The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 19, May 11, 2003, Article 4

NOTES ON MARGINALIA

  Gary Dunaier writes: "Regarding handwritten notes in the
  margins of books: I, personally, don't care for them.  But
  I don't think it's something that should be rejected on a
  wholesale basis.

  For example, I don't think any self-respecting numismatic
  student would turn down the opportunity to acquire a
  used coin book solely on the basis of writing in the margins
  --  if the notes were written by Q. David Bowers or
  someone of his caliber."

  Bill Spengler of Colorado Springs writes: "While in general
  I abhor the practice of underlining or writing in the margins
  of serious books, especially in irremovable ink, this once
  worked to my considerable advantage.  On a visit to my
  favorite Oriental bookseller in England in 1976, I was
  fortunate to acquire a 39-volume numismatic library of
  original editions of most of the museum catalogues and
  other standard references on ancient and medieval coins
  of South Asia -- my specialty -- published between 1866
  and 1941, including all the Numismatic Supplements to the
  "Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal" 1904-1937.  They
  were all beautifully bound in tan leather with gold lettering and
  decoration, and were in nice condition.

  Several of the volumes, particularly those covering gold coins
  of the Gupta Dynasty of ancient India, contained "marginalia"
  written in blue pencil -- routinely used by British colonial
  administrators in annotating documents and exchanging notes.
  What a great find, evidently the personal reference library of
  a British collector of Indian coins while stationed in the
  Subcontinent!

  I was eager to know who of the rather small group of such
  British numismatists had owned and used this important library
  long ago.  Sadly, however, these volumes did not contain a
  single bookplate, owner's signature or other overt indication
  of ownership, and the bookseller had had them in stock so
  long that he couldn't recall where, how or when he had acquired
  them!  I took this as a challenge in detection and eventually
  discovered the solution in the volume on "The Coinage of the
  Early or Imperial Gupta Dynasty of Northern India" by the
  famous British Indian numismatist Vincent A. Smith, bearing
  on its cover a faint inked note presenting the book to one
  H. Rivett-Carnac Esq. "with the author's kind regards".  This
  was the only such clue in the entire library.

  Confirmation came in a notation on one of the plates in this
  volume on which someone had written "to BM" in blue pencil
  alongside a gold stater of Kumara Gupta.  When I looked up
  this piece in the British Museum I found on the coin's little
  round ticket that it had been donated by none other than
  H. Rivett-Carnac.  This established ownership of this volume
  and, by association, all the others.

  I'll save other details of this interesting story, including the
  identity and numismatic background of  Rivett-Carnac, for
  an article I intend to do for The Asylum.  But for now let the
  story speak for the sometimes value of "marginalia".

  [Feel free to print out The E-Sylum and scribble all over it.
  -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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