FREEMAN (Arthur & Janet Ing). Anatomy of an Auction: Rare Books at Ruxley Lodge, 1919.1990

London: The Book Collector, First edition, 8vo (220 x 140 mm), viii, 169pp., frontis., orig. printed wrappers. The dispersal of the Foley family library in October 1919 was notable for the richness of the books sold - and for the general inadequacy of the prices they fetched. Drawing on records kept by principal participants in the sale and in the four subsequent "knock-outs", the Freemans reveal the intricacies of a practice whose workings have not previously been subject to such detailed and informed scrutiny.