Book War at Drouot !

Book warriors.

"On March the 6^th, the booksellers from Paris had all gathered in front of the doors of one of Drouot's rooms, impatiently waiting for their opening. Business was on everyone’s  mind, war was ahead."

Read the article
To read it on this website, click below:

The Book War at the 

French Auction House Drouot

- by Thibault Ehrengardt

     Things change, so does the French auction house Drouot. The walls of the common parts have been repainted in white, and a gorgeous modern staircase now leads you to the basement rooms. On March the 6th, the booksellers from Paris had all gathered in front of the doors of one of these rooms, impatiently waiting for their opening at 11 A.M. Business was on everyone’s mind, war was ahead. “Pfuuu, sighed someone near me, too many booksellers around...” His friend shrugged : “As usual when a real private collection comes out. At least it features unusual books.” This real collection, as opposed to made-up sales, was coming from a learned inhabitant of Avignon, and featured a few hundred books in different fields. There were also some 40 boxes filled with various books, not registered in the official catalogue. These boxes usually contain books of less value, incomplete or in bad condition. Bought as a whole, they appear to be somehow lucrative to minor booksellers.

This very day, the boxes were rushed at once and the best one was soon identified; it featured several post-incunables. Everyone kept an eye on everyone, anxiously watching their competitors. Some discreetly transferred books from one box to the other, trying to make up the best box possible, and to mislead other booksellers. “Don’t touch the books!” shouted the auctioneer several times. “No complaint will be recorded afterwards!” The new rooms are very small. To have a look at a book, even listed in the catalogue, one had to pack up, push and rub, apologizing with dark looks. The auction house had run out of catalogues the day before (2,700 copies were printed - “It has a cost”, smiled an expert). It was impossible to get a copy. Those who left theirs on a table never found it again. The employees from the auction house were overwhelmed with inquiries, and only he who spoke the louder, and pushed the harder, had the privilege to look at a book. Sweat, sighs and almost tears…

Box and cat

The room was overcrowded. The early birds got all the few chairs. Others had to stand at the back, sweating and struggling with their bags and coats. The sale started with the box of post-incunables. Anxious to buy what they had previously seen (and not a reorganized box), people assembled around the box like seagulls around a shoal of sardines, shouting, sweating, cursing, raising their hand or their voice to be seen or heard – a peddlers’ business. One of the most famous booksellers of Paris, let’s call him Mr. Know-it, was on the battlefield, and he fought hard with an opponent, bringing the first box to 10,000 euros. Some treasure laid in this one. His reputation has earned him a follow-up of pilot fishes, who automatically overbid him, no matter what – the conditioned reflex of Pavlov. To leave them behind, he needs to reach the depth of money where they dare not follow him. As we shall see, he sometimes uses it as a weapon.

The sale was set up by Fraysse & Associés, a long time house auction. The auctioneer felt at home, joking, using his hammer to tease the expert’s cat peacefully laying on the table and scorning at our vain agitation. Far from the austerity of the new auction houses such as Alde (see a previous article), Fraysse is doing it the old fashioned way. Books are still physically shown during the sale. You are free to have a look at them as the sale goes on. One of the booksellers sitting in the front row sure enjoyed it, calling the employee of the auction house for almost every item (going through them, he would bless his friends with a few comments before throwing the books back on the table – at the end of the day, he bought one or two cheap items).

 Booksellers were the masters of the playground, commenting, joking, even urging the joyful auctioneer to hurry up – he was terribly slow. It is a pleasure to attend certain sales. This one was a harsh one. Jokes and laughter were but cynical, and strategy was at its height. Booksellers that haunt Drouot are divided into invisible “families”, or clans. Mr. Know-it, sitting in the first row, for example, kept on looking over his shoulder as bids were made in his back. “I can’t see a thing from here”, he grumbled. Usually, he stands at the forefront of the room, looking not at the items but at the buyers. That’s how he spots his friends, and his enemies. His archrival was not physically present this day but Mr. Know-it was making sure not to overbid a friend of his - or should I say an ally? That’s how things go in Drouot. Silent agreements are contracted in the twinkling of an eye. Unknown buyers (or, worse, alleged private buyers) are usually discouraged by overbids. Friends and foes become accomplices, this time to defeat the common threat. Auctions are under tight watch and obey strict rules.

Inside the magic box

The auctioneer, Mr. Fraysse, must be in his sixties and is obviously uncomfortable with progress. He pointed a camera at one point, shouting: “Smile, everybody - you’re on TV”. Indeed, you could attend the sale on the internet, bidding with a click. Our auctioneer is not a “geek ”, he kept on saying: “ The highest bid is not in the room, it’s in the TV!” People laughed. He gently made fun of e-bidders who asked for a closer look at some books through the camera, but as more and more books were getting sold on the internet, he started to enjoy his new toy, eventually calling it “the magic box”. Nevertheless, he never took into consideration the short delay ruling e-bids – and he spoiled a few sales by knocking down too early.

The expert had clearly underestimated the books – to make sure a lot of people would turn up, probably. Consequently, many potential buyers just sat, or stood, the whole afternoon, buying nothing and leaving frustrated. The Auiso Piaceulo Dato Alla Bella Italia (1586) went for 2,800 euros (appraisal 300), the Code National (1790, full morocco binding) went for 950 euros (appraisal 50) and the Concordia (1555) was sold for 3,000 euros (estimation 50 euros). The biggest surprise came from Caillat’s 150 Manières d’accomoder les sardines (Marseille, 1898) that went for 3,700 euros while estimated at 20 euros.

Hennepin, sold for 2,500 euros.

Travel books ain’t worth a dime

There was a travel books section to the sale. Though specialized in this particular field, Mr. Know-it bought almost none of them - at least officially. “Travel books don’t sell anymore”, he said to his friend sitting beside him (the one who looked at every single book during the sale). While Carpeau de Sussay’s Voyage de Madagascar (1722) went for 950 euros before the commission (of 22% for this sale), he shrugged: “A very nice copy has been on the shelf of my bookshop for more than a year. For 1,200 euros – nobody wants it. Travel books are all over the internet now, it was the worst kind of books to specialize in.” His friend nodded: “Who could have guessed?” Indeed, travel books stand among the most prestigious ones. Is Mr. Know-it a little bitter? Or is he just cunningly trying to discourage every one around him from venturing into his territory? As the classical Ravenau de Lussan’s Journal du Voyage fait à la Mer du Sud avec les Flibustiers (1689) reached a 500 euros bid, Mr. Know-it turned around, realized that the bidder was no one he knew, and overbid him - 510 euros. When he was eventually handed the book, he obviously looked at it for the first time, frowning at the torn top cap. He never intended to buy it, he just made sure this book would not go for too low a price… at least to someone else.

When one of the nicest books of the sale came up, Hennepin’s Nouvelle Découverte d’un Pays situé dans l’Amérique… (1698, including the first engraving of Niagara Falls), the expert read the ridiculous appraisal of 300 euros and said: “Let’s start at 150…” Mr. Know-it giggled : “Waste not our time, 1,000 euros!” Then he looked the other way as the sale went on – the book was sold for 2,500 euros. Mr. Know-it did exactly the same thing regarding the rare Pigafetta’s relation of Magellan’s travel (1801) that went for 1,350 euros (appraisal 300). As hours, and items, were passing by, Mr. Know-it’s friend marveled: “You don’t bid on this one?” The bookseller laughed: “Yes I do, I have someone over the phone, bidding for me. Look at this idiot over there, he spies at me. Every time I bid on a book, he overbids me without even knowing why.” Mr. Know-it knows how to cross his enemies – he even plays tricks on them. At one point, he said: “1,000 euros!” for a book. His “enemy” said at once: “1,100 euros!” and won the item while Mr. Know-it burst out laughing with his friend. No pity on this battlefield. And when the same “enemy ” won a copy of Zarate’s Histoire du Pérou at a good price, Mr. Know-it turned towards him: “I did not pressure you on this one, you noticed?” a way to tell him not to pressure him on a next one. That’s how things go, at Drouot. Nothing is for free. Is it about books? Sure, but always bear in mind that it is also about money.

© Thibault Ehrengardt