value to almost nothing; they were procurable for pence,
nor did they acquire any appreciation till the reign of George III.
and the rise of a new school of collectors, amongst whom we have to
reckon the King himself.

It is not unusual to hear cases of cheap books having been acquired by
the normal buyer in the open market. A friend tells you that he has
bought such or such a volume of a dealer--perhaps a specialist in
that line--a positive bargain; he was not very keen on purchases just
at the moment, but he could not resist this. It may be so; but it is
exceedingly problematical. If we were to inquire into the facts, one
might, nay, one would almost certainly, find that the specialist had
secured the item over all competitors at a recent auction, and had
added his own profit. If he had not been present, the item would not
have brought half. He was deemed rash by his _confreres_ for giving so
much. Of course there were two in it; but the under-bidder was, maybe,
a second private enthusiast, who had gone to the full extent of his
ideas or resources. Where, then, is the bargain?

The more or less artificial quotations at first-class auctions partly
arise, no doubt, from the preference of certain private buyers for
dispensing with the middle-man in the person of the bookseller. They
do not object to employ him as an agent, and often enable him to
secure their _desiderata_ against all comers; but they somehow
distrust him as an independent valuer of what he may offer over the
counter; and this is, we fear, usually attributable to their
diffidence of their own judgment and experience. There is a prevailing
idea--it may be a prejudice--that in the salerooms an article fetches
its worth and no more, and that you save the relative profit. You may
or you may not. In the majority of cases, where the actual purchaser
has no practical knowledge, and his resources are ample, the saleroom
is a dearer market than the shop, if the property offered is that of
an eminent person and is of high character; and even in obscurer sales
bargains of any moment are only to those who are experts and are on
the spot.

The prices or market values of the older and rarer books form a
debateable ground, on which those interested will probably never
arrive at anything approaching unanimity; and the reason or part of
the reason seems to be that the actual realised figure depends on so
many considerations, of which the mere character of the article