The Power of Book Auction History
- By Bruce McKinney
Five sales of Munsell material
By Bruce McKinney
We are accustomed to books of history and books of significance that are themselves often
the agents of history entering the auction rooms from time to time to move from the
lessening grip of sellers to the outstretched hands of buyers. In Europe this is an
ancient sport, in America a newer but nevertheless very old one. We recently added a
source to the AED to follow the ebb and flow of book, manuscript and ephemera sales at
auction in America from those first recorded in the 17th until well into the 20th
century. The initial source is American Book Auction Catalogues 1713-1934 -- A Union List
compiled by George L. McKay with an Introduction by Clarence S. Brigham. In this
reference there are 10,619 entries noting two 17th century sales and a continuing drum
beat of events from 1713 to the study's conclusion in 1934. It was an admirable effort
at completeness and remains today substantially correct. But it also left enough auctions
undiscovered to make comparison of your holdings to the full directory of listings worthwhile. Many dealers
and collectors in searching these records will find auction catalogues in their
possession that eluded this first effort at completeness. It's our hope that you'll share
this information. We'll in turn elaborate the records and credit the source.
This database will serve three masters: the description writer who seeks information
about owners and ownership; the book owner who seeks their copy's history; and historian
who will find in the changing material, description structure and circumstances of the
sellers and buyers the literary effluent of a rapidly changing society.
For the description writer accustomed to parsing clues these records provide an
additional avenue for searching ownership history, always attractive details for the
potential buyer. For those whose books are already on their shelves it's an additional source
of information to answer the questions "who is" and "is this important." For the
cataloguer and the book owner the searches will be mainly for specific references. For
the historian it is the entire database and the ebb and flow of material over decades and
centuries who may gain the most. There is a history of America in these records that is
worth taking the time to understand. We did not always watch television.
Some Statistics
The first sale is recorded in 1665 and the final sales in this run in 1934. There are
10,619 individual auctions. Beginning 1713 [when auctions are first regularly reported]
and continuing to 1800 there are 859 sales, an average of about 10 per year. Between
1801 and 1850 the reported annual average remains at 10 per year although efforts to
charge auctioneers high licensing fees may simply have driven the sales off High Street
and into the alleys.
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The Power of Book Auction History
- By Bruce McKinney
The sale was withdrawn and sold en bloc.
From 1851 to 1900 the sale of books at auction increases by a factor of ten. Between
1801 and 1850 there are 497 reported sales, between 1851 and 1900 4,800. Between 1851
and 1875 there are 1,600 sales, between 1876 and 1900 3,200. Between 1901 and 1925 there
are another 3,605. In the final nine years of this study, which includes five years of
depression, there are 761 sales.
The peak of book selling at auction as measured as events divided by population is 1880
and the absolute peak of book auction selling in the pre-eBay era 1910. This analysis
does not enter into total lots or dollar value and the entire closet of adjustments and
deflators that will probably show a financial peak in the 1920's.
This study does not yet include financial outcomes but it is our expectation to
include such information as we obtain it.
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The Power of Book Auction History
- By Bruce McKinney
An early book auction
Background
The history of book auctions in America is first found in newspapers, where before there
were printed lists of material offered, there were announcements of sales. In
fact most 18th century American auctions exist today only as newspaper
advertisements and reports. Account books, diaries and broadsides that are in many cases yet
undiscovered, may elaborate this history in time.
In the nineteenth century book auctions take flight and the auction catalogue in the form
and function we recognize today emerges. The descriptions are brief and estimates an
innovation left to the future. White literacy, a few percent in 1800, reaches a reported
90% by 1876 and the book auction, riding the crest of surging national literacy, finds
its peak. The 20th century will see both the number of sales and lots continue to
increase until around 1920 but because the population is increasing even faster the
phenomenon of the book auction as an event declines.
The sales of important collections begin in earnest in the 1860s though the concept of
important was then and is today still evolving. One hundred and fifty years ago
important was all to do with volume. Sales continued for days and the lots ran into the
thousands. The emphasis was on knowledge; the focus on first editions
and absolute rarity obsessions that had yet to take hold. Wealthy collectors bought
shelves of books because single volumes were so cheap. The purchase and sale of
libraries was a known concept.
The golden age of auctions extends from 1875 to 1925. In this period
important material is available, the wealthy have extensive means, literacy is
celebrated, and cultural alternatives are fewer. The rising wealthy collect books to convey an impression of knowledge and sophistication that is a good fit with
Victorian understatement. It is the golden age of
the printed word and the frequency and scale of the book auctions reflect it.
Here is an example of all auctions listed in the ABAC for 1864.
Listed auctions conducted in 1864
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The Power of Book Auction History
- By Bruce McKinney
One of NewYork's auctions in the '30s
How we will approach this project
This is our first iteration of the history of book auctions in America. It begins with a
listing of all known events mentioned in the ABAC. In time more events will be
identified and added to the gathering historical record. The ABAC is an admirable effort
but thin. More details about specific events will elaborate our understanding. So too
will the inclusion of the complete descriptions and prices realized for perhaps 10 to 15%
of the lots from this period. From the first reported auction in 1665 to the final
reported sale in 1934 there are an estimated ten million lots. It's our goal to
incorporate 1.5 million of these records into the AED. There are of course also more
recent records and we'll focus on the 1935 to 1990 period as well. We are also adding images of auction covers and title pages. We start with 750 in place.
Whether gains in perspective will be literary, cultural, in taste or value is uncertain.
That there is much to be learned will be apparent to those who access American Book
Auction Catalogues. We haven't just alighted upon this planet fresh without a history.
Knowing it is part of the pleasure of being serious about books.
If you are a member sign in, select Advanced Search, type in American Book in
the Database Source field and then add whatever search terms within these sales you would
like to see. This is interesting material and no doubt, for a few collectors, red meat
for a collecting career.
If you have unrecorded auction records and are willing to share your information please
contact us.
Bruce McKinney
bmckinney@americanaexchange.com
415 823-6678
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