Dave's quest to assemble a collection of coin albums is not unlike the quest of earlier numismatic pioneers such as Thomas Cleneay, who wasmentioned in the catalog of The Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection - Part IV (Bowers and Merena, November 20-21, 2000, Lot 610)

"... In the annals of gold coins, he looms as a very significant figure - a numismatist of the stripe of Virgil Brand: buying one piece isnice, having two is nicer yet, and having three is even better... No doubt we can all thank Thomas Cleneay for preserving for numismatic posteritymany gold coins that he was able to acquire from banks and elsewhere in the late 19th century, in an era when the series did not draw a wide circleof interest. Collectors of Civil War Tokens may know that Cleaneay is one of the most important figures who collected these tokens in the 1860's, inthe time when they were produced."

Many thanks to the cataloguer (QDB?) for mention of The Asylum and the Numismatic Bibliomania Society later in the lot description.