The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 23, June 8, 2003, Article 5

FORD LIBRARY VISIT

  Mark Van Winkle writes: "Regarding John Ford's library, he
  gave me a brief tour when I was at his house in 1989 for the
  two-part interview Heritage published in Legacy magazine.
  We entered the library with our shoes off. (He said he had just
  had carpet laid and wanted to keep it in nice shape, but Jack
  Collins told me this was his usual practice).  I had never seen
  anything like it before and to this day haven't again.  He was
  obviously very proud of his library.

  It was a true library with rows and rows of books, all neatly
  organized and covering every conceivable subject. He had
  old auction catalogs, new auction catalogs, all the standard
  references, city directories, books on metallurgy.  And the
  condition was simply incredible.  But what was perhaps the
  most unusual aspect was how he had fireproofed the room.
  The ceiling had some sort of fire retardant powder (I forget
  now what it was called). In case of a fire, this powder would
  drop out of the ceiling and smother the flames. He said it cost
  him a thousand dollars to test the system when he had the
  room built in the house.

  I would periodically hear from John whenever we published
  a catalog he thought was worthwhile.  He had me trained to
  select a copy for him with a perfect cover and spine. If it
  arrived in less-than-perfect shape, he would call, and I would
  ship him another until he got a pristine copy.  I also would ship
  him ten copies of our ANA catalogs as soon as they were
  printed and available.  If I forgot, he would always call and
  remind me. Over the years, I must have shipped him 30-40
  copies of the Legacy interviews.

  Fortunately, we had quite a few copies on hand and I could
  always ship them out to him.  John really liked the way the
  interview came out and he gave copies to his many friends."

  [The interviews very interesting and are available on the
   Heritage web site at the following addresses.  Even if you've
   read them before, they are well worth another read.  As
   Mark wrote in the first piece: "John Ford is the most gifted
   storyteller in numismatics today. He remembers events from
   thirty-five years ago with startling clarity, and he retells the tales
   with boundless enthusiasm. This interview took place February
   27 and 28 at Ford's home in Phoenix. From the six hours of
   tape many stories and personality sketches had to be deleted,
   but even with careful editing, Ford's story won't fit in just one
   issue."   -Editor]

  http://www.heritagecoin.com/features/NumisArticles/article.asp?id=246

  http://www.heritagecoin.com/features/NumisArticles/article.asp?id=263

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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