Ford’s Annotated Taylor Sale

Bowers & Merena Galleries. THE FREDERICK B. TAYLOR COLLECTION AND OTHER PROPERTIES. New York, March 26–28, 1987. 4to, original pictorial card covers. 317, (3) pages; 3915 lots; color portrait; text illustrations; 3 color plates. Annotated by Ford from lots 1001 to 2405 (with notes by Michael Hodder in the section dealing with Indian Peace medals), with a few exceptions; Prices realized list laid in. Fine. [with] ADDITIONAL MATERIALS RELATING TO THE TAYLOR COLLECTION SALE. Includes two series of annotated photocopies of the sale catalogue, one covering lots 2389–2772, the other 2402–2753, each annotated by a different party with starting and selling prices, along with a number of successful bidder numbers, some including names or initials, and notes on condition, etc. Also present are bidder cards for Ford (539) and John W. Adams (540); a slip with some Adams bids written in pencil; a photocopy sheet comprising the names of some fifty bidders keyed to their buyer number; and several letters to and from Ford concerning the sale. Near fine. John J. Ford, Jr.’s annotated saleroom copy of this extensive collection of colonial and early American coins, featuring Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey coppers. The sale also featured the notable Warren Baker collection of Canadian Blacksmith Coppers, which Ford has annotated here in purple ink with starting and selling prices, along with bidder numbers and a few of the major buyers identified by name. Counterstamped coins and subsequent lots to 1369 are similarly annotated, including notes on condition in red ink. Of lot 1364, a Meyers & Co. circa 1850 brass die trial, Ford notes: “Anton ran me up from $550” (Ford bought the piece for $4,000). The colonials, from lot 2001 to 2405 are annotated in purple ink with starting and selling prices, along with bidder numbers. Lot 2020, the 1724 Pattern Hibernia halfpenny features detailed notes in red ink on condition and comparison with a piece in Ford’s collection. The additional materials here present include: photocopies of parts of the sale that Ford was unable to attend; information on five lots consigned to the sale by Ford; a March 30, 1987 letter to Ford from Michael Hodder with interesting observations about the sale; and a March 31, 1987 note to Ford from Michael Hodder concerning “Xerox copies of Taylor cat. pages.” Ex Kolbe Sale 106, lot 28.