By John Anderson, Jr.
While the auctioneer is admitted to be an important factor in the
handling of a book once it has become a finished product, his
relations to it are not clearly understood, even by many of those who
avail themselves of his services as a medium of sale or purchase. An
endeavor shall therefore be made to present here, in the simplest
possible way, some facts which may prove both pertinent and
enlightening.
It is to be presumed that the auctioneering of books began at the time
when it first became apparent to the owners of libraries that a
necessity existed for the establishment of a system by which they
could reach the largest number of buyers, and bring about the quickest
sales and returns, for these are, admittedly, the distinguishing
features of the auction method, as opposed to all others.[4] Selling
to the highest bidder proved the happy solution of the problem, and to
this day it has been universally recognized as the most satisfactory
method of dispersion. To quote a book as having sold for so much at
auction gives it in the minds of all true bookmen the best possible
criterion of value. The prices obtained, though variable, represent a
consensus of opinion, and may be considered as standards.
[Footnote 4: "But it was soon perceived, that when
necessity or inclination determined the disposal of
libraries, the auction method was on the whole by
far the best, producing as it did, and still does,
competition amongst a larger circle of intending
purchasers, with a better result than would have
been obtained by selling _en bloc_."--JOHN LAWLER,
in "Book Auctions in England in the Seventeenth
Century."]
So far as can be traced, the earliest known book auctions took place
in Holland. The library of Marnix of St. Aldegonde was sold by
Christopher Poret at Leyden, July 6, 1599, this being the earliest
recorded sale. The first English book sale is supposed to have been
that held on October 31, 1676, when the library of the then lately
deceased Rev. Lazarus Seaman was sold at his residence in Warwick
Court, Warwick Lane, London, by William Cooper. The earliest known
sale in America occurred at the Crown Coffee House in Boston, on July
2, 1717, and succeeding days, when was dispersed the library of the
famous early New England divine, Rev. Ebenezer Pemberton. Philadelphia
held book auction sales many years in advance of New York, the
earliest known being that of the library of Charles Read, in 1737. The
date of the first sale in New York is unknown, as is the name of the
auctioneer, but an advertisement of McLaughlin & Blakely, of 41 Maiden
Lane, in a paper of May 4, 1825, reads as follows, "From the long
acquaintance of Mr. McLaughlin with the book auction business, he
trusts that the firm will receive a consequent share of public
patronage." It is known that McLaughlin & Co. held unimportant book
sales at 78 Maiden Lane in 1824, and late though this date is, it will
have to stand as representing the earliest book auction sale in New
York until newly discovered evidence reveals an earlier recorded
one.[5]
[Footnote 5: "Seventy Years of Book Auctions in New
York," Robert F. Roden.]
It rarely happens that a really great collection of books is sold
otherwise than at auction. The collector recognizes that the taste and
judgment displayed by him in the acquirement of his library will, by
the medium of the auctioneer's carefully prepared catalogue, be made
evident to all succeeding generations of book lovers. How many would
to-day know the names of George Brinley, John Allan, and William
Menzies, were it not for the sale catalogues of their collections?
They attained book-fame without having sought it.
In this connection, an extract may be quoted from the will of Edmond
de Goncourt, the distinguished French writer and collector:--
"My wish is that my Drawings, my Prints, my Curiosities, my
Books--in a word, these things of Art which have been the
joy of my life--shall not be consigned to the cold tomb of a
Museum, and subjected to the stupid glance of the careless
passer-by; but I require that they shall all be dispersed
under the hammer of the auctioneer, so that the pleasure
which the acquiring of each one of them has given me shall
be given again, in each case, to some inheritor of my own
tastes."
A list of those whose libraries have been dispersed at public auction
would contain an astonishing proportion of names great in the world's
history. Even in cases where the collections were not directly
dispersed by the auction method, it will be found that the bulk of the
more important works contained therein had, at some previous period,
passed through the auctioneer's hands.
To unthinking minds, there exist certain prejudices against the
auction method, doubtless due to a want of discrimination between the
many who faithfully pursue their calling, and the few who by
questionable dealings have dishonored and discredited themselves
rather than their craft. Benjamin Franklin is only one among many of
the American book auctioneers whose names were synonymous with
integrity during the long period--nearly two hundred years--in which
their services were employed in the dispersal of libraries. The long
and honorable careers of certain of the English book auction
houses--notably that of Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, founded in
1744--shows conclusively that the business itself has been accepted by
the public, as forming an essential part in disseminating the world's
literature.
The auctioneer is in a position to extend many exceptional advantages
to his customers.
The quantity and variety of the books offered is far greater than is
possible to be found in the stock of any dealer, being subject to
constant additions and changes. The average quality is high where the
auctioneer makes the sales of private collections a specialty, and
much inferior where dependence is placed upon the sale of material
received from the booksellers which they have been unable to sell
after repeated efforts. Naturally, the better items are reserved for
their own shelves. Among the leaders in the book auction trade, it
will be found that a very large proportion of the material offered by
them comes from authentic private sources, though, in many cases,
there is a disinclination on the part of the owner to allow the use of
his or her name in connection with the sale.
The prices obtained for books at sales held by regular book
auctioneers (no pretence of recognition need be accorded furniture and
bric-a-brac auctioneers, who occasionally secure consignments of books
from parties unaware of the existence of an establishment devoted
exclusively to their sale) are necessarily variable, being governed,
as is everything else, by the law of demand and supply. A particularly
choice item will command about the same price whenever offered,--generally
an increasing one,--but the ordinary book can often be obtained at
bargain figures. This element of uncertainty goes far toward making
the auction sale so attractive to collectors with slender purses, as
also to those who may be designated "moral book-gamblers," always
ready to take a chance where the outcome is problematical. Many fine
collections have been gathered by well-informed private buyers, who
made a point of attending auction sales, and purchasing desirable
items, when for some reason the prices were lower than usual. Some of
these collections have since been sold at auction, and the owners have
netted a handsome profit on their investments.
Many book buyers entertain erroneous ideas regarding the condition of
the volumes sold at leading auction houses, confounding them with
those sold at storage warehouses, furniture auction rooms, etc. The
fact is, a very large proportion of the books, even of the older
species, are in fine, clean condition, many being in choice bindings,
and equal to the most fastidious requirement.
An indication of the important relation of the book auctioneer to the
market, as a source of supply, may be judged from the issue of a
bulletin by the American Library Association during the past year,
calling attention of the three thousand or more public libraries of
the country to the advantages of purchasing at auction sales,
recommending certain named houses, and outlining the mode of procedure
in sending bids. It took years of hard and discouraging labor to bring
about conditions that would warrant this recognition.
The great majority of buyers at book auctions reside in localities
widely removed from the cities where the sales are held, and it is, of
course, necessary that these customers should be given equal
advantages with the home buyers in effecting purchases at sales. The
printed catalogue is made the medium of this accomplishment. The books
are described in detail, mention being made of the author's name, the
title, size, binding, place, and date of publication, and condition
(if either above or below the average). If the edition is special, or
it is a large paper copy, this is duly set forth in the description.
All imperfections are carefully noted. The aim of the auctioneer is to
bring the book or set of books so clearly before the mind of the
prospective buyer as to gain his confidence. An express stipulation is
made in the conditions of sale that any book found to be otherwise
than as described may be returned, but as the auctioneer desires to
avoid this contingency, he is generally careful in his descriptions,
and they may, as a rule, be depended upon.
A printed slip is enclosed in each catalogue on which the intending
purchaser notes the numbers of the lots he desires and the limit of
price to which he is prepared to go. It is then forwarded by mail to
the auction house, where the slips are tabulated by a clerk, the names
and amounts being placed against each item in a specially prepared
catalogue. Incidentally, it may be stated that all bids are
considered as strictly confidential.
At the time of sale, the principal of the establishment, or one of his
chief assistants, takes his place in the audience on an even footing
with all other buyers, and uses the bids, as enrolled, in competition
with such as may be offered by other attendants at the sale.
Where two or more bids have been received on any item, the competition
is first narrowed by the elimination of all except the two highest
ones, and then the start is made at a figure just beyond the second
highest. The battle between the auctioneer, acting as the
representative of the out-of-town bidder, and some ardent book lover
personally attending the sale, for the possession of a particularly
coveted work, often provokes genuine enthusiasm. It is finally knocked
down to the highest bidder at the point where competition ceases, and
this is often much below the limit named by the buyer. The wise
purchaser at auction, when assured of the honorable standing of the
house with which he deals, will not hesitate in sending liberal bids,
for by so doing he will gain much and lose little.
The methods of conducting sales and handling bids differ somewhat in
the various cities, but that, as above outlined, is adopted by the
leading houses. In some concerns, the auctioneer himself executes the
commissions from the rostrum, but when this is done, even though he
may be a man of the strictest integrity, the method is open to
criticism, it being well understood that the reputation of an
auctioneer is largely dependent on the high prices he obtains.
There is a material difference between the English and American
methods of cataloguing books for sale at auction. In England the
charges are inclusive, the cost of printing, postage, etc., being
assumed by the auctioneer, so that he finds it to his interest to
compress catalogue descriptions into the narrowest possible compass,
to minimize the distribution of the catalogue, and to spend as small
an amount of money in advertising as possible. In America, the charges
are exclusive, the commission representing the auctioneer's only
interest, and the incidental expenses of printing, etc., are paid by
the consignor. Because of this, a more liberal policy is pursued as to
expenditures. Many good titles that are bunched in lots in the London
sales are here separately catalogued, mention is made of all defects,
and, on the average, more careful attention is paid to the details of
the descriptions. Catalogues are given a wider circulation in America,
and more dependence is placed on the receipt of bids from out-of-town
buyers. New methods and channels of advertising are being constantly
considered and utilized. It is believed that these elements, combined,
conduce to the benefit of the consignor, when the material offered
possesses real interest and value.
The auctioneer who conducts a modern high-class establishment, where a
guaranty of intelligent service is given, can employ only the best
available talent for cataloguing purposes, either men of proved
ability and special knowledge, or those that show a decided aptitude
for the work and give promise of attainment.
Most book auction houses in this country are obliged to call in the
services of an interpreter when a book in other than the English or
French language is to be catalogued, but in Europe the force employed
is, as a rule, equal to all emergencies. To illustrate the variety of
demand made upon the modern auctioneer, in this line, it may be stated
that the establishment with which the writer is connected, can
catalogue items in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish,
Portuguese, Latin, Greek, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish; in fact, nearly
all of the European, and some of the Oriental Languages, without
calling upon outside help.
A book auctioneer would find it as impossible to properly handle books
without the use of a suitable reference library, as for a carpenter to
work without tools. In a live, up-to-date auction house, every
bibliographical work of real value not already possessed is secured
when found in the open markets, and consulted frequently. These
collections often represent an expenditure of thousands of dollars.
Some single works call for the outlay of hundreds, but they are
essential for the use of the expert cataloguer.
The labor involved in handling books in connection with their sale at
auction is very heavy. Supposing that a library of, say, five thousand
volumes is offered for sale. It is packed by the owner, or under his
directions, and is forwarded to the auctioneer. The boxes are opened
and the contents placed in a special compartment. They are then
catalogued, each item being separately handled. Another clerk then
arranges them for exhibition on the shelves, where they remain until
the time of sale. During the sale, they are again exhibited, and
handled, and after it are laid aside in groups, according to their
newly acquired ownership. When shipment is made the following day, or
later, another handling is required. No scheme can be devised that
will admit of less than four handlings of the entire lot. When we
consider that in some establishments nearly a million separate items
are received and sold each season, some idea may be formed of the
labor involved.
The auctioneer has been obliged to either adapt his business to modern
conditions, even though it entails heavy expense and added burdens, or
take a rear place in the procession. Business cannot be transacted now
as it was even five years ago, though many attempt to do it by the
antiquated methods of the times "befo' de war." More books are sold
by auction each successive year; and with the wonderful progress being
made in the literary development of this great country, it is likely
that the auctioneer will become in the near future an even more
important factor in the formation and dissemination of libraries than
ever before.
The following extract from a magazine article on "The Book Auction,"
written years ago by Joel Benton, may be deemed a fitting conclusion.
He said:--
"In no one place are there so many eager patrons of the book
auction as in New York. Here are men who can give thousands
of dollars for a single book, if they choose, and add it to
an already extremely valuable collection.
"It is pleasant to see these men and their representatives
sitting in the auction room, and poring, over their
catalogues. There are times when they must not be disturbed,
or spoken to. Great issues depend upon their utmost
attention. Not Izaak Walton, the many rare editions of whose
one great book they rapturously fish for, ever fished more
intently for trout and grayling than they for the beauties
of thought and of the printer's art.
"No idyls of the brook call your chronic book buyer to bask
in green meadows, and under cerulean skies while the auction
season lasts. The pine floor, the gaslight, and the voice of
the auctioneer hold him. His house may overflow with
thousands of unshelved volumes. Naught cares he. It is not
because he is short of reading that he buys. It is because
he is drawn by that fascinating, never-to-be-accounted-for,
and inexpressible ardor of the pursuit. I have a friend who
says he would rather attend a book auction than spend an
evening with the President, or with our greatest general, or
with a literary lion like Tennyson or Browning."