Page:A history of booksellers, the old and the new.djvu/101

73 THE BOOKSELLERS OF OLDEN TIMES. 73 told his society in Broadment, Bristol, in my hearing, that he could never keep a bookseller six months in his flock." From this time success uniformly attended his undertakings, and was due, he says, primarily to his invariable principle of selling at very low figures and only for ready-money. When he began to attend the trade sales he created consternation among his bre- thren. " I was very much surprised to learn that it was common for such as purchased remainders to destroy or burn one half or three-fourths of such books, and to charge the full publication price, or nearly that, for such as they kept on hand." With this rule he complied for a short time ; but afterwards resolved to keep the whole stock. The trade endeavoured to hinder his appearance at the sale-rooms, but in time they were forced to yield, and he continued to sell off remainders at half or a quarter the published price.* " By selling them in this cheap manner, I have dis- posed of many hundred thousand volumes, many thousand of which have been intrinsically worth their original prices." Such a method attracted a crowd of customers, and he soon began to buy manuscripts from authors. As to how his circumstances were improving we read, " I discovered that lodgings in the country were very healthy. The year after, my country lodging was transformed into a country house, and in another year the inconveniences attending a stage coach were remedied by a chariot," on the doors of which " I have put a motto to remind me to what I am indebted to my prosperity, viz. : Small Profits do Great Things." Again, he was very fond of repeating, of ,12,000 in an afternoon.
 * West says he sat next Lackington at a sale when he spent upwards