. One hundred years of book auctions, 1807-1907; being a brief record of the firm of Hodgson and Co. (commonly known as "Hodgsons") ... ractically thesame in 1807 as now; indeed, they may be saidto be identical with those originally adopted bythe earliest Eng-lish book auctioneers at the endof the seventeenth century. It is, however, in-teresting to note, that although the printed con-ditions of the first sale by Mr. Saunders statethat the books will be sold with all faults, amanuscript note is appended to the effect thatthe auctioneer further undertakes that, if uponCollating at the place of
. One hundred years of book auctions, 1807-1907; being a brief record of the firm of Hodgson and Co. (commonly known as "Hodgsons") ... ractically thesame in 1807 as now; indeed, they may be saidto be identical with those originally adopted bythe earliest Eng-lish book auctioneers at the endof the seventeenth century. It is, however, in-teresting to note, that although the printed con-ditions of the first sale by Mr. Saunders statethat the books will be sold with all faults, amanuscript note is appended to the effect thatthe auctioneer further undertakes that, if uponCollating at the place of sale any of the old andof the new Books prove defective I will makegood the imperfections or return the the first few years in the firms history, thesales usually took place either at half-past fivein the evening or at eleven oclock in the morn-ing, whereas one oclock is now the invariablerule, while, in accordance perhaps with the moreleisurely methods of the period, not more thanabout 150 lots were offered on each occasion inthe earlier catalogues—a number which hasincreased latterly to an average of 330—though 26. the sales seldom occupy more than two hoursand a half. The number of buyers at each salehas likewise also largely increased, for whereasin the old days those who attended were confinedchiefly to residents in or about town, at thepresent time the actual buyers—averaging nearlyICG at each sale—are representative of book-buyers and collectors throughout the UnitedKingdom, as well as the more important book-selling centres on the Continent and in theUnited States, not to mention the occasionalvisits of buyers from Canada, India, Australia,and South Africa. In conclusion, the present members of thefirm take this opportunity of expressing the hopethat, with the aid of their efficient staff—whoseservices, it is pleasing to record, show an aver-age length of eleven years—they may maintainand uphold the honourable traditions of the pasthundred years. f
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectauctions, bookyear190
