ing which, I declare to you upon my
honor, that these very bargain-hunters
have given me double the price that I
now charge for thousands and tens of
thousands of volumes. For, as a
tradesman increases in respectability
and opulence, his opportunities of pur-
chasing increase proportionally, and
the more he buys and sells the more he
becomes a judge of the real value of
his goods. It was for want of the ex-
perience and judgment, stock, etc., that
for several years I was in the habit of
charging more than double the price I
now do for many thousand articles.
But professed bargain-hunters purchase
old locks at the stalls in Moorfields
when half the wards are rusted off, or
taken out, and give more for them than
they would have paid for new ones to
any reputable ironmonger.
And what numerous instances of this
infatuation do we meet with daily at
sales by auction not of books only, but
of many other articles, of which I could
here adduce a variety of glaring in-
stances. At the sale of Mr. Rigby's
books at Mr. Christie's, Martin's Dic-
tionary of Natural History sold for fif-
teen guineas, which then stood in my
catalogue at four pounds fifteen shil-
lings ; Pilkington's Dictionary of Paint-
ers at seven guineas, usually sold at
three ; Francis's Horace, two pounds
eleven shillings ; and many others in
the same manner. At Sir George Col-
brook's sale the octavo edition of the
Tatler sold for two guineas and a half.
At a sale a few weeks since, Rapin's
History in folio, the two first volumes
only (instead of five), sold for upward
of five pounds ! I charge for the same
from ten shillings and sixpence to one
pound ten shillings. I sell great num-
bers of books to pawnbrokers, who sell
them out of their windows at much
higher prices, the purchasers believing
that they were buying bargains, and
that such articles have been pawned.
And it is not only books that pawn-
brokers purchase, but various other
matters, and they always purchase the
worst kind of every article they sell. I
will even add, that many shops which
are called pawnbrokers' never take in
any pawn, yet can live by selling things
which are supposed to be kept over time.
Quite Professional.
AN auctioneer, speaking to a horse-
dealer about the situation of an estate
he was going to sell, in a level neigh-
borhood, said: "The country is ex-
ceedingly beautiful, and I do so admire
a rich flat!"
" So do I, sir," replied the grinning
jockey
Dutch. Tulip Mania of the Seventeenth
Century
PERHAPS the earliest existence of
that fatal love of speculation so ruinous
568
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
to the credit and fortune of all who
press it to hazardous extent, occurred
in 1634, viz., the TULIP MANIA one
of the most astonishing of commercial
phenomena.
In the year named, the chief cities
of the Netherlands engaged in a traffic
which destroyed commerce and encour-
aged gambling, which enlisted the
greediness of the rich and the desire of
the poor, which raised the value of a
flower to infinitely more than its weight
in gold, and which ended, as all such
concerns have ended, in wild and
wretched despair. The many were
ruined ; the few were enriched. Bar-
gains were made for the delivery of
autumn roots, and when, as in one
case, there were but two in the market,
lordship and land, horses and oxen,
were sold to pay the deficiency. Con-
tracts were made, and thousands of
florins paid for tulips which were never
seen by broker, by buyer, or by seller.
For a time, as usual, all won, and no
one lost. Poor persons became wealthy.
High and low traded in flowers ; sump-
tuous entertainments confirmed their
bargains ; notaries grew rich ; and even
the unimaginative Hollander fancied
he saw a sure and certain prosperity
before him.
People of all professions turned their
property into cash; houses and furni-
ture were offered at ruinous prices ; the
idea spread throughout the country
that the passion for tulips would last
forever ; and when it was known that
foreigners were seized with the fever, it
was believed that the wealth of the
world would concentrate on the shores
of the Zuyder Zee, and that poverty
would become a tradition in Holland.
That they were honest in their belief is
proved by the price they paid. Goods
to the value of thousands of florins
were given for one root ; another spe-
cies commonly fetched two thousand
florins ; a third was valued at a new
carriage, two gray horses, and a com-
plete harness; twelve acres of land
were paid for a fourth, and sixty thou-
sand florins were made by one dealer
in a few weeks.
Merchants possessed a vast or limit-
ed capital, in proportion to the magni-
tude or insignificance of their tulip
roots. Daughters were portioned with
a few ounces magnificently, and noble-
men of the highest consideration and
family importance vested their posses-
sions in a perishable vegetable that
could be carried in a teacup. When
the bubble burst, and the roots sud-
denly fell in public estimation, abject
poverty stared the nation in the face.
The panic did come at last. Confi-
dence vanished; contracts were void,
defaulters were announced in every
town of Holland; dreams of wealth
were dissipated ; and they who, a week
before, rejoiced in the possession of a
few tulips which would have realized
a princely fortune, looked stupefied and
aghast on the miserable bulbs before
them, valueless in themselves, and un-
salable at any price. To parry the
blow, the tulip merchants held public
meetings, and made pompous speeches,
in which they proved that their goods
were worth as much as ever, and that
a panic was absurd and unjust. The
speeches produced the greatest ap-
plause, but the bulb continued value-
less ; and though actions for breach of
contract were threatened, the law re-
fused to take cognizance of gambling
transactions.
Merino-Sheep Bubble.
THE Sheep Bubble had its commence-
ment in the year 1815 or 1816, after
the treaty of Ghent, and at a period
when thousands of the American peo-
ple were actually " wool-mad " in refer-
ence to the huge profits that were then
apparent, prospectively, in manufactur-
ing enterprises.
In the summer of the last-named year
(as nearly as can be fixed upon), a gen-
tleman in Boston first imported some
CHANCE DEALINGS AND VENTURES.
569
half a dozen slieep from one of the
southern provinces of Spain, whose
fleeces were of the finest texture, as it
was said ; and such, undoubtedly, was
the fact, though the sheep were so
thoroughly and completely imbedded
in tar, and every other offensive article,
upon their arrival in America, that it
would have been very difficult to have
proved this statement. But the very
offensive appearance of the sheep seem-
ed to imbue them with a mysterious
value, that rendered them doubly at-
tractive.
It was contended that the introduc-
tion of these sheep into the United States
would enable our manufactories, then
in their infancy, to produce broadcloths
and other woollen fabrics, of a texture
that would compete with England and
Europe. Even Mr. Clay was consulted
with reference to the sheep ; and he at
once decided that they were exactly
the animals that were wanted some
of them subsequently finding their way
to Ashland.
The first merino sheep sold for fifty
dollars the head. They cost just one dol-
lar each in Andalusia ! The speculation
was too profitable to stop here ; and,
before a long period had elapsed, a
small fleet sailed on a sheep adventure
to the Mediterranean. By the end of
the year 1816 there were probably one
thousand merino sheep in the Union,
and they had advanced to twelve hun-
dred dollars the head.
Before the winter of that year had
passed away, they sold for fifteen hun-
dred dollars the head ; and a lusty and
good-looking buck would command two
thousand dollars at sight. Of course,
the natural Yankee spirit of enterprise,
and the. love of the " almighty dollar,"
were equal to such an emergency as
this, and hundreds of " merino sheep "
soon accumulated in the Eastern
States
But, in the course of the year 1817,
the speculation, in consequence of the
surplus importation, began to decline ;
yet it steadily and rapidly advanced
throughout the western country, while
Kentucky, in consequence of the influ-
ence of Mr. Clay's opinions, was especi-
ally benefited
In the fall of 1817, what was then
deemed a very fine merino buck and
ewe were sold to a gentleman in the
western country for the sum of eight
thousand dollars ; and even that was
deemed a very small price for the ani-
mals ! They were purchased by a Mr.
Samuel Long, a house-builder and con-
tractor, who fancied he had by the
transaction secured an immense for-
tune. Mr. Long had become, in fact,
really rabid with the merino mania, as
the following authentic anecdote will
show :
There resided, at this time, in Lex-
ington, Ky., and but a short distance
from Mr. Clay's villa of Ashland, a
wealthy gentleman, named Samuel
Trotter, who was, in fact, the money-
king of Kentucky, and who, to a very
great extent, at that time, controlled
the branch of the Bank of the United
States. He had two sheep a buck and
an ewe and Mr. Long was very anx-
ious to possess them. Mr. L. repeated-
ly bantered and importuned Mr. Trot-
ter, to obtain this pair of sheep from
him, but without success. One day,
however, the latter said to the former :
" If you will build me such a house,
on a certain lot of land, as I shall de-
scribe, you shall have the merinos."
" Draw your plans for the buildings,"
replied Long, instantly, " and let me
see them ; I will then decide."
The plans were soon after submitted
to him, and Long eagerly accepted the
proposal, and forthwith engaged in the
undertaking. He built for Trotter a
four-story brick house, about fifty feet
by seventy, on the middle of an acre of
land ; he finished it in the most ap-
proved modern style, inclosed it with a
costly fence, and finally handed it over
to Trotter, for the two merino sheep.
The establishment must have cost, at
570
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
the very least, fifteen thousand dollars.
But, alas ! A long while before this
"beautiful and costly estate was fully
completed, the price of merinos de-
clined gradually ; and six months had
not passed away before they would not
command twenty dollars each, even in
Kentucky. Mr. Long was thereafter a
wiser but a poorer man. He held on
to this pair until their price reached
the par value only of any other sheep ;
and then he absolutely killed this buck
and ewe, made a princely barbecue,
called all his friends to the feast, and
while "the goblet went its giddy
rounds," he, like the ruined Venetian,
thanked God that, at that moment, he
was not worth a ducat !
Globe Permits.
" GLOBE permits " were among the
most famous, or infamous, of the proli-
fic crop of financial schemes of the
" Mushroom Era." This fictitious com-
pany had its location in London, and
the permits which it issued came at
last to be currently sold for sixty
guineas and upward though they were
only square bits of card, on which was
the impression of a seal in wax, having
the sign of the Globe Tavern. A bur-
lesque upon this acme of madness ap-
peared as an advertisement in one of
the journals of the clay, in which it was
set forth, that at a certain fictitious
place on the following Tuesday, books
would be opened for a subscription of
two millions, for the invention of melt-
ing down sawdust and chips, and cast-
ing them into clean deal boards with-
out knots. From morning till evening
there were crowds of purchasers for
these permits ; and such was the wild
confusion of the multitude, that the
permits were known to have been sold,
at the same moment, ten per cent,
higher at one end of the street than
the other. The project at last burst,
and left but a wreck behind !
Universal Bed and Bolster Mart.
THE attention of all persons about
to marry and that of purchasers in
general is respectfully directed to the
" Immense stock of the Universal Bed
and Bolster Mart," where every article
is warranted for three weeks, and the
money returned if had back again.
Houses furnished and families settled
at a few hours' notice. The dining ta-
bles of the Bolster Mart are especially
adapted to the cabins of ships, for
when placed near a fire they assume a
graceful curl sloping from the side to
the centre, and preventing the proba-
bility of plates slipping off from. them.
Captains and others going abroad, and
not likely to come back again, are par-
ticularly invited to purchase. Every
article bought at the great bolster con-
cern is invariably warranted to stand
until the legs fall off in any climate.
Persons desirous of furniture for tem-
porary purposes, cannot do better than
to resort to the cheap mart, for all the
goods sold there are particularly adapt-
ed to those who have an idea of their
establishments being broken up within
a short period.
Auction Sale of old Furniture, etc.,
Extraordinary.
AN auction sale of very old and rare
furniture is stated to have come off
lately in London, including several ar-
ticles which every one supposed would
always remain as heir-looms in the na-
tional family. Among the articles thus
disposed of was the " seat " of war.
This seat had been very much knocked
about, and had scarcely a leg to stand
upon. With a little money, however,
judiciously laid out, it could have
been put into repair and made fit for
immediate use. It was offered to the
French Government as a seat the best
adapted for the standing army in Al-
giers ; and with a little French polish,
and turning the seat into Morocco, the
article would last for years.
CHANCE DEALINGS AND VENTURES.
571
The Glass of Fashion which had
lost some of its brilliancy from having
been so frequently looked into was
also " put up." It is best calculated
for those persons whose evening's
amusements will bear the morning's
reflection, as every object viewed
through it is seen in a new light. Old
beaux and young ladies, residing on
the shady side of forty, find their sil-
ver well laid out in buying the glass
of fashion.
The identical tapis upon which have
come all the marriages in high life for
the last fifty years, was also disposed
of.
It was hoped that the pipe of peace
would likewise be offered, but it was
withheld on account of its being
smoked just at that time by two well-
known parties.
A parcel of silver spoons which had
been in the mouths of certain individ-
uals of renown when they were born,
were put up, and excited considerable
competition on the part of antiqua-
rians, fortune-tellers, and the like.
In addition to the above, the cele-
brated rod of iron which was formerly
used in England, was sent over from
Ireland expressly for this sale, and the
rule which Britannia uses in ruling the
waves, was kindly lent not disposed
of for this occasion.
Old Martin, the Scotch Auctioneer,
among; the Languages.
OLD William Martin was for a long
time the most noted auctioneer in
Edinburgh, Scotland. While in his
auction rooms, Martin was full of anec-
dote and humor, but somewhat fond
of laughing at his own jokes. Being
of humble origin, he was rather illiter-
ateat least he was no classical scholar
and perhaps in the course of his busi-
ness he frequently suffered by his igno-
rance of the dead languages. If the
book he was about to sell happened to
be Greek, his usual introduction was,
" Here comes crawtaes, or whatever else
you like to call it, r and on other occa-
sions, if the volume happened to be in
a more modern language, but the title
of which he was as little able to read, he
would say to the company, after a
blundering attempt, u Gentlemen, I am
rather rusty in my French, but were it
Hebrew, ye ken I would be quite at
liame ! "
Martin, however, was certainly more
" at hame " in some instances than he
was either in French, Latin, Greek, or
Hebrew. On one occasion, at the time
Manfredo was performing in Edinburgh,
Martin, in the course of his night's la
bor, came across the " Life of Robinson
Crusoe." Holding up the volume, and
pointing to the picture of Robinson's
man, Friday, he exclaims, " Weel, gen-
tlemen, what will ye gie me for my
Man-Fredo ? worth a dozen of the
Italian land-louper." Manfredo, who
happened to be present, became ex-
ceedingly wroth at this allusion to
him. "Vat do you say about Man-
fredo ! Call me de land-loupeur ! "
Nothing disconcerted by this unex-
pected attack, Martin, again holding
up the picture, cried, " I'll refer to the
company, if my Man-Fredo is no worth
a dizen o' him ! " The Italian fumed
and fretted, but, amid the general
laughter, was obliged to retire.
Owing to ignorance, he sold many
valuable Greek and Latin books for
mere trifles. Sometimes, when at a
loss to read the title of a Latin or
French book, he would, if he could
find a young student near him, thrust
the book before him, saying, " Read
that, my man ; it's sae lang since I was
at the college, I hae forgotten a' my
Latin." Having one night made even
a more blundering attempt than usual
to unriddle the title of a French book,
a young dandy, wishing to have an-
other laugh at Martin's expense, de-
sired him to read the title of the book
again, as he did not know what it was
about. "Why," said Martin, "it's
572
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
something about manners, and that's
what neither you nor me has owre
nmckle o'."
"Crack Horses" at Auction.
WHEN Mr. Tattersall has any yery.
superior horses " intrusted to his care,"
especially if he sees some of the noble-
men or other gentry of the realm
around him, who are likely to " bite,"
he deviates a leetle from his usual disre-
gard of the oily vernacular of the ham-
mer, and tries his hand at a little flat-
tery of those persons, trusting to the
potent effects of that commodity in
procuring some better " biddings." He
knows how to graciously "suit the
bridle to the horse."
"There, my lords and gentlemen,"
he will exclaim in such cases, " there is
a chance for you. You'll never get
such a chance again. My lord duke, I
know your stud is unrivalled ; but this
beautiful, this unequalled mare would
be an honor and an ornament to it.
Do you say three hundred and fefty
(he always substitutes the e for the i in
pronouncing the words ' fifty,' * thirty,'
etc), guineas for her ? " Three hundred
and fifty guineas are bid.
" Thank you, my lord duke, I admire
your taste. She possesses rare blood ;
just only look at the symmetry of her
form ; she is perfection itself. I could,
but I will not, dwell on her matchless
beauties they are not to be described.
Only three hundred and feftj guineas
bid for her. My lord duke, she will be
yours, if some one else does not three
hundred and sexty guineas are bid for
her; I know that she is too great a
prize to be suffered to escape at such a
price. Eeally, my lord duke, with your
lordship's known taste and skill in
horse-flesh, I should be sorry if you al-
lowed such an opportunity of proving
that you possess this taste, to pass.
Three hundred and eighty guineas bid
for her ; thank you again, my lord
duke ; I'm sure you'll not repent your
bargain. Does any one say more for
her ? Three hundred and nenty guineas
are bid. You see, my lord duke, your
admiration of this beautiful and excel-
lent mare is not peculiar. She will,
positively, adorn your stud, as she did
that of royalty, when she belonged to
it. Who says the four hundred guineas ?
She's just a going. One moment long-
er, and off she goes. Her action, my
lord duke, is beyond all praise; she
has no vice ; she is a perfect paragon
in every way you can take her. I must
knock her down, my lord duke ; but I
would really be sorry to see you lose so
noble and charming a creature for the
sake of ten paltry guineas. Just say the
four hundred guineas, and she is yours."
"Four hundred." "Thank you! my
lord duke, for adopting my advice.
I'm sure you'll never repent your bar-
gain. Going gone. She is yours, my
lord duke."
Pleasantries of Keese, the Book
Auctioneer.
THE question has been propounded,
" Who has made a jest in a New York
auction room since the hammer of John
Keese fell for the last time ? " Keese is
remembered by the trade with affec-
tion. He was a bright, intelligent
man, and an estimable member of so-
ciety. Of an old New York family, he
was brought up to the book trade by
one of the Quaker fraternity the Col-
lins's and it was only in middle life,
after various experiments in business,
that he became an auctioneer. He be-
gan somewhere about the year 1845
with a sale to the trade in a large back
building in Broadway near Cortlandt
street. He certainly opened proceed-
ings with an excellent entertainment
of oysters and champagne. He was the
life of the company, and was called
upon, of course, for a speech, probably
for half a dozen. One of his good
things, toward the close, is worth re-
membering. It particularly pleased the
trade at the time. " Gentlemen," said
CHANCE DEALINGS AND VENTURES.
573
he, in allusion to the entertainment,
" we are scattering our bread upon the
waters, and we expect to find it after
many days buttered ! "
It was in retail sales, however, in the
small change of the auction room, that
his wit appeared to the most advantage.
No catalogue could be too dull for his
vivacity. He was always rapid, and
an unwary customer would be decapi-
tated by his quick electric jest before
he felt the stroke. The following,
among other things of the kind attrib-
uted to him, will give some notion of
his pleasantries :
"Js that binding calf?" asked a sus-
picious customer. " Come up, my good
sir, put your hand on it, and see if there
is any fellow feeling," was the ready
reply. A person one evening had a
copy of " Watts's Hymns " knocked
down to him for a trifle, and interrupt-
ed the business of the clerk by calling
for its " delivery." Keese, finding out
the cause of the interference, exclaim-
ed, " Oh, give the gentleman the book.
He wants to learn and sing one of the
hymns before he goes to bed to-
night ! " Apropos of this time-honor-
ed book, in selling a copy on another
occasion, when there was some rivalry
in the profession, he turned off a par-
ody as he knocked it down :
Blest is the man who shuns the place
Where other auctions be ;
And has his money in his fist,
And buys his books of me.
His puns were usually happy, and
slipped in adroitly. Offering one of
the Eev. Dr. Hawks's books, he added,
in an explanatory way, "A bird of
prey." " Going going gentlemen
one shilling for Caroline Fry why, it
isn't the price of a stew." Selling a
book labelled " History of the Tatars,"
he was asked, " Isn't that Tartars ! "
*' No ! " he replied : " their wives were
the Tartars ! " " This," said he hold-
ing up a volume of a well-known type
to critics, " is a book by a poor and
pious girl, of poor and pious poems."
No one could better introduce a
quotation. Some women one day
found their way into the auction room
to a miscellaneous sale of furniture.
They were excited to an emulous con-
tention for a saucepan, or something of
the sort. Keese gave them a fair chance
with a final appeal " Going, going
' the woman who deliberates is lost '
gone ! "
Weathering: tlie Storm of 1828.
FOB a long series of years, Samuel
Slater, of Pawtucket, experienced un-
interrupted prosperity in his great
manufacturing enterprises, his posses-
sions increasing in number and value
with incredible rapidity. The war of
1812 placed the seal upon his high
destiny. By that time he had got so
far under way, and his preparations
were so complete, others stood no
chance for competition with him.
Cotton cloth then sold for forty cents
the yard, and the demand had no
limits. The opinion became prevalent,
that such was his wealth, such was his
general prudence and sagacity, and
especially that such were his talents as
a financier, no business disaster could
reach him. However, in the great
revulsion of 1828, among manufac-
turers, it was made manifest that he
was the sole endorser of three or four
large establishments among the unfortu-
nate. Now, for the first time, he was
known to make his own business a
subject of conversation. He became
seriously alarmed and distressed ; not
that two or three hundred thousand
dollars, under ordinary circumstances,
would ruin or essentially injure him
but, such was the general panic in the