UNITED STATES NUMISMATIC LITERATURE
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The One Hundred Greatest Items Of United States Numismatic Literature Rank: Number 21
Given the surfeit of bibliographic resources which have appeared since the publication of Adams’ Volume I in 1982, including Gengerke’s American Numismatic Auctions, Davis’ American Numismatic Literature, and a substantial run of The Asylum, one can lose sight of the mountain that was scaled in this, the first comprehensive survey and evaluation of nineteenth and twentieth century numismatic auction catalogues. Beyond the technical data, Adams’ biographical overviews add substantial color to the work of the early cataloguers. The two volumes greatly spurred the growth of numismatic bibliophilia, formally instituted as the NBS just two years prior to the publication of Volume I. As a set, they remain the standard reference covering the oeuvre of the most significant American numismatic auction cataloguers.
Volume 1
Photo courtesy of Thomas Wetter Numismatic Library.
ADAMS, John W. UNITED STATES NUMISMATIC LITERATURE. VOLUME I: NINETEENTH CENTURY AUCTION CATALOGS.
Mission Viejo, CA: 1982
270pp, 22 plates of ink sketches
Quarto: 26 x 18.5 cm
Hardbound: Red quarter cloth and gray boards, page edges speckled, lettered in black and gilt.
Volumes 1 and 2 limited to 500 sets.
A 16 page supplement of corrections and additions is available.
Volume 2
Photo courtesy of Thomas Wetter Numismatic Library.
ADAMS, John W. UNITED STATES NUMISMATIC LITERATURE. VOLUME II: TWENTIETH CENTURY AUCTION CATALOGS.
Crestline, CA: 1990
418pp, 21 plates of ink sketches
Quarto: 26 x 18.5 cm
Hardbound: Red quarter cloth and gray boards, page edges speckled, lettered in black and gilt.
Volumes 1 and 2 limited to 500 sets.
Special Editions
Photo courtesy of George Frederick Kolbe - Fine Numismatic Books.
Mission Viejo & Crestline, CA: 1982, 1990.
270, 418pp, 22 + 21 plates of ink sketches
Quarto: 26 x 19 cm
Hardbound: Red quarter morocco, gray cloth sides, lettered and decorated in gilt, all page edges gilt.
Limited to 21 sets.
Each set of the special editions has one original ink sketch bound in.
Volume 1 Reprint
Photo courtesy of Robert Rightmire.
Crestline, CA: 2001
270pp, 22 plates of ink sketches
Quarto
Hardbound: Full red cloth, lettered in gilt.