T. Harrison and John Work Garrett Numismatic Papers Digitized

The Garrett name is one of the most recognizable in American numismatic history, being associated with the Garrett family collection dispersed through four sales by Bowers and Ruddy between 1979to 1981. The collection was a reflection of 19th century collecting habits (Washington pieces, colonials, and U.S. patterns) that included rarities such as two Brasher doubloons and an 1804 dollar.Federal coins were plentiful, but not to the extent of other contemporary collections that typically included extensive variety sets of early U.S. copper and long runs of 19th century U.S. proofcoinage. Still, the series of sales set a record of $25 million, even as the precious metals market was simultaneously collapsing.

John Work Garrett bequeathed his Baltimore estate, Evergreen House, to Johns Hopkins University upon his death in 1942. The Garrett numismatic collection was included, and this was eventually soldthrough Bowers and Ruddy as noted above. David and Susan Tripp, then Director of Johns Hopkins University Collections, later facilitated the transfer of the Garrett papers to the American NumismaticSociety (ANS). Today housed in 20 archival boxes, these papers include correspondence with leading collectors and dealers, and inventory records related to the development of the collection, firstthrough T. Harrison Garrett (1848-1888) and then John Work Garrett (1872-1942).

The Garrett papers were scanned at the ANS through the efforts of ANS Librarian David Hill and Internet Archive Associate John Graffeo, under the sponsorship of the Newman Numismatic Portal. Theseare now available for viewing on the Newman Portal.

Link to Garrett papers on the Newman Portal
https://nnp.wustl.edu/Library/Archives?searchLetter=G

Link to ANS Archer catalog entry for the Garrett papers:
http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/nnan0054