letters on the preparation and printing of the book, the borrowing of significant half cents and other coins for photography, the distribution of the title, contracts between the parties involved, a possible lawsuit, etc. A fascinating group of material. Acquired privately from Kolbe & Fanning in 2013; ex Cardinal Collection Library.
Estimate: 2000 USD