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| Mobile Gazette ad 1819 |
Auction
house advertising was an important source of income for the Mobile Register and other newspapers in
the early 1800s. Auctioneers controlled vast amounts of credit and served as
virtual banks. These roles gave auctioneers considerable influence in Mobile’s
business community between 1815, when the War of 1812 ended, and 1837, when an
economic recession began and the auction system started to fade away.
The
War of 1812 ground U.S. commerce nearly to a standstill. The British blockade
of Atlantic ports didn’t affect Mobile for most of the war because the town was
a small Spanish outpost on the Gulf frontier and Spain was allied to Britain. The
Americans took possession of Mobile in 1813. With the end of the war in 1815,
Mobile folded into the American marketplace and began to grow as settlers
poured into the Alabama territory.
British
warehouses bulged with unsold goods during the war. With peace, English
manufacturers soon flooded U.S. Atlantic ports with chinaware, textiles,
hardware, and all manner of other goods. New York benefitted most from this
trade. Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other Atlantic ports received
lesser amounts of trade.
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| Mobile Gazette ad 1820 |
Enterprising
American auctioneers at the Atlantic ports learned they could sell more of the
goods faster than regular merchants and auctions became a major means British
manufacturers sold their goods into the American market. Auctioneers sold their
stock quickly for cash and restocked quickly with the newest and most stylish
items. Because the Early Republic didn’t have a well formed wholesale distribution
system, auctions helped fill the need of getting goods to retailers.
Mobile
benefited from this import trade indirectly for the most part. Agents in U.S.
Atlantic ports shipped the English goods to Mobile and New Orleans. Auctioneers,
brokers, and commission merchants disposed of the goods from there.
Auctioneers
could only sell at an open auction. Brokers brought buyers and sellers together
and could make private sales. They were paid by either the buyer or seller. Commission
merchants, also called factors, acted for the seller. They could receive goods
for sale, exchange, or dispose of them by other means and were paid either by
the seller or from a commission on the sales.
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| Mobile Register ad 1827 |
Even
before Alabama became a state in 1819, the territorial government regulated
auctions, unlike other forms of trade. The Territorial Legislature required
auctioneers to have a license, issued for two years, from the governor.
Auctioneers had to provide a surety bond, between $500 and $3,000, at the
discretion of the governor. They paid to the county tax collector a $1 state sales
tax on every $100 of goods they sold. The law limited auctioneers to a
commission of $1 for every $100 of sales. The Mobile city government also
licensed auctioneers, unlike regular merchant trade. The newspaper editor with
the most political influence at City Hall usually obtained the profitable
auction-room advertising.
Scholars
have focused a great deal of attention on the auction system of New York City.
That’s because there are extensive records and statistics regarding New York
auctions, which dominated the U.S. market. Records for other cities, such as
Mobile, are wanting and we know little about their auction systems. But some
facts about Mobile auctions and auctioneers can be gleaned from advertisements
and news stories on the pages of the Register.
George
Davis, Sr., one of Mobile’s most colorful auctioneers, arrived in the Port City
around 1824 from Tuscaloosa, where he had operated a store and hotel since
1820. His business interests in Mobile included an inn, a store, and a livery
stable, and he also speculated in real estate. He served as the Mobile agent
for New Orleans slave dealer Levy Jacobs. Because Davis was a common name,
George gave himself the title of “the ORIGINAL George Davis.”
Davis
lived up to his billing. “A quick shrill voice, a flexible manner, ready wit,
and free and exhaustless humor, made his sales attractive as well as effective,
and rendered him an agreeable companion for all the lovers of mirth and jovial
social intercourse,” the Register said.
The
paper noted of Davis that, “Large sums of money passed through his hands but
they were always accounted for with scrupulous fidelity.” In their business, auctioneers
mostly insisted on cash, but cash was hard to come by on the frontier. In its
place, auctioneers accepted endorsed promissory notes. They might extend credit
for 6 to 8 months to large buyers. A merchant who could establish credit with
an auctioneer gained a solid business reputation. Davis reminded his customers
that if they could not pay in cash, a promissory note “in case of mortality
would save much trouble to Administrators. . . .”
These
financial services made the auction houses a hub of commercial activities and
gave auctioneers a great deal influence in the Mobile business community. The
Port City in 1830 was still only a small town of about 3,200 people and many of
those were slaves. By 1840, the population had grown to around 13,000,
including about 4,500 slaves. Although Mobile’s population was more than four
times larger, it was still a small community.
Auctioneers
stood out for their wealth. They often served as bank directors and received
extensive lines of credit. Philip McLoskey, a principal in McLoskey, Hagan
& Co., served as president of the Planters’ and Merchants’ Bank in Mobile.
Auctioneers
took part in the community in other ways as well. Davis performed comic songs
on the Mobile theater sage. He sponsored Democrat Party gatherings and even ran
for alderman in 1838, but then quickly withdrew. His candidacy may have been
intended as a joke, as was the case when he ran for mayor three years later.
Auctioneer
Solomon I. Jones volunteered in the Neptune Engine Company No. 2, served
several terms on the Board of Aldermen, and became a lieutenant colonel in the
Alabama State Militia. He joined the Odd Fellows fraternal organization and
became a trustee of the Congregation Shaarai Shomayim.
Jones
also served for a time as a port warden. This political appointment aided his
business interests. Warden’s jobs differed from port to port and from time to
time. They often examined vessels to make sure they were seaworthy. They also
inspected cargo, which gave Jones some control over goods being sold in Mobile
and an advantage over competitors.
Most
of Mobile’s auction houses were located close to one another on Water Street,
from Government Street to St. Michael Street, or on a side street. That was
only about a block from the Mobile River wharves and within easy reach of any incoming
vessel.
The auction and commission merchant
firm of Robertson, Beal & Co. conducted its business from the corner of
Water and St. Francis streets. John Wylie, also an auctioneer and commission
merchant, operated from Water Street between Government and Conti streets.
Davis, meanwhile, had his auction stand at the corner of Royal and Conti
streets, a block west of Water. All of these businesses were within a block or
two of the Register and other newspapers located around Royal and
Dauphin streets.
Auctioneers
could deal in all sorts of goods but after a while they tended to specialize. Davis
handled livestock such as horses, mules, asses, and cattle, but also traded in
humans—slaves. Still conducting auctions at age 70 in 1840, Davis said that the
other auctioneers in Mobile, except for two, agreed to give him a monopoly on
the sale of animals and slaves, “in consequence of the great age and exemplary
character of the ORIGINAL.”
By
the time Davis announced his near monopoly, the auction system had already
declined as a distribution system. Auctions returned to their more traditional
purposes and auctioneers branched out in their businesses.
In
1837, Sol Jones and his younger brother Israel Jones opened an auction house
and store in Mobile. The brothers specialized in tobacco, but also offered
general commission services. By the 1840s, the Jones brothers had higher dollar
sales than Davis and had become wealthy citizens.
Ralph
Canter moved to Mobile from New Orleans and in 1840 opened an auction and commission
business. Along with his wife Sara and her widowed sister-in-law Jane Da Costa,
Canter also opened a dry goods and fancy store on Dauphin Street, between Royal
and Water streets.
The
growing sophistication of the national wholesale distribution network, the rise
in domestic importers, and new forms of credit proved more efficient than the
auction system in getting goods into the hands of merchants. Auction houses
could still make plenty of money, but they played a smaller part in the local
and national economy.
