The E-Sylum:  Volume 4, Number 12, March 18, 2001, Article 15

SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME 

   In another coincidence (I'm detecting a pattern here...) 
   Q. David Bowers sings the bibliophile's lament in 
   an article in the Spring 2001 issue of The Civil War 
   Token Society Journal.  In an article titled "Some 
   Personal Notes and Observations Concerning 
   Civil War Tokens", he writes: 

   "I am a pack rat. Especially when it comes to books and 
   catalogues.  I have been squirreling books and other printed 
   material away - if it has something to do with coins.  In fact, 
   my favorite things are not numismatic texts at all, but, instead, 
   are other things - preferably printed in the 18th or 19th 
   century - that mention coins in passing" 

   "I have also acquired a lot of other things, such as bound 
   runs of daily papers from New York and Cincinnati for the 
   Civil War.  The 'problem'  with such things is that if I were 
   blessed with 100 hours per day and 100 days per month, 
   it would take two lifetimes to look through them all.  I've 
   loaned the Cincinnati papers to Steve Tanenbaum, but at 
   last word he has not had the time to look at them either." 

   [Editor's note: there are probably few among us to whom 
   that first sentence does not apply.  In fact, I'm sure our 
   spouses would all love to enroll us in a "Packrats 
   Anonymous" program, where we would stand  up and state 
   (ashamedly), "My name is John Doe, and I am a pack rat". 
   Instead, we go to NBS meetings, damn proud to proclaim 
   ourselves as numismatic pack rats.] 

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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