Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 20, May 14, 2000: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. SUBSCRIBER UPDATES We have one new subscriber this week: David Fanning Welcome aboard! This brings our subscriber count to 301. SUBSCRIBER PROFILES New subscriber David Fanning writes: "I'm happy to be on board. I've recently reclaimed my interest in numismatic lit -- I was very into it when I was young (in high school and early college), but grad school really put an end to my hobbies. George Kolbe told me about it today on the phone and had an NBS application in the catalogue I received today (I sent it in as well). My main interest right now is material by Ed Frossard." Welcome back to numismatic literature! Your editor feels like an old timer at 41, having been into the hobby for 20 years now. I actually got started in grad school. I had always been interested in numismatics, but didn't start buying books until I lived in Ann Arbor while getting a degree at the University of Michigan. There were lots of used bookstores and I browsed whenever I got a chance, finding the occasional early Redbook and several standard references. From there it snowballed into full-blown numismatic bibliomania. NEW NBS MEMBERSHIP FLYER Many thanks to literature dealer and NBS co-founder George Frederick Kolbe, who printed a lovely NBS flyer based on the text from our web site. The flyer was included with every one of his latest catalogs (oops - "catalogues"....) Every bit of promotion helps, and is greatly appreciated by the NBS Board. SWEDISH PLATE MONEY BOOK AVAILABLE Subscriber Anders Frösell of Sweden writes: "The Royal Coin Cabinet of Sweden has an good offer. They sell the book on Swedish plate money by Bertel Tingströms for SEK 150(<20$); that is less then 1/3 of the earlier price. You can read most of what is known about the largest real currency in the world. They have a lot of other good books, too. Write to: info@myntkabinettet.se" The Museum's web address is http://www.myntkabinettet.se/museet.htm. Although an English- language version is under construction, it will not be available until later this year. JOHN LEONARD RIDDELL DIARY Your editor has picked up another book relating to New Orleans mint official John Leonard Riddell, who was discussed in The E-Sylum last year. In 1994, Texas A&M Press published "A Long Ride in Texas," The book is an annotated reprint of "a lively diary Riddell kept" while traveling through Texas in the 1830's. The book's editor, James Breeden, writes in the introduction: "Riddell's education was meager because of limited opportunities and having to work on the family farm, which he hated to the point of being characterized as "a very lazy boy", and receiving "frequent floggings." THE USE OF THE TERM "SYLLOGE" In response to last week's discussion of the term "Sylloge", Stuart Segan writes: "Yes, we are thankful that the term sylloge isn't bandied about much by the American dealers. I can't imagine someone of the ilk of B. Max or Kosoff referring to the sylloge they compiled. However, Dave Bowers loves the term sylloge and uses it every chance he can get! While attending the Bass sale, Part II, I heard Dave mention at least three times that he was preparing a sylloge of the Bass gold coins. Truth to tell, let's grant Dave carte blanche use of the term. Of all the American dealers he is up to the task of preparing a sylloge - and as far as the Bass coins go, one is greatly desired and there is no one better prepared to create one than Mr. Bowers." THE JOSH TO END ALL JOSHING Greg Heim writes: There is a site called alt.usage.english.FAQ. I e-mailed someone about this when I read the supposed origin in Money Talks. It sounded a little glorified and they told me that they were almost certain the origin of the word predated the 1880's, but never got back to me with any more information. I am glad to see that someone else dug a little deeper." Bob Van Ryzin of Krause Publications writes: "Thought you might be interested in the following from my 1995 book "Twisted Tails." It was provided by Eric von Klinger who used to work here. "Another favorite story among numismatists is that the popular phrase of disbelief "you're joshing" originated with Josh Tatum and his passing of plated $5 gold coins. Sorry, as writer Eric von Klinger pointed out, its origin dates to much earlier. "The American Thesaurus of Slang, for example, notes of 'josh': 'To banter, 'kid' (U.S.-1845). Origin obscure. The earliness of the usage rules out the supposition that it derives from 'Josh Billings,' who had not yet gained a reputation as a humorist.'" Oh well. The story of Josh, as well as the Billings quotes, were entertaining while they lasted. As at least one NBS Board member can attest, I thought immediately of Bob's book when the subject first came up, I just couldn't put my hands on it in my newly reorganized library. Shame on me - I cleaned things up a little too well... MIKE CRAVEN Bob adds "Sorry to hear about Mike Craven. He was one of the nice guys." The news was certainly heartbreaking; his numismatic film work was outstanding, and his death is a major loss for numismatics. Let's hope his unfinished film on U.S coinage will someday be completed and released. ORIGINAL SCHJOTH? Mike Jones would like to thank our readers for their detailed replies to his questions on Oriental numismatic literature. He would also like to clarify his question on the Schjoth Chinese Currency book. What he seeks is information on the original edition, in original format. "...the original was issued with flimsy paper covers; in fact, the pages were of better quality than the covers ... have any of the readers ever owned or actually held such a copy? ....if seen in an auction catalog, then which one? Again, I am not talking about rebound copies of the original but THE original with paper covers. Thanks." On the subject of Kann, George Kolbe adds: "there are TWO editions of Kann's "The Currencies of China," 1926 & 1927. But, oops, the 1978 reprint is a facsimile of the first edition, lacking, if memory serves, a plate or two." CELEBRITY COLLECTORS In the "just for fun" category, let's compile the E-Sylum list of past and present celebrity numismatists - not famous collectors, but famous people who collect. These are people who are (or were) famous in their own right and generally known to the population at large. Examples would include actors, sports figures, authors, political figures, etc. In the world of philately, for instance, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was known to be a stamp collector. So who are the brightest stars to grace the numismatic stage? Send me your nominations and I'll compile a list. SANDBURG QUOTE American Poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) wrote: "Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." Non-numismatic, but inspirational nonetheless. -- from the quotation service at The People's Cyber Nation (http://www.cybernation.com). FEATURED WEB SITE This week's featured web page is "The Circulation of Irish Coinage in Pre-Federal America" by Philip L. Mossman, M.D. Editor, The Colonial Newsletter http://www.theweboftime.com/Issue-8/Mossman.htm Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ There is a membership application available on the web site. To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. For those without web access, contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer, 5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21704 (To be removed from this mailing list write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
