LOT Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers LLC  /  Sale 139 - August 22, 2015  / 

423

The Maris Sale, with Preface and Circular

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:225.00 USD Estimated At:350.00 USD
The Maris Sale, with Preface and Circular
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(Smith, Harlan Page). CATALOGUE OF COLONIAL, UNITED STATES, AND PATTERN PIECES FROM THE CABINET OF DR. EDWARD MARIS OF PHILADELPHIA. Philadelphia: Stan. V. Henkels & Co., June 21, 1886. Large 4to, original printed wraps. 30, (2) pages; 501 lots. Separately printed Preface and separately printed Circular laid in. Oversized catalogue chipped at margins, as usual, with cover loosening. Still near fine, overall. Of enormous importance for colonial and state coinages, most especially the New Jersey coppers. Rare with the Preface and especially with the Circular included. Best known today for his seminal work on the New Jersey pieces, Maris also is credited with the first serious works on the die varieties of 1794 U.S. large cents. The sale appears to have generated some controversy. Maris issued a Circular on May 15, 1886, present in this copy, announcing that his collection was to be sold at the auction house of Stan. V. Henkels of Philadelphia. Maris writes in this circular that "The most important of the Colonials will comprise my entire collection of the coins of New Jersey. This will include specimens, or copies of all known New Jerseys, of undoubted genuineness, together with some counterfeits of that period. Also, those which were struck over the Connecticut, Vermont, Nova Constellatio, English, Irish and French coppers; one in brass; one in a mixed metal; one with a small piece of silver in the plow handle; and many other pieces showing fracture of the dies." In an unusual move, Maris catalogued his collection himself. This apparently irritated some coin dealers, who resented this intrusion onto their turf. The October 1886 issue of the American Journal of Numismatics reported that, "although the name of a New York dealer [Smith] was placed on the title page, that gentleman did 'not own a single piece in it,' and Dr. Maris was 'driven to the necessity of placing it there by the attitude of other dealers, who protested against a collector cataloguing his own collection.'" Smith's name appears on the separately printed Preface, but only at the bottom of the title page of the catalogue itself (which reads "With the Compliments of H.P. Smith"); and on most copies seen, even that line is lacking. Charles Davis, in his catalogues of the Champa library, has suggested that it was the Chapman brothers who protested at Maris preparing his own catalogue, noting that they ceased holding their auction sales at Henkels shortly after this sale. Smith's Preface acknowledges "material assistance from the owner, in the preparation of the Catalogue." (There are also references throughout the sale referring to Maris in the third person, though these may have been written by Maris.) Smith discusses the issue of plated catalogues, stating that "I have had 50 Catalogues made, containing six plates." It is generally felt that far fewer than this were issued, as the number of surviving copies has been estimated as fewer than ten. The New Jersey coppers were purchased en masse by T. Harrison Garrett through his agent Harold Newlin for $551 (he had been offered the collection directly by Maris for $1000 earlier). One of the most important sales of the 19th century. Adams 19 (rated A overall and for colonials and patterns in particular). Clain-Stefanelli 12188. Davis 944 ("Perhaps the most difficult sale of great importance to locate with plates").
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