Haseltine, John W. AUCTION SALE CATALOGUES. Philadelphia & New York, 1872-1885. Seventy-three catalogues, being Adams Nos. 5-6, 8-9, 11-16, 18-21, 25-35, 37-50, 52-60, 62-81, 81A, 82-83, 85, and 87. The Sale 87 listed by Adams (June 16, 1898) is not present, though the other Haseltine Sale 87 dated October 19-20, 1885 is. Bound in as well are four different Haseltine fixed price sales, 1873-1882. Bound in four volumes, along with the following eight auction sale catalogues: Cogan's May 2 [mis-dated May 3], 1866; Mason's May 19, 1870; and Birch & Son's June 21, 1871, September 13, 1871, September 28, 1871, April 15, 1879, July 17, 1879, and May 18, 1880. Eighty-five catalogues in all. 8vo, later matching blue cloth; tan leather spine labels, gilt; original printed wrappers bound in throughout. Over forty catalogues hand-priced; seven Haseltine catalogues include original printed prices realized lists (Nos. 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 60, and 74). Generally near fine. A nice run of numismatically important Haseltine sales, accompanied by several other coin catalogues of the era. Three catalogues included here stand out from the rest. The first, the December 18, 1872 Haseltine sale, is a Special Edition mentioned by Attinelli, printed only on one side of each leaf. It is also priced throughout in ink with buyers' names written in for the first nineteen lots. It is the first such copy we recall ever having encountered (in 1987 we sold a similar but distinct example printed on large paper). This catalogue is notable for the inclusion of twenty "Rare Colonial and United States Coins" at the end of the catalogue, including the 500 and 1000 mill Nova Constellation pieces, which together brought $540, an enormous sum at the time accounting for nearly half of the entire proceeds of the sale. The sale listed above as Sale 81A (Birch, September 22, 1884) is described on the title page as having been revised by Haseltine in manuscript, giving him a sort of co-author status. The October 19-20, 1885 John W. Haseltine catalogue present here, in pictorial red wrappers (40 pages, 428 lots), is recorded neither by Adams nor by Gengerke, though at the bottom of the title following "Catalogue by John W. Haseltine," printed on the next line is "Eighty-seventh Sale." Comprising "The Celebrated Indian Collection of the Late Mr. John H. McIlvain," its essentially non-numismatic content helps explain why it escaped the net of both bibliographic piscatorians though it is not the reason why, since they include other non-numismatic Haseltine sale catalogues in their compilations. Indeed, lots 64-70 comprise wampum, certainly worthy of numismatic status, at least in a wider view of the subject. "Comprising an Extraordinary Number of Specimens of the Handicraft of the American Indians," Haseltine terms it "The Finest Collection in This Line Ever Offered at Public Sale." In a two-page preface, instructive of the prevailing mores of the day, he notes that "As the Indians become more civilized, they mostly seem to become dissipated, neglectful of the appearance in which they once took so much pride, and their ancient weapons [offered in the sale in some quantity] are displaced by those of modern manufacture if not of a more deadly nature. It is very important that now, while we have the Indians still with us, that articles, such as are contained in this collection, should be preserved for the information and instruction of future ages." Another notable catalogue present here is the special post-sale edition of the Haseltine Type Table printed on "Thick Tinted Paper," with the original printed pink stiff card covers bound in. The seven Haseltine printed prices realized lists also included here are rarely encountered. "Ordinary" copies of many of the most numismatically important Haseltine sales also present here include the collections of S.W. Chubbuck, Lyman Wilder, the aforementioned Haseltine Type Table, Isaac Wood, A.M. Smith, H.P. Newlin, Wm. J. Jenks, Sylvester S. Crosby, Wm. H. Smith, et al. A Philadelphia native, Haseltine was well connected at the Mint and, during his long numismatic career, marketed a great wealth of rare pattern coins. John Adams writes: "Over the years, the Haseltine catalogs have attracted little attention, even from advanced students. Such neglect is difficult to understand, the more so given that the man was the leading authority of his day in at least four branches of U. S. numismatics: colonial paper, Confederate paper, varieties of early silver and mint patterns." Ex Stack Family Library (Kolbe Sale 111), lot 85 at $2200 hammer; ex Cardinal Collection Library.