Letters in Appreciation
George Frederick Kolbe is the principal of the firm bearing his name
and annually conducts the premier auctions of fine numismatic books in the U.S. He
was Editor of The Asylum, the quarterly journal of the Numismatic Bibliomania
Society, and held several auctions of the Harry Bass Library.
Scrutable at Last
I first met Harry Bass in the late 1970s and we visited at coin conventions several
times in the 1980s. Numismatic literature was our common bond and most encounters
ended with Harry's library being enriched and my stock of rare numismatic books being
depleted. Though pleasant, he seemed aloof and, frankly, I was in awe of this man.
We got to know each other better in the mid-1990s when I acted on Harry's behalf
in acquiring many of the most important numismatic works sold in the Bowers and Merena
auction sales of the Armand Champa library. I learned then how selfless he was. Only
if the American Numismatic Society Library already had a copy would a desideratum
be purchased for his own collection. The great majority of his acquisitions, in fact,
ended up in New York and not in Texas. I also learned of his deep sense of honor
and propriety.
Last year I became better acquainted with him. While on a business trip to Dallas,
I was invited to lunch by Harry. Unexpectedly (though I had my fingers quadruply
crossed), it culminated with a visit to Harry's home and, yes, his numismatic library.
Though it is magnificent, the library is not what made the trip most memorable. It
was seeing Harry in his own environment. His computer area was something of a cross
between the bridge of the starship Enterprise and the control panels of L. Frank
Baum's great and powerful Oz. I mean no disrespect - Harry Bass truly was bravely
exploring new worlds and that day he patiently demonstrated the immense value of
the internet to a novice.
On a warm Spring day in Dallas this year, I learned still more. Ed Deane's plain-spoken
yet eloquent eulogy filled in the blanks. I now knew more fully what a friend numismatics
and I had lost. obscured until then by Harry's lack of need for recognition, it became
clear that we had lost the greatest numismatic philanthropist of our time.
George F. Kolbe
Crestline, California
June 22, 1998