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Henry B. Wheatley examines the historical fluctuations in the prices of books as an indicator of broader economic and intellectual development. The text analyzes how factors such as scarcity, mechanical innovation, and changing social values influence the market value of printed works over time.

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER VII AUCTION SALES IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

amount realised was £19,148. The sale was divided into six parts, as follows:—Part 1, July 1844, theology, twenty-four days, 5551 lots, £8438. Part 2, July and August 1844, manuscripts, four days, 510 lots, £3126. Part 3, August 1844, history, topography, voyages and travels, six days, 1523 lots, £2096. Part 4, January and February 1845, Greek classics, foreign history, &c., eleven days, 2641 lots, £2121. Part 5, April and May 1845, poetry, drama, polygraphy, Latin classics, belles-lettres, &c., twelve days, 2956 lots, £2649. Part 6, August 1845, four days, 926 lots, £718.

The library of Mr. B. H. Bright was sold at Sotheby’s in three divisions in 1845, and the total amount realised was £8997.

In 1849 Messrs. Southgate & Barrett tried the experiment of selling the library of the Rev. H. F. Lyte and J. W. M. Lyte in the evening, but the new departure (or rather, revival of an old practice) did not meet with approval, and the practice was not followed. There were 4368 lots, and the sale occupied seventeen evenings.

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