Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers will be offering for sale at auction the personal library formed by numismatic bookseller George F. Kolbe on Saturday, October 26, 2019. The 166-page auction catalogue will mail in about one week to clients currently on our mailing list. A PDF of the printed catalogue is available now on the main Kolbe & Fanning website at numislit.com, and the live internet auction can be accessed via our online auction platform at bid.numislit.com.
The Kolbe Library was cataloged by George himself in his 2012 book, The Reference Library of a Numismatic Bookseller (now out of print). The auction features not only those works discussed in that volume, but additional items acquired in the years since. It is an outstanding offering of numismatic bibliographies, reference books, catalogs, and special editions from around the world amassed over a career spanning more than half a century.
A few selected highlights include:
- Lot 96: Milford Haven’s copy of Medina’s rare 1912 Bibliografia Numismática Colonial Hispano-Americana
- Lot 133: a fine first edition copy of Emmanuel J. Attinelli’s 1876 Numisgraphics
- Lot 151: a complete bound set of Norton’s Literary Letter, including the first article about the history of numismatic literature in America
- Lot 260: a complete bound set of The Numismatist
- Lot 262: an exceptional, complete bound set of the ANS Proceedings volumes, a rare and underappreciated source of information
- Lot 443: William Charles’s famous caricature (c. 1815) of Philadelphia merchant banker Stephen Girard, The Ghost of a Dollar
- Lot 323: six bound volumes of antiquarian bookseller catalogues offering numismatic literature, from the library of Emil Bahrfeldt
- Lot 329: an outstanding complete set of the 1808 auction catalogues of the Pieter Van Damme coin collection and library, printed on special paper, in contemporary bindings, and entirely priced and named
- Lot 467: a deluxe edition of Bird & Bull Press’s leaf book of Alciato’s Emblemata, with an original wood engraving used to print one of the woodcuts commissioned for this work
- Lot 482: George Kolbe’s complete hardcover set of his own catalogues, including extremely rare individual bindings and other delicacies.
Bid and View Lots Here
Register Early to Bid Online
Bids may be placed via post, email, fax or phone, as well as online. Kolbe & Fanning is using Auction Mobility as our third-party online bidding platform. Auction Mobility is an app-based platform allowing users the ability to participate in the sale through phones, tablets and computers. To register for the sale, bidders must go to bid.numislit.com and sign up. Once you have set up an account, you may browse lots, place advance bids, or participate in the live sale online. Those wishing to participate on their devices can download the new Kolbe & Fanning app through the Apple or Google Play Store.
The extensive, full-color catalogue is now available at bid.numislit.com. The sale will feature live online bidding using Kolbe & Fanning’s custom third-party online bidding platform. Printed catalogues will be mailed to established customers. Bidders wishing to make an appointment to view auction lots are invited to contact David Fanning at [email protected].
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Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers LLC is a licensed and bonded auction firm in the State of Ohio. For more information, please see the Kolbe & Fanning website at numislit.com or email David Fanning at [email protected]. To register for the sale, go to bid.numislit.com. We look forward to your participation.
