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Articles - August - 2007 Issue

Herschel V. Jones: Documented Obsession

- by Bruce E. McKinney

A son's memorial to his father's passion.

A son's memorial to his father's passion.


One clue to Mr. Jones roots is found in volume II of his Adventures in Americana. It is item No. 234, John Hombeck Bevier's The Indians, a very rare pamphlet published in Rondout, a nearby place to where he grew up. This piece, in his collection, enjoyed equality with his Columbus Letter. No other collector has valued it as highly. He went far and rose high but never forgot his own history.

He had the possibly good fortune to die in 1928 before the depression befell America and thus did not know the sorry financial outcome of this his final collection. His Americana library was estimated by John Fleming and Edwin Wolf, in their biography of Rosenbach, to have cost Mr. Jones a million dollars. Dr. Rosenbach acquired it from his son, Carl, in 1939 for $225,000.

If you are wondering what a man of exceptional means with an appetite for acquisition could purchase in the 1920's please search this database of all 1,746 items listed in his check list.

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Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>High Bids Win<br>Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction<br>Dec. 4 – 19, 2024</center></b> <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br>Lot 67. Book Press <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br>Lot 68. J. W. Daughaday Printing Press <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br>Lot 69. C. & P. Pilot Press <b><center>High Bids Win<br>Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction<br>Dec. 4 – 19, 2024</center></b> <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br>Lot 73. Vandercook Cylinder Proof Press <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br> Lot 76. Showcard Proof Press <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br> Lot 80. C. & P. Printing Press <b><center>High Bids Win<br>Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction<br>Dec. 4 – 19, 2024</center></b> <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br>Lot 81. C. & P. Printing Press <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br>Lot 82. Kelsey Star Printing Press <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br> Lot 83. Pilot Press <b><center>High Bids Win<br>Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction<br>Dec. 4 – 19, 2024</center></b> <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br> Lot 212. Kelsey Letterpress <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br> Wood & Metal Type. Many fonts and faces. <b>High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:</b><br>Print Shop Miscellany including type, tools, and equipment.
    High Bids Win
    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
    Dec. 4 – 19, 2024
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 67. Book Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 68. J. W. Daughaday Printing Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 69. C. & P. Pilot Press
    High Bids Win
    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
    Dec. 4 – 19, 2024
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 73. Vandercook Cylinder Proof Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 76. Showcard Proof Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 80. C. & P. Printing Press
    High Bids Win
    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
    Dec. 4 – 19, 2024
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 81. C. & P. Printing Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 82. Kelsey Star Printing Press
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 83. Pilot Press
    High Bids Win
    Bookbinding & Letterpress & Antiques Auction
    Dec. 4 – 19, 2024
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Lot 212. Kelsey Letterpress
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Wood & Metal Type. Many fonts and faces.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 4 – 19:
    Print Shop Miscellany including type, tools, and equipment.
  • <b><center>Sotheby's<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts & More<br>Available for Immediate Purchase</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s:</b> William Shakespeare.<br><i>The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare,</i> 1960. 7,210 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Charles Dickens.<br><i>A Christmas Carol,</i> First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> William Golding.<br><i>Lord of the Flies,</i> First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD <b><center>Sotheby's<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts & More<br>Available for Immediate Purchase</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Lewis Carroll.<br><i>Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There,</i> Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> J.R.R. Tolkien.<br><i>The Hobbit,</i> First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> John Milton.<br><i>Paradise Lost,</i> 1759. 5,400 USD
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare.
    The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
    Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens.
    A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Golding.
    Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll.
    Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien.
    The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: John Milton.
    Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD

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