A striking instance of the absurdly low prices obtained for the books is that of Homeri Batrachomyomachia (Venet. per Leonicum Cretensem, 1486, 4to), which sold for sixteen shillings. In this copy a subsequent possessor wrote the following note—
“This book is so extremely rare that I never saw any other copy of it except that of Mons. de Boze, who told me he gave 650 livres for it. Mr. Smith, our consul at Venice, wrote me word that he had purchased a copy, but that it was imperfect. Lord Oxford offered Mr. Maittaire fifty guineas for this identical copy.”
Askew’s copy, supposed to be the same as this, fetched at his sale fourteen guineas.
Martialis, apud Vindelinum Spirensem—sine anno—which is described as “one of the rarest of rare books,” only brought four shillings and sixpence. The editio princeps of Plautus (Venet. per Joh. de Colonia et Vindelinum Spirensem, 1472, folio) was sold for sixteen shillings, while the Pinelli copy fetched £36. These are no exceptions to the rule, for Beloe mentions a large number of rare books which only fetched a shilling or two shillings each.
The great library of Richard Mead, M.D., was dispersed by Samuel Baker in November and December 1754 and in April and May 1755. In the first sale there were 3280 lots in 28 days, which realised £2475, 18s. 6d. The second sale consisted of 6741 lots in 29 days, realising £3033, 1s. 6d., making the totals for the two sales, 57 days, 10,021 lots, amount of sale £5509. It is usually stated that Mead’s library consisted of 10,000 volumes, but there must have been at least 30,000 volumes. The numbering of lots in Mead’s sale followed the confusing rule adopted at the first printing of auction catalogues, viz., the leaving three separate numberings of octavos, quartos, and folios. As already said, this was the first really renowned sale that took place in England, and there can be