The Historical Auction Series No.1 The Henry C. Murphy Sale March 3-March 8, 1884

The Murphy Sale took place from March 3rd through March 8th, 1884 and was a highly anticipated and covered event. Here is what The Brooklyn Eagle shows:

A small but well placed ad on page 1 in the Saturday, March 1, 1884 issue announces “The Murphy Library/Now on Exhibition” and gives the auctioneer’s address, date of sale, and other necessary details. On Monday the 3rd the sale commenced and the coverage

Then the Murphy Sale commenced and The Eagle and other newspapers begin mostly daily coverage in The New York Times, The New York Herald Tribune, and The Brooklyn Eagle.

On Monday March 3, 1884, a front page headline in 4 pm edition of The Brooklyn Eagle for that day screamed: “H.C. Murphy/His Library Under the Hammer.” His library is described as “An immense collection of rare manuscripts and valuable books at action today…” The article then restates the intro to the catalogue on the variety of material(s) available in the Murphy Sale, and closes with “The library abounds in the rarest works, but those mentioned above will bring the largest prices. It is expected that the net proceeds of the sale will reach $50,000.”

On Tuesday, March 4, 1884, there is yet another front page headline about the Murphy Sale in The Brooklyn Eagle: “Rare Books/Some of the Works Disposed of at the/Murphy Library Sale.” This article talks excitedly about preliminary results, as encapsulated in the sub-sub headline: “A Large Attendance of Bibliophiles – Vicarious Purchases Which Suggested the Interest of Gould and Vanderbilt – The Prices Paid for the Principal Volumes.” The gist of the selling frenzy was described this way:

“The sale of the library of the late Henry C. Murphy was commenced yesterday in the auction room of George A. Leavitt & Co., Clinton Hall, New York. …It is one of the most important collections in the country to the lovers of the rare in literature, and the works will make their way, judging by the buyers at the first sale, into many celebrated libraries and colleges, while a few of the more rare books, noted for their great antiquity, will be bought for private parties. The library numbers, according to the printed catalogue, 5,000 volumes…[but actually only 3,142 lots]. It consists to the greater part of works exclusively relative to America, as it had been the pride of Mr. Murphy in his lifetime, while he loved rare books pertaining to every subject, to spare no expense in making his library the most complete in the world…..”

“It is expected that the sale of works on this subject will largely determine the value of…rare books on American subjects; and as there was lively competition between representatives from various universities for the possession of these treasures, dear to enthusiastic bibliophiles, who vied with each other by paying good prices; It is judged by experts that the books will find their way into institutions which will preserve them as long as they last, that they will become so scarce that for a single inferior copy an extraordinary price will be demanded and obtained.”

Two days later The Brooklyn Eagle, on Wednesday, March 6th 1884 notes on its front page: “MURPHY SALE/Some Rare Volumes Disposed of Yesterday.” This article, whose sub-sub headline reads: “Bids Received from the British Museum – A Book Which Sold for $3,600 – Jay Gould’s Estimate of His Own Literary Labor. High Prices for Ancient Works,” concentrates as much on the dramatic goings-on at the action than on the prices realized.