SALE REVIEW: BIRMINGHAM ASSAY OFFICE LIBRARY

Corbould Britannia and St George Drawings

How on earth is this relevant to a numismatic publication? Matthew Boulton was born in Birmingham during 1728 and died there in 1809. By 1762 he was a major industrialist who had opened Birmingham's famous Soho Manufactory, which was purposefully designed to look like a palace. This pioneered mass production for a wide range of quality goods from buttons and buckles, steel jewellery and boxes and a few years later an extended Manufactory added luxury items such as silverware and ormolu. It was one of the first factories and certainly the most advanced one at its time in the world and lifted Birmingham to a centre of excellence, away from the 'brummagem', or inferior wares, produced there in the first half of the 18th century.

The Birmingham Assay Office

Birmingham Assay Office
The fineness of his sterling silver pieces had to be officially checked before they could be sold. This meant a 140 mile round trip by horse and cart to the nearest Assay Office at Chester where the pieces would be hallmarked – that is stamped according to the law. Boulton considered this a serious inconvenience that was not only costly, but caused delays and of course ran the risk of being robbed by highwaymen. By this time he had become a 'giant of industry', with the Soho Manufactory employing over 700 people. He persuaded the Government to open an Assay Office in Birmingham.

The World's Pioneering Industrial Coiner
Having established his connection with the city's Assay Office what is Boulton's connection with numismatics? In brief, steam! In Britain at the beginning of the 18th century, only four sources of power were available – man, beast, wind and water. Enter James Watt who having trained as an instrument maker in London, returned to Scotland and set up his business in Glasgow. He began experimenting with steam and became a leading steam engineer. In the mid-1770s Boulton and Watt entered a partnership that had a major role in the Industrial Revolution. In 1784 a rotative engine powered by steam was developed to operate rotary machines in factories and cotton mills.

In late 18th century Britain there was a shortage of circulating small change and counterfeiting became a profitable occupation. Boulton considered that the best way to stop this was to have a vast number of official coins in circulation that had a sufficient intrinsic value and were so well executed that making false ones would not be worthwhile. An improved version of Watt's rotative engine made this possible, but in official circles his ideas initially fell on deaf ears.

The first Soho Mint was largely constructed from 1788-1789. By 1792 he had eight coin presses in operation at Soho with each capable of striking from 50 to 120 coins a minute. Boulton employed many of the best die engravers of the day, with the German Conrad Heinrich Küchler probably being the most prolific. As well as contract work for the Royal Mint and the striking of private tokens that circulated in the UK from 1787, he sent coins and tokens from Birmingham around the world – from India to Chile from Canada to Australia. In addition to installing steam-driven minting machinery at the Royal Mint, Soho also became an exporter of mints to Russia, Denmark and Brazil.

The importance of Matthew Boulton is best summarised by Richard Doty author of The Soho Mint & the Industrialization of Money (Cambridge, 1998). He describes Matthew Boulton as 'the world's pioneering industrial coiner', adding 'every piece of money in our pockets today bears direct testimony of the work of Matthew Boulton and the Soho Mint.'

The Library
The Assay Office was not selling all its books, just those, according to the catalogue, that were 'not directly connected to its principal role of testing (assaying) and hallmarking precious metals'. The diversity of the subjects offered in the 457 lots were amazing: 'alchemy, British topography, Chaucer, chemistry, design and ornament, horology, metallurgy, mining and numismatics.' Perhaps the most perplexing one is the works of Geoffrey Chaucer 'now newly imprinted'. This was no ordinary edition, as it was the greatest of all private press books and the apotheosis of the artistic collaboration between William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. It sold for £40,000 including the Buyer's Premium.

The sale of the library has not been without its critics, including letters to the national press. Locally there was less of an outcry at the general sale of the books, but protest about just one in particular. A double-page spread in The Birmingham Post (The Post) for 5th March was headed, 'Boulton's own Bible Could be lost to the city'. Matthew Boulton is quite rightly held in the highest regard in the city. The Post describes him as the 'famed 18th century Birmingham industrialist'.

At no point was it mentioned that the Bible probably left the City in 1815-16 when Matthew Boulton's son Matthew Robinson Boulton purchased the 8000 acre Great Tew Estate and manor in the Oxfordshire Cotswold Hills. Certainly he had added a Gothic Revival library in 1825. The Birmingham Assay Office bought the Bible and other volumes when Books from the library of Matthew Boulton and his family were sold by Christie's in December 1986.

To address the criticism of the Bible leaving Birmingham, the Assay Office pledged £1000 towards keeping it on public view in the city. Doug Henry, the Assay Master told The Post, 'We are keen for the title to remain in Birmingham, kept in a suitable environment and for it to be more accessible. The Assay Office pledged £1000 to help acquire the book through the auction, to ensure its safekeeping in the city and its availability for public access.

The Auction
The auction was to be staged by Forum Auctions of London at The Westbury Hotel in London's Mayfair on 26 th March, the viewing to commence on 16th - 19th March at Forum's offices in London SW8 and from 24th-25th March at The Westbury. Coronavirus impacted upon the sale. On the evening of 16th March the UK Government asked the public to stop non-essential contact with others as well as unnecessary travel and to work from home if possible. Upon this announcement the auction at The Westbury was cancelled and it became an auction behind closed doors with on-line bidding only. Matthew Boulton's Famly Bible was withdrawn from the sale. On 23Srd March the Government announced stay-at-home policy for all but essential workers. All non-essential shops and businesses were closed.

The Numismatic Books
Why the Library has so many numismatic books has never been properly explained. Undoubtedly, it is because of Matthew Boulton's connection with the Assay Office. The top price in this part of the sale was for two volumes containing 146 original drawings and watercolours which was probably compiled from 1830-1850. Both are bound in half red morocco. Volume one highlights include 30 sheets of portraits, some of personal interest to the artists as well other designs for coins and seals by William Wyon; a profile portrait of William IV and the design of a coin by Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey; over 30 sheets of coin and medal designs attributed to either Edward or Henry Corbould and six sheets of designs for crown or florin pieces by William Dyce, the designer of the Victorian Gothic florin reverse. Volume two highlights include 43 drawings (mainly of silverware) by John Flaxman; three sheets of studies for medals, including one for the coronation of George IV by Thomas Stothard and five sheets of medals including the General Service Medal of 1793-1814. It sold for £37,500, its low estimate.

The first single volume that caught my attention was a copy of Mr Bushell's Abridgement of the Lord Chancellor Bacon's Philosophical Theory in Mineral Prosecutions. It appealed to me because Thomas Bushell began to establish the Aberystwyth mint in 1637 in the reign of Charles I. Apparently this was a rare work with no other copy being traced at auction. It was published in 1659. Estimated at £600-£800 it was contested to £6000 with the Premium.

Arguably the most important numismatic work in the sale, a manuscript, was the Minutes from the House of Lords' Committee of Council on Coin covering the period 1798-1802. During this time span, Soho 1797 Cartwheel two- pences and pennies were already in circulation, the Soho 1799 halfpennies and farthings were being placed into circulation and the Soho 1806 and 1807 pennies, halfpennies and farthings were not even ordered. In an age when such Minutes are printed, it is a shock seeing these handwritten. Inter alia, Matthew Boulton appeared before the Committee and was asked 1. What apparatus he would use to increase the Mint's output 2. How he would improve coins to render counterfeiting more difficult and the detection of counterfeits easier 3. Reduce operational costs. The Assay Office bought the Minutes when Books from the library of Matthew Boulton and his family were sold by Christie's in December 1986. This historically important document sold for £5000 against an estimate of £1000-£1500.

Minutes from the House of Lords' Committee of Council on Coin

Initially I was puzzled as to why there was no copy of Ruding's Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain. When I went through the numismatic lots in greater depth, I noticed it featured in the lot led by Cochran-Patrick's Records of the Coinage of Scotland in two volumes. The Ruding work was the second book listed and it was the best Third Edition of 1840 bound in calf. Then my eyes lit up, as the third book was Barnard's The Casting Counter and the Counting Board of 1916. Between last Christmas and the New Year I used an on-line text of the complete book for research into silver counter boxes. The subtitle is Chapter in the History of Numismatics and Early Arithmetic. It is from the on-line text that I discovered that the counters in the counter boxes were not as I had thought for gaming, but for 'reckoning' – ie adding up on a checker board. It was one of my Eureka moments of 2019!

Then I read on and my heart sank. There were the words, 'and 10 others, numismatic', with no mention of what they were. I rang Douglas Saville who, in 2007, after 37 years at Spink's Book Department, opened Douglas Saville Numismatic Books at Caversham just north of Reading. With 50 years in numismatic books, he is the doyen of the subject. He has certainly helped me form my numismatic library over the years. I asked him if he was going for the Cochran-Patrick lot, could I bag the Barnard. The answer to both questions was yes.

Viewing the sale could well have been difficult for many potential bidders and the staff at Forum Auctions were very good providing information to potential bidders. Douglas did not view but requested images of the 10 books not listed. The lot sold for its top estimate of £750 including the Premium. This, how can I put it? 'Seems reasonable, not even knowing what the other 10 volumes were.'

I noticed that Burns Coins of Scotland (three volumes, 1887) was not listed in the sales catalogue. Neither was it listed in the published 1914 Catalogue of the Books in the Library of the Assay Office Birmingham. Interestingly the following picked at random from the 1914 catalogue were not in the sales catalogue: Anselll, A Treatise on Coining 1862 or The Royal Mint 1871; Forrer, Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, coin engravers etc (six volumes 1902-1904); Hawkins, Medallic Illustrations of the History of Great Britain and Ireland to the Death of George II (two volumes 1885) but more importantly the series of superb plates issued by the British Museum from 1904-1911. Were all these included as 'and X more, numismatic'? Or were they retained or just been lost?

Finale
Forum Auctions advise that the total hammer price was £750,000, or £937,500 with the Premium. In addition to the Kelmscott Press Chaucer, there were several other volumes which one would not expect to find in an Assay Office's library which fetched high sums. These ranged from a volume of 26 examples of Elizabethan manuscript initials, scripts and proverbs that sold for £33,750 to a magnificent five volume work documenting Russian life and society during the 19th century which commanded £43,750

A few days after the auction The Birmingham Civic Society announced that Boulton's Baskerville family bible had been saved and will remain in Birmingham. The announcement stated, 'A consortium consisting of the Baskerville Society (consortium leader), Centre for Printing History & Culture (Birmingham City University and the University of Birmingham), the Cadbury Research Library, Birmingham Museums Trust, Birmingham Civic Society and the Lunar Society secured the bible. It will be housed in Birmingham at the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham, which has the appropriate resources to care for it, alongside the University's many other Baskerville holdings.

In the 1970s the Assay Office passed its Matthew Boulton Archive to the Birmingham Central Library, now the Library of Birmingham. In retrospect some of the criticism of the Assay Office may not have been so harsh had it offered the House of Lords' Minutes to the Birmingham Central Library. It should have liaised with the Birmingham Civic Society regarding Boulton's Bible. Matthew Boulton is Birmingham's most famous son, indeed he is considered 'the Father' not only of the city, but the industrial West Midlands generally.

So, do I condemn the Assay Office in selling the books from its library? NO I do not! A library is only useful if it is used. I have a great interest in modern British silver, as does Ken Quickenden, who until he retired, was Research Professor at Birmingham City University. For decades, he visited the Assay Office's Library when it was located at Newhall Street in central Birmingham. He was told that he was its most frequent visitor, albeit that he only looked at it the archives as opposed to its books. During his many visits he never encountered any other researcher!

When the auction was planned, no one had a notion that the country would be placed in lockdown. This was very unfortunate, but Forum Auctions did everything to assist potential bidders. I feel justice was not done to the numismatic books and possibly the input from a consultant would have been useful. The coffers of the Assay Office have certainly been boosted.

NOTES ON IMAGES

The Birmingham Assay_Office
The Birmingham Assay Office at 1 Moreton Street on the western edge of the city's Jewellery Quarter. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Boulton's Bible
The is a superbly bound copy of Matthew Boulton's Holy Bible printed in 1763 by John Baskerville. Most of Baskerville's books were issued unbound, but a significant number were bound by a particular bindery, mostly for members of Baskerville's family or friends. This particular binding is very similar to that owned by John Bskerville's wife Sarah, although Boulton's copy is more sumptuous, using gold tooling rather than blind as on Sarah's copy. The volume passed down the generations of Matthew Boulton's family until it was sold at auction in 1986. It was then acquired by the Assay Office. It was withdrawn from the auction and acquired by a consortium of Birmingham societies following a public appeal. It will be housed in the city at the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham.

Bushell's Abridgement of the Lord Chancellor Bacon's Philosophical Theory in Mineral Prosecutions
There is no trace of any copy of this rare volume by Thomas Bushell, who began to establish the Aberystwyth mint during 1637 in the reign of Charles I, ever having been previously been sold at auction. It was contested to £6000 against an estimate of £600-£800.

Corbould Britannia and St George Drawings
The auction house could not decide if these drawings could be attributed to Edward or Henry Corbould. Neither are in Leonard Forrer's Biographical Dictionary of Medalists. The auction house favoured Edward Corbould (1815-1905) who was known for his watercolours based on literature, history and daily life. He was appointed instructor on historical painting to the Royal Family. His father was Henry Corbould (1787-1844). His work was not generally known by the public. Although he illustrated books, most of his time was spent making drawing of ancient marbles for the aristocracy and the British Museum, for which he was held in high regard. My view that the designs of medals and coins are by Henry Corbould as opposed to his son. My reasoning is that he became a friend of Flaxman while at the Royal Academy and he drew the statue of Joseph Banks sculpted by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, both of whose work are in these albums. It is a shame that Henry Corbould's stunning designs never manifested into coins.

Doty's The Soho Mint
Richard Doty's excellent book on The Soho Mint is an excellent volume that details Matthew Boulton's very important contribution to modern coins. It was published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1998 in Association with the British Numismatic Society and Spink. Its cover is the image of the portrait of Matthew Boulton by G F von Breda executed in 1792, which hangs in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It shows the palatial Soho Manufactory in the background.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE BIRMINGHAM ASSAY OFFICE LIBRARY SALE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n07a02.html)

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