DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73058#0135
Print Sales.
stay away, and hence the constant sacrifice of a houseful of furniture at half or a quarter
of its market value. The iniquitous system is unfortunately in full force at certain second
and third-rate London auction rooms, where prints and curiosities are sometimes sold;
and, if a purchase be contemplated, it will be found absolutely necessary to employ a
broker, with the chance, should he be a scamp, of having the price run up to the full limit,
in order that he may pocket a shilling or two extra in the shape of commission. If the
sale be held without reserve,—say by order of executors in order to realize at once,—
and the public is sparsely represented, then the vampires, who understand each other
thoroughly, have it all their own way. They have two systems: one, and the simplest, is
that of not bidding against each other, in order that the lots may be knocked down in fair
proportion to A, B, and C, in rotation, at ridiculously low prices, sometimes for shillings
that ought to be pounds. Let an outsider, tempted by the cheapness of the lots, try to
secure a bargain, and observe what happens :—he is jeered and abused, and unless he be
too dense and thick-headed to take the hint and subside into silence, the price of the
article is run up to its full value or beyond, and then, amidst the derision of the company,
he is allowed to have it. If, however, he suddenly drop the bidding when the article has
already been run up beyond its value, but not quite high enough to please the vampires,
and one of the fraternity, unaware of his intention to stop, makes another bid and the
hammer falls, then there is a bullying demonstration, and the most barefaced and lying
assertions are freely made on all sides that the last bid was made by the victim, who, if he
has not by this time had his eyes opened, will be saddled with the bargain. Should he,
however, remain firm, and the auctioneer feel quite certain as to who really made the last
bid, the blackguard is declared the purchaser, the loss on the transaction being afterwards
made up in due proportion by his brother blood-suckers. The confusion will sometimes
be so great that the auctioneer will be unable to positively identify the last bidder, or it
may be—there are auctioneers and auctioneers—that it hardly serves his purpose to do
so, and then the lot is again put up for competition. The outsider will probably have had
enougli of it, and the lot will be knocked down to a broker for a mere song. The other
system, "knocking out," is perhaps a trifle more iniquitous, as it is more elaborate. By
previous agreement one or two buyers are selected, and as there is no real competition in
the bidding, everything is knocked down for next to nothing. Should there be any public
competition, the bidding is treated in precisely the same manner as before explained.
After the sale, those in the " knock-out" repair to a convenient spot, as the parlour of a
public-house, and hold another sale amongst themselves,—this time a real one,—and at the
finish the difference in the prices is divided in equal proportions. Many men gain their
living in this manner, and it is by no means unusual for large sums, sometimes in three
figures—instances are on record of four,—to be divided as the extra plunder of a single sale.
There are of course occasionally " rigs " at print as at other sales, when the principal dealers
and the outside public are either practically unrepresented—which rarely happens,—or
when the true value of the prints offered is generally unknown. It is hardly necessary to
say that really respectable print dealers entirely hold aloof from shady transactions of this
nature; and as they are present at all important sales, opportunities for petty conspiracies
occur but seldom.
109 CHAPTER
stay away, and hence the constant sacrifice of a houseful of furniture at half or a quarter
of its market value. The iniquitous system is unfortunately in full force at certain second
and third-rate London auction rooms, where prints and curiosities are sometimes sold;
and, if a purchase be contemplated, it will be found absolutely necessary to employ a
broker, with the chance, should he be a scamp, of having the price run up to the full limit,
in order that he may pocket a shilling or two extra in the shape of commission. If the
sale be held without reserve,—say by order of executors in order to realize at once,—
and the public is sparsely represented, then the vampires, who understand each other
thoroughly, have it all their own way. They have two systems: one, and the simplest, is
that of not bidding against each other, in order that the lots may be knocked down in fair
proportion to A, B, and C, in rotation, at ridiculously low prices, sometimes for shillings
that ought to be pounds. Let an outsider, tempted by the cheapness of the lots, try to
secure a bargain, and observe what happens :—he is jeered and abused, and unless he be
too dense and thick-headed to take the hint and subside into silence, the price of the
article is run up to its full value or beyond, and then, amidst the derision of the company,
he is allowed to have it. If, however, he suddenly drop the bidding when the article has
already been run up beyond its value, but not quite high enough to please the vampires,
and one of the fraternity, unaware of his intention to stop, makes another bid and the
hammer falls, then there is a bullying demonstration, and the most barefaced and lying
assertions are freely made on all sides that the last bid was made by the victim, who, if he
has not by this time had his eyes opened, will be saddled with the bargain. Should he,
however, remain firm, and the auctioneer feel quite certain as to who really made the last
bid, the blackguard is declared the purchaser, the loss on the transaction being afterwards
made up in due proportion by his brother blood-suckers. The confusion will sometimes
be so great that the auctioneer will be unable to positively identify the last bidder, or it
may be—there are auctioneers and auctioneers—that it hardly serves his purpose to do
so, and then the lot is again put up for competition. The outsider will probably have had
enougli of it, and the lot will be knocked down to a broker for a mere song. The other
system, "knocking out," is perhaps a trifle more iniquitous, as it is more elaborate. By
previous agreement one or two buyers are selected, and as there is no real competition in
the bidding, everything is knocked down for next to nothing. Should there be any public
competition, the bidding is treated in precisely the same manner as before explained.
After the sale, those in the " knock-out" repair to a convenient spot, as the parlour of a
public-house, and hold another sale amongst themselves,—this time a real one,—and at the
finish the difference in the prices is divided in equal proportions. Many men gain their
living in this manner, and it is by no means unusual for large sums, sometimes in three
figures—instances are on record of four,—to be divided as the extra plunder of a single sale.
There are of course occasionally " rigs " at print as at other sales, when the principal dealers
and the outside public are either practically unrepresented—which rarely happens,—or
when the true value of the prints offered is generally unknown. It is hardly necessary to
say that really respectable print dealers entirely hold aloof from shady transactions of this
nature; and as they are present at all important sales, opportunities for petty conspiracies
occur but seldom.
109 CHAPTER