The Sotheby name has long been associated with the firm of book and fine-art auctioneers established in 1744 by Samuel Baker on York Street, London. Three generations of Sothebys were connected with the firm from 1778, when Baker's nephew, John Sotheby, became a partner, until the death of John's grandson Samuel Leigh Sotheby in 1861. Earlier generations, however, founded the family interest in books: James Sotheby (1682-1742) was a keen collector of manuscripts and early printed books. The two branches of the family that descended from him appear to have inherited his zeal but put it to use in quite different ways: the auctioneer branch rapidly acquired and disposed of their collections, putting their bibliographical knowledge to commercial use, while the other branch preserved and enlarged James's collection at Ecton Hall, Northamptonshire.

The Sotheby family originally came from Pocklington and Birdsall in Yorkshire. In 1673 James Sotheby, a London merchant, purchased Sewardstone...