Chapman, Henry
Born in Philadelphia. Brother of Samuel Hudson Chapman. Married Helen Collins. They had one son and three daughters.
Worked for John Haseltine at age 16. Discovered the Starred Reverse Cent (Sheldon 48) about 1879 while preparing the Bispham sale. Employed William H. Sheldon to attribute large cents. Chapman was a member of the ANA, ANS and several local clubs. After he and his brother separated, he conducted 51 auction sales from 1906 to 1932. He conducted the ANA convention sales in 1908, 1919, 1924 and 1925. He had an extensive personal collection of colonial paper money. In 1970 he was elected to the ANA Numismatic Hall of Fame.
After the death of Chapman, the retail store continued to be operated by his wife Helen. The business was managed by Ella B. Wright who had been an employee for 30 years. She continued the business until 1948. The Chapman library was transferred to the Free Library of Philadelphia.
In 2010 he was inducted into the PCGS CoinFacts Coin Dealer Hall of Fame.
obit: NUM 48 Feb 1935 page 96-97 (photo); ANAHist 512
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1923Illustrated Catalogue Of The Rare And Beautiful Antique Art Treasures, Many Of Which Came From The J. Pierpont Morgan, Spitzer, Bardac, Maurice Kann And Rodolphe Kann Collections, American And Foreign Gold Coins, And Many Operatic Costumes, The Property Of The Late Enrico Caruso
The Complete American Art Association Sale of the Enrico Caruso Collection American Art Association - 4to, contemporary red cloth, gilt. (2), (340) pages; 1350 lots; fine frontispiece photograph of Caruso; illustrated throughout, occasionally in color. Largely hand-priced in pencil, with many buyer names recorded, but not in the numismatic portion. Binding sunned; library slip holder affixed to front endpaper. Very good. The rare complete catalogue of this important and wide-ranging sale, of which coins and medals formed but a portion. Caruso (1873–1921) was an inveterate collector, and had the sagacity (as well as the means) to form highly interesting collections in a number of areas. Henry Chapman was called in to catalogue the numismatic segment of the sale, comprising lots 256–555 (which is rarely encountered in a separate printing). The sale also included some Renaissance medals and plaquettes not included in the coin section. This full catalogue of the great opera singer's art estate is very infrequently seen, especially with prices and names. (The later sale of coins from Caruso's estate by C. & E. Canessa, while scarce, is also encountered more frequently.)
