Term and Sale Catalogues
In the early seventies, while living at Holloway, it was my good
fortune to meet Mr. Edward Arber, who also dwelt in that district. At
that time he was making the transcript of the Registers at Stationers'
Hall, and also publishing many reprints from Old English literature.
It is to the many interesting conversations which I had with him
while walking to Stationers' Hall Court, as we both at that time did,
that I became more interested in some of the ways of the booksellers
of previous generations, and in the introduction and use of the
Booksellers' Catalogues. From the origin of printing in England in
1472 until 1526, it is quite a question whether any books which can
be considered English literature were produced and printed in this
country. The books sold here were mostly foreign productions, and, as
numbers of them had an ultra-Romish tendency, it was a sure passport
to a cruel death to possess a copy of many of the books of the period.
Even these were produced in small octavo size, so that they could be
carried in the owner's pocket without discovery.
The earliest register of books published was that by the Company of
Stationers of London which began in 1554. This record was carried on
until 1640, and it is from these catalogues, of which my friend Mr.
Arber devoted the best part of twenty years in producing a transcript,
in five folio volumes, that any bibliographer can now trace the authors
and date of publication of much of the literature of that period.
Following on from the before-mentioned period, there were various
classified catalogues issued by different publishers, but in 1662-3
there was published a catalogue of books registered at Stationers'
Hall from the 25th of December 1662 to the 25th of December 1663. This
was the first attempt at the yearly issue of a complete list of books
published, and, it is supposed, was brought to an end by the Plague and
the Great Fire of London, which we know from "Pepys's Diary" and other
records caused the destruction of an immense number of books to the
value of some £200,000.
The next important series of Catalogues were "The Term Catalogues
of Books printed in England." These were begun in November 1668 and
ended in June 1709. Their title was evidently taken from a legal
point of view, as they were divided into periods of Michaelmas Term,
Hilary Term, Easter Term and the Trinity Term. The catalogues were
very carefully reproduced in three volumes by Mr. Arber, and often
gives me much material for speculative thought and reflection. In an
introductory preface to these Term Catalogues, Mr. Arber writes: "There
is something perfectly God-like in a wide survey for a given period
of the entire literature of a great nation. It is like Moses viewing
from Mount Pisgah the whole of the land of promise, and will help us
to a better understanding of and a greater delight in the ages of the
Restoration of William and Mary and of Queen Anne." These catalogues
were intended to be an annual list of the books entered at Stationers'
Hall, and no London stationer could lawfully publish a book until he
had been made free of this Company.
In looking through the volumes of catalogues above referred to, I have
been greatly interested in the titles of some of these old books.
What food for thought must there have been in some of the following:
"Sober Singularity, or an Antidote against Infection by the example
of a Multitude"; "The Arts of Grandeur and Submission, a discourse
concerning the behaviour of great men towards their inferiors"; "A
Mirror or a Looking-glass for Saints and Sinners"; "The Ladies Blush";
"The Citizen turn'd Gentleman"; "Two Bulls roaring out Excommunication"
(the first by Pope Paul III against Henry VIII; the other by Pope Pius
V against Queen Elizabeth); "The Worth of a Penny; with the causes
of the scarcity and the misery of the want thereof, in these hard
and mercyless times"; "A Mirror that Flattereth not"; "A new Map of
the Seat of the War in Germany so designed that you may presently
know whether name of any place be in the map or not, and to see by
inspection the distance of it from any other place without measuring
by compasses"; "A Catholic Pill to purge Popery"; "England's Glory, or
the great improvement of trade in general by a Royal Bank or Office of
Credit to be erected in London, that they may give out bills of credit
to a vast extent that all Europe will accept of rather than money."
By the title it is evident that the finances of this country were as
important to the world then as they are to-day.
This list could be increased to fill a volume of these quaint and
interesting titles. It also contained a list of the publications of
many books, which are popular to-day by great authors such as John
Bunyan, R. Baxter, Milton, Shakespeare, and others. One could not
help noticing the names of some publishers which are well known in
the book trade to-day, such as A. & J. Churchill, Collins, J. Moxon,
Richard Bentley, although of course they are not the successors to
those of the Term Catalogue period. The Catalogue also states that in
1702 the "Daily Courant" was started, being the first daily newspaper
to be published in London. I find also in these volumes what I think
is the first notice of the odd copy being given. The advertisement
runs as follows: "Proposals are now published for printing all the
practical works of the late Rev. Mr. Robert Baxter in four volumes and
in folio, many of which he wrote at the desire of Archbishop Ussher. To
contain one thousand sheets of a large and very good paper, the price
to subscribers four pounds, ten shillings in quires, the seventh book
gratis, which reduces it to £3 12_s._ 2_d._ The proposals at large may
be had of the Undertakers, Thomas Parkinson and others." Ever since
this period, the giving of the odd copy has been frequently discussed,
but it appears quite possible that by the introduction of the net
system it has received a very serious stoppage which may lead to its
final abolition.
The earliest book auction sale recorded took place at Warwick
Court, Warwick Lane, in 1676, and in the following ten years only
seventy-three auction sales of books are recorded as having been held.
These auctions usually began at nine in the morning, and biddings
might advance at a penny per time. The sales, however, differed from
the sales of a later period. Formerly at the sales I attended the lots
of books fell to the highest bidder, but although an auctioneer was
usually present, he could only sell by a scale according to numbers,
which was arranged by the publisher for whom the auctioneer acted.
These delightful old catalogues are a continual source of inspiration
to all booksellers, even if it is only the author or title of a book in
which he is interested.
It is, however, the sale catalogues of the eighteenth and the greater
part of the nineteenth century which interest me most. It was a period
which may be called the Golden Age of bookselling. The sale catalogues
of this later time unfortunately came to an end in 1890, with that
of Richard Bentley & Son, whose business was afterwards taken over by
Messrs. Macmillan & Co. At the end of this catalogue, dated October 21,
1890, there was reprinted from "The Bookseller" an article on "Trade
Sale Dinners," to which I contributed some of the information, and I am
indebted to the courteous head of Messrs. Whitaker & Co. for allowing
me to reproduce it in this chapter. It is as follows:
"The very ancient institution, peculiar to booksellers, of dining
together on the occasion of a trade sale, is almost extinct and is, we
very much regret to think, likely to become entirely so in the near
future.
"The fashion of dining together on the occasion of a sale is a
very old one. An interesting collection of sale catalogues in the
possession of Mr. William Reader contains specimens dating back to
1704. They consist of the catalogues sent in the ordinary course of
business to Osborne and his successor, the first of the Longmans.
It is evident from these catalogues that sale dinners were a
well-established custom of the trade as long ago as the beginning of
the eighteenth century; and, as it must have required considerable
time for the practice to have developed into a custom, their first
beginnings may possibly have been as far back as 'the spacious times
of great Elizabeth,' when bookselling first took shape as a regular
trade.
"The first catalogue in Mr. Reader's collection is that of the stock
of Mrs. Elizabeth Harris, deceased, which is to be sold at 'The Bear,
in Avey Mary Lane,' on the 11th December, 1704, 'beginning at 9 in the
morning, when the whole company shall be entertained with a breakfast,
and at noon with a good dinner and a glass of wine, and then proceed
with the sale in order to finish that evening.' The sale of the stock
of the late John Nicholson took place in 1718 at the Queen's Head
Tavern in Paternoster Row, and the catalogue bears marginal notes in
Osborne's handwriting, the names of Curil and Tonson appearing amongst
the buyers. Nicholson's interest in certain share books was also
disposed of, including Robert Clavel's shares, which he had formerly
acquired. (Robert Clavel was a bookseller who flourished during the
latter half of the previous century. He carried on business at the
Peacock, in St. Paul's Churchyard, and in 1673 issued the well-known
'Catalogue of all the Books Printed in England since the Dreadful Fire
of London in 1666 to the end of Michaelmas Term, 1672.') Nicholson's
stock and shares appeared to have realized altogether £2,533, a very
respectable sum for those days.
"It is remarkable that these sale catalogues were printed in almost
exactly the same form as those of our own day. Nearly all are in
folio, with broad margins for annotations, and they are addressed
to 'A select number of Booksellers of London and Westminster,' in
the identical terms still current. Only those who were invited by
having a catalogue sent them were expected to attend the sale, and the
invitations were restricted to booksellers of established position.
'No stallmen admitted' is the significant notice printed at the head
of one of the catalogues.
"It was not always a dinner that was given; sometimes it was a supper
at which the buyers were entertained, as at the sale of Edward
Valentine's stock in 1725, on the margin of which catalogue we
first meet with the name of Longman among the buyers. In any case,
however, whether the stock sold was that of an individual bookseller
or a miscellaneous assortment from several contributors, it was the
invariable custom to entertain those who came with a substantial
repast 'and a glass of good wine.' At Thomas Osborne's sale in 1743,
the catalogue even recites the delicacies which were provided,
'consisting of turkies and chines, hams and chickens, apple-pies,
etc., and a glass of very good wine.'
"Thirteen years later, in 1756, the sale took place of part of the
stock of the late Thomas Longman, Osborne's successor and founder
of the great Paternoster Row house. The copyrights and shares of
Jacob and Richard Tonson were sold in August, 1767, and we notice
the names of Dilly, Rivington, and Newbery amongst the buyers. Many
of the copyrights were offered in twentieths, for the convenience of
bidders. At that time, and long afterward, the risk and expense of
publishing a book were jointly borne by a group of booksellers, who
met periodically to agree upon the number to be printed, and to audit
accounts, and these shares constantly appear in the sale catalogues of
the period.
"The trade sales were always held at some selected tavern or
coffee-house; until 1754, they took place at the Queen's Head Tavern
in Paternoster Row, and up to that time it is a rare exception to find
them held elsewhere. But in 1755 they were removed to the Queen's Arms
in St. Paul's Churchyard, in consequence, as a note on a catalogue
of that date states, of the Queen's Head Tavern being converted to
another use. For many years subsequently the Queen's Arms continued
in favour, and sales were held there as late as 1813; but from about
1790 the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill seems to have had the
preference. The Horn Tavern, Doctors' Commons, was sometimes selected,
and less frequently the Globe Tavern, in Fleet Street, where as long
ago as 1768, a sale was held. The Chapter Coffee House in Paternoster
Row was sometimes used, but not often, although the share-meetings
continued to take place there until a very recent date. The London
Coffee House gradually obtained a monopoly of the trade sales, until
they were finally transferred to the Albion Tavern in Aldersgate
Street.
"During a period of nearly a hundred and ninety years the sales appear
to have been almost exclusively held at five houses, which, as time
went on, succeeded each other in favour. The transfer to the Albion
was gradual, but in 1831 the greater number were already held there,
and in recent years seldom took place elsewhere, though occasionally
one was held as far west as the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen
Street.
"Within the present generation, the houses having annual sale dinners
numbered about fourteen--Bentley, Bickers, Bohn, Chatto & Windus,
Longmans, Macmillan, Murray, Quaritch, Routledge, Seeley and Burnside,
Tegg, Ward and Lock, Warne, and Whittaker; and of these only two now
survive. Messrs. Longmans' last sale dinner took place on November 5,
1872, and Mr. Murray's last dinner on November 4, 1887.
"It is curious that the form of trade sale catalogues should have
remained so long unchanged. The old-fashioned yellow-wove post
folios of Murray are well remembered. Those of Bentley are somewhat
different. Their catalogues were printed in red and black for some
years, but since 1885 in blue and brown; and, with a single exception,
in 1880, their dinners always took place at the Albion."
It was in connexion with the firm with which I have been for so many
years associated, that I happened, quite accidentally, some thirty
years ago, to come across a parcel of catalogues which were placed
with a heap of papers to be sent to the paper mills for destruction.
My interest in them was such that as they were considered only
waste paper, I took the bundle home, and they have since been to
me an endless source of pleasure and instruction. Some of these
catalogues are dated 1797, but from the early part of the nineteenth
century, judging from the catalogues, books and booksellers had a
very prosperous period. At this time, the following publishers and
booksellers had a large number of titles in their catalogues, and
in many instances they were very important publications. Among them
are Sir Richard Phillips (Lord Mayor of London), Darton & Harvey (10
Crosby Square), Joseph Johnson, J. Walker, F. & C. Rivington, Murray
& Highley (the predecessors of the celebrated house of John Murray),
Longman, Hurst Rees & Orme (who at this period had a very miscellaneous
catalogue of books, including plays), Wilson & Spence of York, Henry
Mozley of Gainsborough, Cadell & Davies, J. Stockdale of Piccadilly,
Scotcherd & Letterman, W. Miller, C. Law, Constable, Vernor & Hood, G.
& J. Robinson, and R. Baldwin. Most of these catalogues contain books
which had been issued by a combination of bookseller publishers; the
shares in the publication of a particular book were divided up by those
interested in the book; and the profits were divided between those who
contributed to its publication.
A catalogue, dated April 1805, of Joseph Maurnan, agent to the
University of Cambridge, besides enumerating Bibles of various sizes,
from folio to twelves and twenty-fours, and Common Prayers of a like
character (these were sold 5 for 4, 9 for 7, 12 for 10, and other
numbers with a similar reduction), also contained such books as "Lambe
on Constitutional Diseases"; Ruddiman's "Rudiments," new edition;
Ruffhead's "Statutes," 18 vols., £38; New Geographical Game upon cards
in a box, 7_s._ 6_d._; also a collection of Plays and Farces.
Another catalogue, dated June 1805, shows that at this period women
held a position amongst the booksellers. This catalogue was issued
by Elizabeth Mathews, 18 Strand, and the terms of the sale were four
months' credit for £10; four and eight months' for £20; four, eight,
and twelve months' for £50; four, eight, twelve, and sixteen for £100:
money was evidently not of the same value then as now. Some of the most
important books in this catalogue were "Annual Register," 33 vols.;
Buffon's "Natural History," 15 vols.; Sheraton's "Cabinet Maker's
Drawing Book," 18_s._; "Encyclopædia Britannica," 20 vols. Another of
the same period also contained many important works such as "Johnson's
Dictionary," in 4 vols., Mavor's "Voyages and Travels," 25 vols.,
Radcliffe's "Mysteries of Udolpho," 4 vols.; "Pinder's Works," 5 vols.;
Pope's "Homer," 5 vols. "Shakespeare's Works," in 21 vols., and with
four different editions in 10 vols. and two in 9 vols., are all in this
catalogue. From this period onward the same characteristics appear in
catalogues, but by degrees, when publishers only sold the books they
published, the constitution of the catalogue and the sales greatly
changed and the business done was more ordinary and commonplace. I have
spent many most enjoyable occasions when attending these sales, and
also met there many distinguished people connected both with the trade
and also with the making of literature.
As a few samples of the characteristics and the business done at
some of the sale dinners when the custom was drawing to a close, I
may mention that at Murray's sale, in 1885, the completing volume
of the "Speaker's Commentary" was among the works offered, and some
2,500 copies were sold within the first ten minutes; of that great
traveller Du Chaillu's "Land of the Midnight Sun," in 2 vols., about
1,800 copies were sold. The educational works of Dr. Smith were then in
great demand, and there were disposed of at this sale some 7,500 copies
of his "English Course," and of the Latin 16,000, while of "Little
Arthur's History of England," 12,500 copies were sold.
At another sale, when Bishop Wilberforce's Life was the leading book
offered, the principal sales were as follows: 1,000 Mudie's Library,
900 Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 450 Hamilton & Co., 250 Smith & Son, 100
W. Kent, and 100 Hatchard's, whilst 22,500 of Smith's Latin Course were
quickly purchased.
Times and the methods of education have greatly changed, but there
are two things respecting these sales which strike me very forcibly.
These are the comparatively small sales to-day of the above-mentioned
educational works, also whether the publisher has been wise to stop
these trade sales. They undoubtedly not only brought publishers and
booksellers together, but offered an inducement to the booksellers
which does not exist to the same extent to-day to make up stock orders
and interest themselves in books.
Personally, as I have suggested in other chapters, I should be
delighted to see some organized association brought into existence of
which all those interested in the making and selling of books could
become members, so that representatives of the different departments
of the trade might meet together and talk over or discuss questions
connected with it. This I am sure would lead to a greater and more
satisfactory prosperity in all departments of the publishers' and
booksellers' trade than has ever yet been attained.