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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 26, 2025
Book: Specimens of Fancy Turning "My good friend Gil Parsons suggested that I let your readers know about a rare and extremely interesting American book I have, which Gil feels would be of interest to people who are interested in bank note engraving. the description is below." 
[WOOLSEY, Edward J.] Specimens of fancy turning: executed on the hand or foot lathe: with geometric, oval, and eccentric chucks, and elliptical cutting frame. [2], 2 pp. and 30 unnumbered leaves of plates. 4to, 220 x 180 mm, publisher's green cloth. Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1869. $15,000.00 A fine copy of this wonderful example of the use of photography in America in the nineteenth century. In the preface Woolsey states that he made these images. Inspired by "an amateur friend", whose "exquisite productions" were too delicate to be successfully photographed, these "coarser" designs were produced by first applying India ink to an enameled card with a "flat camel's hair brush". The card was then fastened to the face of a chuck with tacks or mucilage, whereby a spring tool "cut through the blackened surface of the card, exposing to view the white paper". The cards were subsequently photographed. "They lack, however, the depth of black background, which cannot be equaled by the solutions of silver employed by the photographer." A fine copy of this rare book. 
For more information, see:
Thank you - very interesting - I was not familiar with this publication. I found more information at the link below. -Editor This early photography book features thirty tipped-in albumen silver prints of geometric designs created on "the hand or foot lathe". Resembling something between spirograph drawings and textbook diagrams of orbiting electrons, the figures were created using geometric, oval, and eccentric chucks and an elliptical cutting frame. Attributed to "an amateur" on its title page, the book is the work of Edward J. Woolsey (1803–1872), an heir of the mercantile Woolsey family and partner in the New York Patent Sugar Refinery.
To read the complete article, see:
The Hamilton Fish Trade Dollar Set "The video regarding aluminum use in pattern coins etc, did have some errors in it. The most obvious being the Hamilton Fish trade dollar set was struck in silver not aluminum."
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
More on Zanzibar Banknotes "I have been intrigued by Zanzibar for decades and have kept a list of notes and serial numbers during this time. Serial number 20780 for a P3 10 rupee is not on my list. I believe this note might be one that has not been auctioned before, and might be of interest to some collectors for this reason. "In 1964 a State Dept. 18-country concert tour of Africa took me to exotic Zanzibar, the highpoint of the trip, for me."
Thank you. Great note. -Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Query: Colonial Coin Club "Wayne Shelby found a number of wooden nickels listed on eBay with the legend "Colonial Coin Club of Penna." and others with the related legend "Colonial Coin Club Levittown, PA." Two examples are shown below. Does anyone know anything about a 1970s Colonial Coin Club located in Levittown, Pennsylvania? "The Friendly Club" was evidently founded in 1962. If you have information, please respond to: rogermoore435@yahoo.com." 
Interesting. Can anyone help? -Editor
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: Subscribe All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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