Crosby, Sylvester Sage. The Early Coins of America; and the Laws Governing Their Issue. Comprising also Descriptions of the Washington Pieces, the Anglo-American Tokens, Many Pieces of Unknown Origin of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries and the First Patterns of the United States Mint. Boston. Sylvester S. Crosby. 1875. Very Fine.Quarto. Hardbound in brown full morocco with two sets of gilt fillets, the inner ones with corner ornaments on both covers. Five raised bands divide the spine into six panels, the second and fourth of which bear the title and publication date, respectively, in gilt. The remaining panels and bands themselves are ornamented in gilt. Page edges are marbled on all sides. Colorful marbled pastedowns and flyleaves complement the attractive binding and edges, while nicely matched maroon cloth supports reinforce the inside joints of the covers. More than 100 woodcut illustrations are found throughout the text, with 10 heliotype plates and the usual two heliotype foldouts. While directions to the bookbinder giving proper placement of the 10 plates were included in the printed volume (found opposite the table of contents), in this volume two of the plates were erroneously placed. Plate VIII is opposite page 222 instead of 322, and Plate IX is opposite page 238 instead of 338.<p>In addition to the usual plates, there is also included the rare “Woodburytype process” plate produced by Dr. Edward Maris who advertised it for sale in the April 1876 edition of the <em>American Journal of Numismatics</em> for 50 cents. It was intended to illustrate varieties that had been missed by Crosby. Those who had purchased Crosby’s work by subscription or as a complete work, but unbound, could easily have Maris’ plate bound into their copies, as here. It is backed on heavy card and bound in after page 362. A single tear is noted in this plate, inward from the right edge. Aside from the expected light wear and trivial staining of some tissue guards at the plates, there are no problems worthy of mention. However, a single library blind stamp is noted in the front, as are small pencil notations which reveal some additional history of this volume. These include the ownership by collector E.E. Rust, in 1892, a friendly loan in 1894, and an apparent sale to “A. Zimmerman” in 1922. E.E. Rust may have been the original owner, but this may have also been a subscription copy of either Horatio N. Rust or Nathaniel J. Rust, both of whom are listed among the individual subscribers on page 381, though we have not been able to connect either name with E.E. Rust. A collector of Early American coins and cents, E.E. Rust’s collection was sold by the Chapman brothers in October 1904. Hand edit to the subscriber name, Miss Eliza Susan Quincy, as usual. This impressive and desirable volume was the lone book selected for the front cover of George Frederick Kolbe’s 101st sale, in October 2006. Charles Davis called this work “the masterpiece of nineteenth century numismatic literature…”From the D. Brent Pogue Library. Earlier ex E.E. Rust, 1892; Kenneth W. Lee; George Frederick Kolbe, June 1981, lot 551; Keith N. Kelman; George Frederick Kolbe, October 2006, lot 817.
