174 Early History of American .1 net ions 



the goods, have them landed and sold at auction for promissory 

 notes which were discounted at the banks, and, having deducted 

 the commission, remitted the proceeds to the British principal ; 

 the proceeds thus included the duties for which the govern- 

 ment allowed a credit of 8, lo, and 12 months without interest, 

 and until maturity of the customs credits the collected duties 

 formed additional capital in the Britisher's hands. *^' The follow- 

 ing very detailed description of the system is contained in a 

 defensive memorial of the auctioneers to Congress in i82i^'': 



"Sales of dry goods are made at auction by package or by 

 piece ; and this is the only important distinction to be observed 

 in all the varieties of the trade. Package sales, being more 

 important in amount, more attractive, by the assortments of 

 merchandise they combine, excite most interest, and are attended 

 with greatest competition. When the sale is of magnitude, it is 

 generally advertised in the principal commercial cities, with an 

 enumeration of the articles to be sold.^^ Printed catalogues are 

 prepared, specifying the term of credit, with other conditions of 



^'Niles, 18: 419. 



"Annals of Congress, i6th Congress, 2d session, 1526-9. 



^° Some characteristics of auctioneers' advertisements as they appeared 

 in the Xew York "Commercial Advertiser" 1816-20 may be noted. There 

 were special columns for "public sales" ; the auctioneer's name headed 

 the advertisements ; the advertisement covered several distinct sales, on 

 different days, at different places, and of different things ; the same auc- 

 tioneer sold such widely different things as imported goods, real estate, 

 stocks in trade, bankrupt stocks, court sales, ship-damaged goods, shops, 

 paintings, household furniture, sheep, etc. ; the advertisements were wholly 

 informative, with little, if any, boasting of goods, except patent medicines; 

 in the same advertisement would be goods offered at "private sale" much 

 detailed; sometimes the sales were designated "package sale (of hard- 

 ware, etc.)"; side by side with auctioneers' advertisements were adver- 

 tisements for sales by private brokers and merchants ; the sales were to 

 take place at certain auction rooms, in front of certain auction rooms, at 

 the wharf, at the Coffee House, etc. ; it was stated that "the goods will 

 be ready for examination on" a certain day and "the catalogues ready" 

 on an earlier day: there were regular weekly sales in books and stationery; 

 it was cited that the goods "will be sold on a liberal credit" or "sold 

 without reserve on liberal terms." During the period 1816 to 1820 as many 

 as twenty different auction firms advertised in the "Commercial Adver- 

 tiser." 



