8vo. 8pp. Two bilfolia, disbound. Priced in manuscript.

[Together with:] Inventory of the Effects of Mr. Charles Williams of St. Albans not included in the printed catalogue of sale. 10th December 1812. Manuscript on paper. Single bifolium,

An apparently unrecorded auction catalogue, annotated by the auctioneer with the prices achieved, of the property of a deceased wine merchant, including his 'stock in trade', lotted by bin, of sherry, port, rum, gin, and 'coniac brandy'. The sale realised a total of £268. 4s. 5d. and included 51 lots of his wine stock along with a sequence of empoty casks. The manuscript addendum, written on the day after the public auction, adds several household as well as '21 Bottles of Currant Wine in 2 Tea Canisters'. Interestingly, St. Albans possessed a novel wine licensing system, established under the terms of the 1570 wine charter, a model not repeated elsewhere. The borough corporation had the power to grant two licences to local vintners in return for an annual endowment of £20, remarkably to be provided to the master of St. Albans grammar school for the maintenance of the institution. We have been unable to trace Charles Williams, nor locate any record of his business. However, it does not seem unreasonable to assume that he held one of these much sought after licenses; certainly the auction catalogue reveals an extensive stock surely necessitated by the possession of a trade monopoly.