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Memorial of John Allan

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:150.00 USD
Memorial of John Allan
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Bradford Club. MEMORIAL OF JOHN ALLAN. New York: Printed for the Bradford Club, 1864. 8vo, later printed card covers. (2), 39, (1) pages plus a few binder's leaves; outstanding frontispiece engraving of Allan by H.B. Hall, with tissue guard; title printed in red and black. Inscribed to George H. Mathews by John B. Moreau and dated Mar. 27, 1865. Untrimmed and near fine. A very interesting and scarce volume about this 19th-century numismatist who, according to Q. David Bowers's American Numismatics before the Civil War, is "a candidate for being America's first rare coin dealer." Allan was active from at least the 1820s until his death in 1863; his library was sold by Bangs, Merwin in May 1864, with other material derived from his collections being sold in later years including a coin collection sold by Cogan in 1870 (the subject of a plated sale). A well-executed work, printed on thick paper and obviously the product of much care. One of only 250 copies printed. John B. Moreau was the founder of the Bradford Club, and his inscription on this copy is a nice extra touch. The club was a bibliophilic society active between 1859 and 1867 in New York.