If a stranger were to ask where the fur quarter in the City of London is
situated, perhaps the simplest answer would be to tell him to make for
the Guildhall, and then to walk due south towards the River Thames. He
would proceed along King Street (which is continued as Queen Street
after Cheapside is passed) and in less than five minutes would be at his
destination. What the Rue d'Aboukir is to Paris and the Bruehl to
Leipzig, Queen Street is to London. It stands for the heart and centre
of the London fur trade. Except for the Hudson's Bay Company's
warehouse, which stands apart, all the most important fur merchants and
commission houses are located within a stone's throw of the College Hill
Public Saleroom--the entrance to which is in Queen Street--where the
world's fur produce is periodically put up for auction.
_World's Buyers Assemble in Saleroom_
In the saleroom itself there is little to suggest a fur market; no skins
or pelts are to be seen; no samples are displayed to catch the eye of
possible buyers; there is no odour of furs or naphthalene. The saleroom
reminds one of a large classroom with its rows of desks and forms facing
a narrow rostrum whereon the selling broker and his assistants sit. Here
three times a year assemble fur buyers from all over the world. The
typically English features of the brokers contrast strangely with the
faces of the cosmopolitan crowd which throngs the saleroom benches; and
when in the intervals of selling a buzz of conversation is heard, it
seems incredible that one is in the heart of London and not in some
Levantine port.
_Selections Are Made From Catalogs_
Each buyer brings to the saleroom his catalogues, containing valuations
and descriptions of the pelts he has inspected at the various fur
warehouses. For the most part, only a very small proportion of the lots
catalogued are seen by the prospective buyer; these are "show" lots and
represent the bulk, which could not be properly examined in the short
time at his disposal. There are usually about twenty catalogues--some of
which contain only a few hundred lots but most of which run into
thousands of lots--and as the fur collections are distributed amongst a
dozen different wharves and warehouses, where the skins are lotted and
placed "on show," only a few days before the sales takes place, it will
be appreciated that the thorough-going dealer who wishes to acquaint
himself with the whole collection of furs on the market has plenty to
do!
_The Order of the Sale_
At one time the order of selling was rather haphazard, but in recent
years the sale arrangements have been revised and co-ordinated.
Catalogues are now divided into definite sections, and the entire market
supply of furs contained in section 1 of the various catalogues is
offered for sale before section 2 is dealt with, and so on--the brokers
balloting among themselves for precedence. In accordance with
long-established custom, the first goods to be put up for sale are those
coming from China and the far east (these auctions are referred to as
the "China sales"); next comes the catalogues of Australian furs,
followed immediately by any offerings there may be of fur seals.
_H.B.C. Auction Premier Attraction_
Although these auctions occupy the whole of the first sale week, they
are of secondary importance when compared with the sales of the choicer
North American and Siberian furs, which commence on the Monday of the
second week with the Hudson's Bay Company's sale. Needless to say, the
Company's auction always proves the greatest attraction of the whole
series and never fails to draw a crowded room. The Company's catalogue
is the only one now sold in its entirety without a break, and this for
the very good reason that it provides the most reliable basis for
comparison of values and enables the experienced buyer to appraise
market fluctuations with confidence.
The rest of the week following the Company's sale is taken up with the
disposal of "fine" furs (such as beaver, ermine, foxes, marten, otter
and sables) from other catalogues; the third week sees the "staple"
lines (such as skunk, opossum, musquash and raccoon) offered for sale;
and in the fourth and final week sundry South American and lower grade
skins are offered.
_The Flexible Eyebrow An Aid in Bidding_
The method of bidding at the fur auction is by what is known as the
"silent" system. The auctioneer usually starts the bidding himself at a
moderate figure and the buyers interested signify their bids by various
methods--such as by a nod, or a wink, or even a flick of the pencil;
sometimes indeed a buyer will merely look at the auctioneer whilst the
bids are being taken and only remove his gaze when his limit has been
exceeded. It is often amusing to notice the tactics adopted by two
bidders, each of whom wants a particular lot: one may perhaps be seated
in the front row and he will perhaps bid by _raising his eyebrows_; the
other (seated further back) will not look at the broker at all but will
narrowly _watch his rival's hat_ (the movement of which betrays the
bidding) whilst he records his own bids by _moving his little finger_!
As a rule, bids advance by a definite amount, which varies with the
value of the article in question: bids for beaver skins, for example,
may start at 50s. and advance by 2s. steps to 100s., beyond which the
advance is by 5s. steps; in the case of musquash an advance of 3d or 6d
per bid is sufficient. When demand is keen and bidding brisk, buyers
frequently discard the silent method, and the broker is assailed with a
chorus of "up! up!" from all parts of the room. As it is often difficult
in such cases to distinguish between bidders, the possession of a good
pair of lungs is a decided advantage for a buyer.
_Furs Sold at "Per Skin" Rate_
Most lots are sold "at per skin"--that is to say, when a lot of musquash
containing 1600 skins, for instance, is put up, the auctioneer needs to
register the price of only one skin--the value of the lot being 1600
times that figure.
Although sitting for weeks in the saleroom buying sundry lots of skins
from this catalogue and that may seem a dull job, yet the buyer with
imagination finds the fur trade fascinating. He realizes that the skins
he buys have taken months of patient toil and careful handling to
assemble from the uttermost parts of the earth.
To him, the sale mark "MKR" denotes not merely a particular quality of
fur, but suggests the mighty river of the great Northwest threading its
lonely way from the plains to the Arctic Sea. It is this sense of the
world-wide ramifications of the fur trade, and the knowledge that the
Company's organization has played, and still plays, a notable part in
its development that make one feel proud to belong to the Hudson's Bay
Company.