In strong Buckram, price £1 75. 6d. each, nett. BOOK-PRICES CURRENT, VOLUMES IV., V., VI. AND VII. Being a Record of the Prices at which Books have been sold at Auction during 1890, 1891, 1892, and 1893, with the Titles and Descriptions of the Books in full, the Catalogue Numbers, and the Names of the Purchasers. A few copies only of some of the earlier volumes are left. Vol. I. is quite out of print. Opinions of the Press. Notes and Queries. "It will furnish a record of great use and interest to the bibliophile."- "The practical utility of such a record will be best appreciated by those who have been accustomed to consult such guides as Lowndes and Brunet with a feeling that their information, though in a great part obsolete, is at least much better than no information at all."-Daily News. Also it will enable owners "It will be serviceable to those who buy and to those who sell books; especially, we should imagine, to the latter.... to know the market value of their possessions, which is often, in these days of the first-edition craze, a great deal higher than the uninitiated would imagine."-Pall Mall Gazette. Printer and Stationer "Like other of Mr. Stock's publications, it is beautifully printed."— "Such a publication has long been a desideratum needed by booksellers, librarians and bibliophiles."-Trübner's Literary Record. Book-Prices Current: RECORD OF THE PRICES AT WHICH BOOKS HAVE BEEN SOLD AT AUCTION, FROM DECEMBER, 1893, TO NOVEMBER, 1894. PREFACE. A SUMMARY of the contents of the present volume of BOOK-PRICES CURRENT, when contrasted with the results of last year's sales, shows an improvement in the quality of the works sold, as well as an increase in the quantity. In 1893 nearly 50,000 lots of property realised £66,470 and some few shillings. In 1894 rather more than 51,000 lots produced £72,472 odd, or a proportionate sum of about £1 8s. 5d. for each item, as against £1 6s. 7d. in 1893, from which it must necessarily be inferred either that books of a better class have been sold or that higher prices have been obtained. In two instances sales have been reported in full, even though many of the sums realised were less than 1, the object in each case being to obtain a good selection of works on a given subject— sporting-which has hitherto been represented by the same, or almost the same books, time after time. These and a few other necessary exceptions apart, the usual plan has been followed of omitting everything which failed to come up to the recognised standard, and reporting nothing which, in my opinion, it was inexpedient or unadvisable to insert. The following pages are believed to fairly reflect the temporary state of the market for high-class books, and many of these are of such importance that the average amount realised has been appreciably increased. The value of certain books which may with confidence be looked for in every volume of BOOK-PRICES CURRENT, and more particularly those of smaller importance which never find their way into its pages at all, appear to have sustained a serious check, whether on account of the general depression or because collectors are beginning to consider the position in which they stand with regard to |