Howard F. Bowker Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Bowker, Howard Franklin
topic: label: Topic
content: Coins
label: Topic
content: Coins, Chinese
label: Topic
content: Coins, Japanese
label: Topic
content: Coins, Korean
label: Topic
content: Knife coins
label: Topic
content: Numismatics
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Nancy Bowker to the Archives Center in 2018.
creator: label: Creator
content: Bowker, Howard Franklin
setName: label: See more items in
content: Howard F. Bowker Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection documents Howard F. Bowker, a coin collector and expert in the coinage of East Asia.
accruals: label: Accruals
content: .50 cubic feet of related archival material received in 2022 was added to the collection in 2023.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Howard F. Bowker was born January 3, 1889, in Winona, Minnesota, and he was a self-proclaimed and self-employed coin dealer in the Chicago area by 1910. He served in the U.S. Navy during both World War I and World War II, and it was while he was stationed in Hankow, China, between 1923 and 1924, that he became interested in collecting East Asian numismatic history as well as philatelic history. During and after his service in the Navy, Bowker was a fervent collector of East Asian coins, banknotes, coin molds, stamps, and rare books. He amassed a collection of more than 100,000 objects between the early 1920s and 1970. He engaged with an extensive network of East Asian researchers and collectors and was one of the most prominent American specialists on East Asian numismatics in American history. He provided consulting services to the Smithsonian Institution in the mid-1950s. In 1958, Smithsonian Secretary Leonard Carmichael officially appointed him a Consultant to the Museum of History and Technology, providing for him to travel from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., to work with the National Numismatic Collection curator, Dr. Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli on organizing the George B. Glover collection. Bowker left his numismatic collection to the Smithsonian in his will. Howard F. Bowker died July 8, 1970.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 10 Cubic feet (36 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1930-1970
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1462
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Articles
label: Type
content: Letters (correspondence)
label: Type
content: Newsletters
label: Type
content: Bibliographies
label: Type
content: Card files
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Materials are arranged into one series in alphabetical order.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection is processed.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Articles -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
label: Genre/Form
content: Newsletters -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Bibliographies
label: Genre/Form
content: Card files
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Content Description
content: The collection consists almost entirely of the subject files of Howard F. Bowker, a coin collector and expert in the coinage of East Asia. The files, arranged alphabetically by correspondent, primarily contain correspondence between Bowker and persons or organizations making inquiries about coins or numismatic books. Additionally, the files include articles on East Asian coinage, newsletters or other publications, bibliographies he created, and a few photographs and rubbings of coins. Also included is a card file containing the details of his collection.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History

Related objects and an audio file for an oral history interview (NMAH-AHB2017q000016) conducted by Ellen Feingold with Marilyn Dorman, Carolyn Bowker, and June Cornell for the Howard Fraklin Bowker Asian Coin Project United States, recorded November 14, 2016.  See accessions: 2017.0035 and 2017.0116.