Prices of Books: An Inquiry into the Changes in the Price of Books which have occurred in England at different PeriodsWheatley, Henry B. (Henry Benjamin)
History
Prices of Books: An Inquiry into the Changes in the Price of Books which have occurred in England at different Periods
Wheatley, Henry B. (Henry Benjamin)
Books -- Prices -- History
An imperfect copy was bought by the Earl of Ashburnham in 1860
for £180. It was added to the sale after the library of E. A.
Crowninshield, of Boston, U.S., had been brought to England.
This copy, bound in new brown morocco, with “Description of
Britain” (three leaves in facsimile), sold at Lord Ashburnham’s
sale (1897) for £610--Pickering & Chatto.
Mr. Quaritch bought the Duke of Buccleuch’s copy in 1889 for
£45. This was wrongly described in the catalogue as wanting only
“fourteen leaves, of which two are blank,” whereas it not only
wanted the first fourteen printed leaves as well as the two
blanks, but also the last six.
_The Description of Britain_ (40).
J. Towneley’s imperfect copy was bought by George III. in 1814
for £85, 1s.
The Duke of Buccleuch’s copy was bought by Mr. Quaritch in 1889
for £195. It was made up from two imperfect copies, with some
leaves inlaid, but otherwise complete.
_The History of Godfrey of Boloyne_ (42).
R. Smith (1682), 18s. 2d--Earl of Peterborough. Dr. Bernard
(1698), 4s. J. West (1773), £10, 10s.--George III. J. Ratcliffe
(1776), £6, 16s. 6d.--W. Hunter. Dr. Vincent (1816), £215, 5s.,
bought by Singer, but Blades says the Marquis of Blandford;
but Mr. Norgate thinks this is a mistake, as there was no copy
in the White Knights sale. Mr. Holford’s copy and that in the
British Museum were the only known perfect copies until 1884,
when Mr. Quaritch announced in his catalogue (No. 21,842) a
“very fine copy, quite perfect, with all the blanks, and in the
original binding,” priced £1000. Mr. Norgate suggests that this
may be Dr. Vincent’s copy.
_Polycronicon_ (44).
R. Mead (1755), £3, 13s. 6d. Joseph Ames (1760), two copies;
one sold for 7s., and the other for 14s. J. West (1773), £16,
5s. 6d.
There were three copies in Ratcliffe’s sale (1775); one sold for
3s. 3d., another for 2s. 3d., and a third for £5, £5s. 6d.
Heber bought S. Tyssen’s copy in 1801 for £5; at his own sale it
fetched £10, 15s.
The White Knights perfect copy was bought by Payne in 1819 for
£94, 10s. It is now in the Grenville Library. (Blades overlooked
this.)
Dent’s perfect copy was bought by Perkins in 1827 for £103,
19s.; at the latter’s sale (1873) it was bought by Mr. Quaritch
for £365.
Lord Charlemont (1865), £477--Walford (wanting two leaves). This
copy went to New York, and was sold immediately for 6750 dollars
(= about £1380). T. Edwards (1871), wanting seven leaves,
£34--Quaritch. This copy was sold at the Earl of Aylesford’s
sale (1888) for £110, also to Mr. Quaritch. The seven leaves
were supplied in facsimile. Ten were mounted, and a few others
mended.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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