. One hundred years of book auctions, 1807-1907; being a brief record of the firm of Hodgson and Co. (commonly known as "Hodgsons") ... to town for sale. Moreover, almostevery subsequent sale was held in London, a factwhich seems clearly to point to the conclusionthat London—which is still the greatest book-market in the world—was at once recognized asthe best centre for sales. The second sale washeld at the rooms of Mr. Saunders at 14, OldCompton Street, Soho, where the business wascontinued until May, 1808, and where, as it isstated on the catalogues, everything connectedwith Literature will
. One hundred years of book auctions, 1807-1907; being a brief record of the firm of Hodgson and Co. (commonly known as "Hodgsons") ... to town for sale. Moreover, almostevery subsequent sale was held in London, a factwhich seems clearly to point to the conclusionthat London—which is still the greatest book-market in the world—was at once recognized asthe best centre for sales. The second sale washeld at the rooms of Mr. Saunders at 14, OldCompton Street, Soho, where the business wascontinued until May, 1808, and where, as it isstated on the catalogues, everything connectedwith Literature will find a ready and advan-tageous sale. Occasionally, however, the saleswere effected either at Toms Coffee Housein Cornhill—a famous tavern vvhich was fre-quently used for auctions, and which had becomea rendezvous for merchants during the latterpart of the eighteenth and early part of the nine-teenth centuries—or at the London Tavern. Itwas here that the third auction was held on istOctober and two following days, and it is inter-esting to observe that the advertisement of thissale which appeared in The Times for 30th 14. ^*^j_ ClIANtKin \ \ 1 : . September, was the first of many hundreds of thefirms announcements which have since appeared,and still continue to appear, in that paper. In May, 1808, the firm moved to premises atNo. 39, Fleet Street, almost immediately oppo-site the old church of St. Dunstan. This situa-tion was recalled by W. H. Ireland in hisscurrilous poem, Chalcographimania (pub-lished in 1814), where, in the second book, de-scriptive of an imaginary tour through the well-known auction rooms of the day, he refers toMr. Robert Saunders: Last worthy to be rankd the friendOf Catalogiis^ Ill unbendMy Muse, that from Pall Mall meanders,To halt at Auction-room of S—nd—rs;Whose heavy head leaves in the lurch,His neighbours of St. Dunstans Church;I mean the wooden brace that tell,The fleeting hours by striking- bell. —the reference in the l
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectauctions, bookyear190
