Under The Hammer

Description for UNDER THE HAMMER: THE ADVENTURES OF AN AUCTIONEER by Richard Harton:

When Richard Harton applied for his first job at an auction gallery at the age of seventeen, he had a fine, glowing mental image of such a place: oaken paneling, marble steps, cultured auctioneers taking bids of staggering size. What he found, instead, was a world much different: a ragged old warehouse, full of immense mountains of old furniture, eccentric workmates, and demanding clients. He also found stories---an endless succession of tales, some uproarious, some exasperating, every one completely entertaining.

UNDER THE HAMMER is Harton's first collection of his tales of the auctioneer's life, from his apprenticeship to his days as a gavel-banger proper. He will remind readers of the tales of his countryman James Herriot---for the nature and the irresistible flavor of his stories, but also for the humor, insight, and storyweaving skill with which he makes them live on the page.