THE sale by auction of the Duke of
Roxburghe's celebrated library is ac-
knowledged to have been the greatest
auction contest that ever took place.
The great passion and pursuit of the
Duke's life was the collection of rare
and costly volumes. There were of it
some ten thousand separate "lots," as
526
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
auctioneers call them, and almost every
book was one of rank and mark.
The most memorable event of this
auction related to the Editio Princeps
of Boccaccio, a book printed in Venice
in 1474, but which, at the time of its
being sought for by the Duke, was so
extremely rare as to have been obtained
by him only at a cost of several hun-
dred dollars, and, a thorough biblio-
maniac as he was, he prized it beyond
any other volume in his collection.
When, therefore, after several weeks
of the sharpest competition among the
book-hunters for the various works al-
ready offered, the auctioneer arrived at
this volume, the climax of the battle
was reached. The moment of sale ar-
rived. Evans, the knight of the ham-
mer, prefaced the putting up of the
article by an appropriate oration, in
which he expatiated on its extreme
rarity, and concluded by informing the
company of the regret, and even an-
guish of heart, expressed by Mr. Van
Praet, that such a treasure was not to
be found in the imperial collection at
Paris. Silence followed this address.
The honor of firing the first shot was
due to a gentleman of Shropshire, un-
used to this species of warfare, and
who seemed to recoil from the rever-
beration of the report himself had
made. " One hundred guineas," he
exclaimed. Again a pause ensued, but
anon the biddings rose rapidly to five
hundred guineas. Hitherto, however,
it was evident that the firing was but
marked and desultory. At length all
random shots ceased, and the cham-
pions stood gallantly up to each other,
resolving not to flinch from a trial of
their respective strengths.
A thousand guineas were bid by Earl
Spencer to which the Marquess of
Blandford added ten. One could now
have heard a pin drop. All eyes were
turned all breathing well-nigh stopped
every sword was put home within its
scabbard and not a piece of steel was
seen to wave or to glitter, except that
which each of these champions bran-
dished in his valorous hand. At last
the contest closed down. " Two thou-
sand two hundred and fifty pounds? said
Lord Spencer. The spectators were at
this absolutely electrified. The Mar-
quess quietly adds his usual " ten," and
so there was an end.
Mr. Evans, ere his hammer fell, made
a short pause and indeed, as if by
something preternatural, the ebony in-
strument itself seemed to be charmed
or suspended in the mid-air. However,
at last down dropped the hammer.
Such a result naturally created excite-
ment in commercial as well as book-
collectors' circles, for here was an ac-
tual stroke of trade in which a profit
of more than two thousand per cent,
had been netted. Eleven thousand dol-
lars for a single wlume !
New York Pawnbroker's Customer.
IT would be difficult to find a more
readable sketch of a man's feelings and
expedients when in a financial strait,
than that which Kimball gives of Par-
kinson at the pawnbroker's. Here it
is : Up to that time I had never visited
a pawnbroker's shop. It seemed as if
it were a species of humiliation to en-
ter one. Disappointed of receiving a
small sum I had that day counted on,
and knowing I must not go home with-
out some money, I determined to make
the trial. I had in my pocket a valu-
able watch, of an approved maker. It
had cost me $200. I looked at it. Nev-
er did it seem so much of a companion
as at that moment. I strolled slowly
along Nassau street till I reached the
Park, and stood quite undecided. * It
was here that Downer, on his way
home, came up with me.
" What are you waiting for ? "
I told him.
"It's of no use," he replied, "to
pawn anything. You will lose it, that's
all ; and you will be just as bad off af-
terward. If you have anything to part
CHANCE DEALINGS AND VENTURES.
525
with, sell it ; for you will keep on pay-
ing twenty-five per cent, per annum for
two or three years, and it goes in the
end."
" That may be," I said, " but there is
no help for it ; I must have the money
to-night."
" Hold on, Parkinson," said Downer,
as I started to cross the street; "let
me go ; I have been through with it ;
just as lief as not, I tell you."
I was on the point of assenting, and
had partly raised my hand to my pock-
et, when I looked in his face, and saw
his harsh, repulsive features betraying
the strongest feeling. He seemed actu-
ally, as it were, in pain on my account.
Had I been a child, about exposing
myself to some great peril, he could
not have appeared more apprehensive
or considerate.
" No, my friend ! " I exclaimed, " I
will go through it too ; better now than
at any other time."
"Mind, you ask for as much again
as you want," he said.
I nodded, and crossed over to where
Simpson displays three golden balls,
the arms of the Lombard merchants,
who were the first in old times to lend
money on pledge of chattel securities.
My heart beat violently as I entered.
I would not thrust myself into one of the
coffin-like stalls, but walked straight
up to the counter, where a man was al-
ready engaged, attempting precisely
what I proposed to do, to wit : to get
a loan on his watch.
He had just handed it in. Behind
the counter stood not a black-eyed,
long-bearded, sharp-visaged Jew, as
my imagination had pictured, but an
intelligent, business-like looking indi-
vidual, who carelessly opened one side
of the watch, and shutting it again,
without the least examination, said :
" How much do you want ? "
"Twenty-five dollars," replied the
man. " Will give you ten." " Can't
you give fifteen ? " " Only ten."
It was now my turn. My hand trem-
bled as I drew out my watch. The
fate of my predecessor argued poorly
for me.
The watch was speedily transferred
to the hand of the pawnbroker. The
same careless examination was passed
just a springing of one of the sides,
as if by habit, and then the monoto-
nous " How much do you want ? " "I
must have fifty dollars on it." " 'Tis
good for that," was the answer, " but
we are not loaning over twenty-five
dollars on any watch. The demand is
so great, and we must give our small
customers the preference." " I suppose
so, but really I must have this money,
and I beg you to accommodate me."
There was a moment's hesitation ; then
he turned around, and took up two
pieces of paper. What name ? " he in-
quired. " Parkinson."
In just a minute a ticket was handed
to me (the name written on it looked
more like Frogson than anything else),
fifty dollars was placed in my hand,
and the transaction was closed. A new-
comer took my place, and I marched
away triumphant. I felt very grateful
to the man behind the counter. I
hardly knew why, but I stepped out
on the pavement with a happy appreci-
ation of the institution of pawnbrokers,
since it could thus so suddenly bring
relief to the suffering. Just then I cast
my eyes up at the dial plate on the City
Hall, and was surprised that it was so
late, and unconsciously I undertook to
compare the time with my own. My
hand took its usual course to my
watchguard, but it grasped vacancy;
a slight pang, and it was over. After
all, my friend of the three balls had a
very perfect security, and an excellent
rate of interest.
Female Strategry to obtain Bubble
Stock.
ONE among the many ludicrous strat-
agems employed to obtain access to
John Law, in order to secure shares in
his Mississippi scheme then the uni-
528
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
versal rage, and bearing a premium
many times manifolding the par rate
was that resorted to by a lady. She
had striven in vain, during many long
and anxious days, so much so as to put
her in a state of despair of ever seeing
him at his own house ; she therefore
ordered her coachman to keep a strict
watch whenever she was out in her car-
riage, and if he saw Mr. Law coming,
to drive against a post and upset her.
The coachman promised obedience,
and for three days the lady was driven
incessantly through the town, praying
inwardly and watching intently for the
opportunity to be overturned. At last
she espied Mr. Law, and, pulling the
string, called out to the coachman,
" Upset us now 1 for God's sake, upset
us now ! " The coachman drove against
a post, the lady screamed as only woman
can, the coach was overturned, and
Law, who had seen the accident, has-
tened to the spot to render assistance.
The cunning dame was led into Law's
Hotel de Soissons, where she soon
thought it advisable to recover from
her fright, and, after apologizing to
Mr. Law, confessed her stratagem.
Though so honest a man, Law smiled
at the deception, and entered the lady
in his books as the purchaser of his
stock.
Financial Use of Saints.
IN Lima, there is a public lottery,
which the Government farms to a pri-
vate individual, for a considerable sum.
The tickets are drawn weekly, and the
price of a ticket is one real. The larg-
est prize is one thousand dollars, and
from that down to one hundred. A
lottery on a larger scale is drawn every
three months ; the highest prize in this
lottery is four thousand dollars, and
the price of the ticket is four reals. To
every ticket is affixed a motto, usually
consisting of an invocation to a saint,
and a prayer for good luck ; and at the
drawing of the lottery, this motto is
read aloud, when the number of the
ticket is announced. Few of the in-
habitants of Lima fail to buy at least
one ticket in the weekly lottery. The
negroes are particularly fond of trying
their luck in this way, and in many in-
stances they have drawn large sums.
Burlesque on Modern Business
Utopias.
REYKOLDS'S inimitable burlesque
of the " Universal Stone-Expelling
and Asphaltum-Substituting Equitable
Company" will answer for all that
class of trading Utopias which so won-
derfully ensnare both the simple and
the wary alike, of the staid English
public.
To commence with Captain Walsing-
ham, who appears to have been the
projector of this peerless Company, and
who was taking measures to give it its
due prominence before the public, will
suffice. He began by hiring a splendid
suite of offices in Bartholomew Lane,
and forthwith purchased desks, tables,
and chairs, to place in them. He pro-
cured a painter, who painted the words
" Public Office " upon the door, " Wait-
ing Room " upon another, " Committee
Room" upon a third. He then hired
three individuals, who, under the de-
nomination of clerks, were to sit at a
desk in the Public Office, chatter and
read the newspapers when they were
alone, and apply themselves like mad-
men to three great books with clasps,
when a stranger came in. A servant in
blue livery, with white buttons, was
also engaged, to lounge about in the
passage outside the entrance door
which led to the offices; and a man
with printed prospectuses to give away,
was stationed in the street. A general
meeting of the directors was then called
and advertised, to discuss the business
and dispose of the capital of the Com-
pany ; but as there was as yet no busi-
ness to occupy their attention, they dis-
cussed a capital luncheon instead.
CHANCE DEALINGS AND VENTURES.
529
Burlesque on Modorn Business Utopias.
In a few clays, a paragraph was
drawn up by the excellent chairman
and inserted upon payment in one
or two of those accommodating daily
papers which do not put the absurd
word " Advertisement " at the begin-
ning ; and this paragraph stated that
they the papers were informed upon
the best authority that the materials
which composed said Asphaltum were
derived from Asiatic sources; where-
upon Mr. Snuffery, as treasurer and
secretary, wrote a letter to all the jour-
nals to contradict tbis report and, as
Mr. Snuffery's letter was inserted for
nothing, the Company gained its aim
in obtaining publicity at the least
possible expense.
Another paragraph, tending to show
that the Asphaltum would never be
applied to universal use, was then paid
for and inserted conspicuously in the
Morning Teapot ; at this, the Company
pretended to be in the most direful
wrath so much so, that Messieurs
Rumrig & Sharp, the Company's soli-
citors, were instructed to bring an ac-
tion against the aforesaid Morning Tea-
pot, which had thus been used to pour
34
hot water upon the heads of the associa-
tion. But, after a great deal of public
display, red-hot letter writing, pamph-
leteering, fending and proving, that
eminent legal firm declared that it was
not necessary to proceed with the suit ;
and so the whole business was an-
nounced, to the great relief of the agi-
tated (!) public to have been arranged
in the most amicable manner possible.
A few shares were next issued, and
private friends were sent round to pur-
chase up these shares at a premium ;
so that the transaction took wind, and
the Company succeeded in getting it-
self blamed for allowing only the ac-
quaintances and favorites of the direct-
ors to get any of the stock and profit
by the speculation. The demand for
shares was therefore immediate and
great ; and when a piece of the pave-
ment fronting the house in which the
offices of the Company were situate,
was robbed of its stone and subjected
to the process of the Asphalte, the en-
thusiasm and credulity of the public in
favor of this great institution knew no
bounds. A grand dinner was given by
the directors at the City of London
530
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
Tavern; and Mr. Muggins -was gene-
rously permitted by the worthy chair-
man to advance the Company another
five hundred pounds.
Buying Ms own Goods at Auction.
OLD Colonel W., formerly one of the
best known characters in a certain east-
ern city, was really remarkable for but
one passion out of the ordinary range
of humanity, and that was for buying
at auction any little lot of trumpery
which came under the head of " miscel-
laneous," for the reason that it couldn't
be classified. Though close-fisted in
general, he was continually throwing
away his money by fives and tens upon
such trash. In this way he had filled
all the odd corners in his dwelling and
outbuildings with a mass of nondescript
articles, that would have puzzled a
philosopher to conjecture what they
were made for, or to what use they
could ever be put. This, however, was
but a secondary consideration with the
Colonel ; for he seldom troubled his
head about such articles after they were
fairly housed. Not so with his wife,
however, who was continually remon-
strating against these purchases, which
served only to clutter up the house, and
as food for the mirth of the domestics.
But the Colonel, though he often sub-
mitted to these remonstrances of his
better half, couldn't resist his passion ;
and so he went on, adding from week
to week to his heap of miscellanies.
One day, while sauntering down the
street, he heard the full, rich tones of
his friend C., the well-known auction-
eer, and as a matter of course stepped
in to see what was being sold. On the
floor he observed a collection that look-
ed as if it might have been purloined
from the garret of some museum, and
around which a motley group was as-
sembled ; while on the counter stood
the portly auctioneer, in the very height
of a mock-indignant remonstrance with
his audience : " Nine dollars and ninety
I cents ! " cried the auctioneer ; " Gentle-
j men, it is a shame, it is barbarous, to
stand by and permit such a sacrifice of
i property ! Nine dol-lars and ninety
good morning, Colonel 1 A magnifi-
I cent lot of of antiques and all go-
j ing for nine dollars and ninety cents.
Gentlemen ! you'll never see another
such lot ; and all going going for
nine dollars and ninety cents. Colonel
W., can you permit such a sacrifice ? "
The Colonel glanced his eye over the
; lot, and with a nod and a wink assured
him that he could not. The next in-
stant the hammer came down, and the
purchase was the Colonel's, at ten
dollars.
As the articles were to be paid for
and removed immediately, the Colonel
lost no time in getting a cart, and hav-
ing seen everything packed up and on
i the way to his house, he proceeded to
his own store, chuckling within him-
self that now at least he had made a
bargain at which even his wife couldn't
grumble. In due time he was seated at
the dinner table, when, lifting his eyes,
; he observed a cloud upon his wife's
brow. " Well, my dear ? " said he, in-
quiringly. " Well ! " responded his wi tie ;
" it is not well, Mr. W. ; I am vexed be-
yond endurance. You know C., the
auctioneer ? " " Certainly," replied the
Colonel ; " and a very gentlemanly per-
son he is, too." " You may think so,"
rejoined the wife, " but / don't, and I'll
tell you why. A few days ago I ga ti-
ered together all the trumpery with
which you have been cluttering up the
house for the last twelve-month, and
I sent it to Mr. C., with orders to sell
! the lot immediately to the highest bid-
: der, for cash. He assured me he would
| do so in all this week, at farthest, and
i pay over the proceeds to my order.
: And here I've been congratulating my-
; self on two things : first, on having got
I rid of an intolerable nuisance and
| secondly, on receiving money enough
| therefor to purchase that new velvet
i hat you promised me so long ago.
CHANCE DEALINGS AND VENTURES.
531
And now, what do you think ! This
morning, about an hour ago, the whole
load came back again, without a word of
explanation. The Colonel looked blank
for a moment, and then proceeded to
clear up the mystery. But the good
wife was pacified only by the promise
of a ten-dollar note beside that in the
hands uf the auctioneer on condition,
however, that she should never mention
it. Of course she kept her word !
Hogarth's Plan of Selling: Pictures by
Auction.
HOGARTH supported himself by the
sale of his prints : the prices, however,
of his paintings kept pace neither with
his fame nor with his expectations.
But he knew the passion of his coun-
trymen for novelty how they love to
encourage whatever is strange and mys-
terious ; and, hoping to profit by these
feelings, the artist determined to sell
his principal paintings by an auction
of a very singular nature.
To this end, he offered for sale the
six paintings of the Harlot's Progress,
the eight paintings of the Rake's Prog-
ress, the four Times of the Day, and
the Strolling Actresses, on the follow-
ing conditions :
First, that every bidder shall have
an entire leaf numbered in the book of
sale, on the top of which will be enter-
ed his name and place of abode, the
sum paid by him, the time when, and
for what pictures.
Second, that on the day of sale, a
clock, striking every five minutes, shall
be placed in the room, and when it has
struck five minutes after twelve, the
first picture mentioned in the sale book
shall be deemed as sold ; the second
picture, when the clock has struck the
next five minutes after twelve, and so
on in succession, till the nineteen pic-
tures are sold.
Third, that none advance anything
short of gold at each bidding.
Fourth, no person to bid on the last
day, except those whose names were
before entered in the book. As Mr.
Hogarth's room is small, he begs the
favor that no persons, except those
whose names are entered on the book,
will come to view his paintings, on the
last day of sale.
This plan was new, peculiar, and un-
productive. It was probably planned
to prevent biddings by proxy, and so
secure to the artist the price which men
of wealth and rank might be induced
to offer publicly for works of genius.
A method so novel probably disgusted
the town ; they might not exactly un-
derstand this tedious formula of enter-
ing their names and places T)f abode in
a book open to indiscriminate inspec-
tion ; they might wish to humble an
artist who, by his proposals, seemed to
consider that he did the world a favor
in suffering them to bid for his works ;
or the rage for paintings might be con-
fined to the admirers of the old mas-
ters. Be that as it may, he received
but little more than two thousand dol-
lars for his nineteen pictures a price
by no means equal to their merit.
First Book Auction in England.
THE first book auction in England,
of which there is any record, is of a
date as far back as 1676, when the li-
brary of Dr. Seaman was brought to
the hammer. Prefixed to the catalogue
there is an address, which thus com-
mences : " Reader, it hath not been
usual here in England to make sale of
books by way of auction, or who will
give the most for them ; but it having
been practised in other countries, to
the advantage of both buyer and seller,
it was therefore conceived (for the en-
couragement of learning) to publish
the sale of these books in this manner
of way." t
Bank Notes at Ten Cents a Yard.
THE failure of the Citizens' Bank,
Memphis, some years ago, naturally
532
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
occasioned intense excitement, as well
as severe hardship to many of those
who were the victims of its ruinous
career. When the crowd gathered
around, composed mostly of mechanics
and working men, with here and there
a woman, and at intervals a poor mar-
ket man, there was observed one wiry
little fellow, with a wonderfully exag-
gerated nose, who had a package of
the Bowleg's notes in his hands. Some
one asked him how much he had. He
said, " Those bills, amounting to $300,
are the profits of my labor for the last
six months, look at my hard hands,
and see how I have toiled ; I have a
wife and children for whom I must
buy bread, and for whom I must pro-
vide a shelter, and a home ; but, gen-
tlemen, it is all gone. They may be
houseless wanderers and homeless beg-
gars, if I should knuckle to this mis-
fortune. It is all gone." The little
gentleman, with the Slaukenbergius
nose, which Tristram Shandy tells
about, at this point in his speech,
" humped " himself, and began to lay
his wild-cat bills in a lineal row down
in the centre of the street. When they
were thus arranged, he turned to the
crowd, saying, " Gentlemen and ladies,
/ will sell this infernal stuff at ten
cents a yard, tape measure." The crowd
roared, and good humor was thus sub-
stituted for the angry mutterings which
had become pretty audible, and which,
by any accident, might have resulted
in the demolition of the bank building.
Virtuous and Touching: Appeal.
" HERE, ladies ! " said an auctioneer,
" I have a very interesting picture to
offer you a representation of the mur-
derer Robinson, in the very act of ap-
proaching his victim. The head of
Miss Jewett is a portrait, taken from a
plaster cast shortly after her death,
and admitted by Robinson himself to
be a most astonishing likeness. The
figure of Robinson is a fac-simile as
like him as two peas. I have been cred-
ibly informed that at the trial, two re-
spectable old gentlemen, who had never
seen the prisoner, recognised him at
once from his resemblance to this pic-
ture. And the cloak, ladies ! the cloak
is the very identical one which the
murderer wore ! What shall I have
for this valuable painting ? "
" One dollar," from an old lady.
" Thank you, ma'am ; one dollar, one
dollar half two two and a half
three, three dollars; three dollars are
bid for this invaluable picture ; only
three ; worth at least ten ! Three dol-
lars, three dollars going at three dol-
lars ! going, going ! Ladies, this pic-
ture is invaluable as a moral lesson as
well as a work of art. I would recom-
mend it to all mothers who have
grown-up daughters. Put this picture
before them, and what temptation
could ever induce them to leave the
paths of virtue ! Ladies, the owner of
this picture has daughters ; they have
grown up from youth to womanhood ;
they have never left the paths of vir-
tue ; and their mother ascribes it to
the influence of this very picture ! "
This address produced a manifest sen-
sation. There was quite a stir among
the matrons, and one vixenish-look-
ing old maid, with a sharp face, hooked
nose, and iron spectacles, was heard to
whisper to her neighbor, that " to be
sure it was so ; and that if she had'nt
had just such a pictur, she did'nt know
what might'nt have happened to her."
The auctioneer put up the picture again,
and the good ladies now vied with each