George F. Kolbe’s Library on Sale
Kolbe & Fanning 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 has been mailed to clients. A PDF of the printed catalogue is available on the main Kolbe & Fanning website, and the live internet auction can be accessed via the online auction platform.
The Kolbe Library was catalogued 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, catalogues, 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 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 443: William Charles’s famous caricature (c. 1815) of Philadelphia merchant banker Stephen Girard, The Ghost of a Dollar
- 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.
There are a variety of ways to participate in the sale. Bids may be placed via post, email, fax or phone, as well as online. Kolbe & Fanning use 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, just click here 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 Kolbe & Fanning app through the Apple or Google Play Store.
Bids placed via post, email, fax or phone must be received by Friday, October 25, the day before the sale, in order for them to be processed. Advance absentee bids may also be placed at any time online; live internet bidding will be available during the sale itself through the same platform.
