Wilde's Gavel (Bookhounds)

As I type this I'm doing last-minute bag management for tonight's flight so this will be a quick one.

From Night's Black Angels: The Many Faces of Victorian Cruelty (1975, David McKay NY, by Ronald Pearsall) one of the New York haul courtesy of the Argosy if I remember right:

[Oscar] Wilde's creditors considered that they were behaving in a thoroughly moral and patriotic way by pressing, and his house in Tite Street was sold up. The auction was conducted under scandalous conditions, and valuable paintings and furniture and rare first editions were knocked down for trifles. Many of the spectators thought it would be acceptable to steal what they could, and a good deal of small stuff, plus Wilde manuscripts, were whisked away ...

This would have been after Wilde's attempt to sue the Marquis of Queensbury for libel, an action which did not come off and left Wilde liable for the Maquis' legal expenses. Wilde was able to recover some of his property before the fall; journalist Robert Ross and Wilde's butler broke into Wilde's Tite Street house and spirited away some of Wilde's belongings. 

Shortly afterward Wilde ended up in Reading Gaol, and on release from prison sunk into destitution. He died in exile, in France.

Which brings me to:

Image borrowed from Christie's

Wilde's Gavel

Also borrowed from Christies, this quote from Blackwell's Magazine: Blackwood's magazine recorded that: 'the last lot catalogued was a rabbit hutch, which went for a couple of shillings. The sale was carried on amidst a scene of the greatest disorder, the police eventually being called in to eject the disturbers. Most of the lots were knocked down at comparatively small sums; but several of the owner's personal belongings were secured by sympathising friends and eventually restored to him.'

Strictly speaking this auctioneer's gavel never belonged to Wilde but to the auctioneer who presided at his Tite Street house auction. Mr. Bullock, it is said, had a peculiar horror of that gavel after the auction and gave it to one of his colleagues who used it once, and once only, before passing it on to someone else. After that its provenance, such as it was, became murky.

Megapolisamancers claim that the gavel took on some peculiar aspects after that fateful 24th April auction. What those aspects are vary depending on who's telling the tale, but general consensus is that they do not bode well for the seller as the price of the item being sold drops like a rock. The gavel also exercises some peculiar influence over the auctioneer, who invariably tries to get rid of the gavel after the auction.

Wilde's Gavel: Unremarkable to look at yet unmistakable to hold, this plain wooden gavel gives 4 Auction points to the Auctioneer, who can then transfer those points to anyone of the Auctioneer's choosing. This allows the person with the extra pool points to compete in the auction and, if they win, they obtain the item at a bargain price, effectively renewing their pool by 2 points. So, they get at least 4 points, and can gain a 2-point refresh if they win the auction. However, this is costly to the auctioneer, who effectively loses 2 points Sanity and, if not permanently disabled, has to spend several months recovering their equilibrium. If the Auctioneer is a PC then rather than inflict an automatic 2-point penalty the Keeper should treat it as if it were a brush with Mordiggan, with the appropriate Stability and Sanity risk.

Option 1: Ghoul's Rot. An auctioneer, David Rackham, dropped out of sight a few months back and has resurfaced, complaining of a very peculiar ailment. His right hand has developed symptoms that resemble leprosy. Rackham says this happened after an auction he presided over and he wants to give the gavel away to, well, anyone, but if the PCs are willing ...

Option 2: Skullduggery. A rival bookseller has obtained the gavel and wants to switch it for the auctioneer's gavel in an upcoming auction. The bookseller, Sam Northcote, hasn't told the auctioneer what he intends to do. Northcote hopes to get the winning advantage and doesn't care what happens to the auctioneer - but the PCs might, particularly if a PC is the auctioneer.

Option 3: Wilde's Revenge. What happens when Wilde's Gavel is used at an auction where items from that original knock-down at Tite Street are up for sale? Probably nothing good. Who is that peculiar buyer at the back of the room, and what is that awful, charnel stench?

That's it for this week! See you folks in a bit.