Walter Breen’s Notes, Drafts & Letters on the Stepney Hoard

Breen, Walter. THE STEPNEY HOARD. Three-ring binder assembled by Syd Martin, gathering together the following archival materials from Walter Breen’s library: 1) typewritten letter dated January 17, 1952, signed in ink, from Eric P. Newman to Walter Breen; 2) the original mailing envelope to the above, notable because the back of it features Breen’s handwritten notes for his reply, which has sadly not survived (it is not present on the Newman Portal though Newman mentions receiving it in his following letter); 3) carbon copy of an undated typewritten letter from Breen to Sydney Noe of the ANS, asking his advice on the proper methodologies to be used in interpreting hoards, with some handwritten annotations by Breen; 4) a carbon copy of a typewritten letter dated 11 July 1951 from Walter Breen to John J. Ford, Jr., summarizing his thoughts at that time of the original make-up of the hoard and the facts behind its discovery; 5) a carbon copy of a typewritten letter dated 21 October 1951 from Walter Breen to Damon Douglas, forwarding a draft of his article and asking for any comments he might have; 6) a carbon-copy of an 11-page typewritten draft of his full article, giving weights for many of the coins in the hoard and attributing them by die variety; 7) a different typewritten draft of the first 5 pages of the same article, some of it typed on the backs of earlier drafts, followed by 6 additional pages belonging to other incomplete drafts; 8) one sheet of handwritten notes including Breen’s original listing of varieties and the weights of coins found in the hoard; 9) another sheet with notes on both sides about the die varieties encountered and how they interlink, as well as giving his conclusions; 10) two small handwritten notes, accompanied by one typewritten note to Ford, on various aspects of the hoard; 11) a large page of handwritten notes, densely written, recording information on the coins present; 12) a hand-drawn map showing the hoard site in relation to other areas of early American numismatic activity; 13) three smaller notes discussing die linkages and hubs used; 14) two pages of typewritten summaries and article outlines, with copious handwritten notes. A photocopy of the “Survey” article is also included in the binder for reference. Materials are generally very good or better and have been well-preserved. [online description truncated: see PDF or printed catalogue for full description]