hopelessly out of fashion, was marked by the sudden drop in the prices from hundreds of pounds to a shilling or so, soon again to rise to hundreds of pounds. Mr. Quaritch was the hero of the sale, and after him the chief combatants were Mr. F. S. Ellis and M. Techener, while Mr. Henry Stevens, Mr. Pearson, Messrs. Pickering, Messrs. Morgand and Fatout, and some others made a good fight for the lots they required. As the bids of £10 and upwards went on rapidly till £1000—in some cases more—were reached, the excited faces of those around formed a sight worth seeing, for few could resist the excitement, which found vent in applause, when the lot was knocked down.
Part 1, December 1881, realised £19,373. Part 2, April 1882, £9376. Part 3, July, £7792. Part 4, November, £10,129. Each of these parts consisted of ten days’ sale. Part 5 (and last), March 1883, contained eleven days’ sale, and realised £9908. The lots were numbered throughout the parts, and amounted to 13,858. The total amount realised by the sale was £56,581, 6s.
When the sale was concluded Mr. Quaritch made a short speech appropriate to the occasion, and said that “This was the most wonderful library that had been sold by auction in the present century. Fine as the Hamilton library was he could form another like it to-morrow, but nothing like the Sunderland library would be seen again as a private collection. He held its founder in the highest respect and gratitude.”
On the 30th of June 1882 the sale of the beautiful library of William Beckford was commenced at Sotheby’s by Mr. Hodge. The books were in the finest condition, and in consequence they fetched very high prices. Mr. Henry Bohn, writing to The Times at the commencement of this sale, said that Beckford was the greatest book enthusiast he ever knew. He was a great collector of “Aldines and other early books bearing the insignia of celebrities, such as Francis I., Henri et Diane, and De Thou, and especially of choice old morocco bindings by Deseuil, Pasdeloup,