Gilbert, Ebenezer. THE UNITED STATES HALF CENTS. FROM THE FIRST YEAR OF ISSUE, IN 1793, TO THE YEAR WHEN DISCONTINUED, 1857. ALL DATES AND VARIETIES DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED. New York: Published by the Elder Numismatic Press, 1916. First edition, first issue. Small 4to, original maroon cloth, gilt. (2), 43, (3) pages; 6 fine matte photographic plates on medium stock bound in throughout the text. Signed by Gilbert on the opening blank; signed by Eaton on the front flyleaf. Heavily annotated by Eaton, with writing in pencil or ink on every printed page bearing descriptions of varieties as well as the rarity table. In addition, typewritten pages by Eaton have been tipped in throughout, affixed to each page at the gutter, on which Eaton has compiled additional information regarding “subvarieties” of half cents (see comments). There are signs that other material, probably photographs, were at one point affixed to the pages but have now been removed. An original glossy photograph of an 1831 Gilbert 1-A, distributed later as a supplemental plate, is bound in, along with a printed description. Binding somewhat stained and quite shaken, with text block coming loose (which can be remedied). A handwritten letter from Gilbert’s daughter Ida, written on the author’s behalf to Commodore Eaton, is laid in. Good to very good. A fascinating copy of the rare first issue of Gilbert’s major work on United States half cents, being the heavily annotated working copy of a major collector of the series, Commodore William Colgate Eaton (1851–1936). The extent of the annotations in this copy would be impressive, even were it not for the typewritten materials which Eaton has included. Eaton published an article, “The Recut Dies of U.S. Half Cents,” in the November 1921 issue of The Numismatist (pages 518–523, with an addenda on pages 564–565 of the following issue), and his notes are primarily devoted to tracking the identification of what he considered different “subvarieties.” While the overall condition of this heavily used copy may not be exceptional, it is certainly an exceptional copy in other ways. The letter from Gilbert’s daughter, Ida Gilbert Horton, dated November 6, 1918, apologizes for the author, who was sick in bed, and provides information on a coin he had sold to Eaton previously. Gilbert’s book has never been fully appreciated, either as a reference or as a rarity in the field of numismatic literature. The proliferation of unidentified reprints is part of the problem; part of the blame also falls to the irregularities in its original publication. While the text of the first edition remains constant, the appearance of the plates varies widely. Publisher Tom Elder apparently had prints of the plates made in small batches only as needed. In P. Scott Rubin’s “The Printing History of the Gilbert Half Cent Book” (The Asylum, Spring 1992), the mystery of the various combinations of plates and text issued over the years is largely unraveled. Rubin cites Elder’s statement in his March 19–22, 1924 sale that “The last of the first fifty copies and all present sets of plates used up.” This establishes the first edition, first issue Gilbert as one of the premiere rarities among 20th-century American numismatic books, a designation long obscured because of the availability of a myriad of emissions, all bearing the 1916 date. The first issue may have exclusively been bound in russet cloth, with later issues being in green cloth or card covers. The first issue was the only one to appear during the author’s lifetime, so all signed copies are by definition first issues. Another key to distinguishing between the various issues is the degradation of the 0 in “Obverse 10” on Plate II: here, the 0 is mostly intact. The 1831 1-A supplemental plate is very rare. Clain-Stefanelli 12288. Davis 428. Ex Wayne Homren Library.