Although Leiden was not a large commercial center, the first used-book

Question

Although Leiden was not a large commercial center, the first used-book auction in the Netherlands occurred there in 1599. Historian Bert van Selm suggests this innovation occurred there because Leiden was then the only major Dutch city where booksellers were not subject to a guild, that is, a trade association that, while designed to protect its members’ interests, also regulated their work activities.

Arguably, however, it was the shrewd strategy of Leiden bookseller Louis Elsevier—not the absence of guild regulation of booksellers’ activities—that was the decisive factor. Elsevier sought and received official permission from the government audit office of Holland province to hold the auction, even though the Leiden local government and the Sint Lukas guild (for artists) were opposed. The Grote Zaal (great hall), where he intended to hold the auctions, was owned by the Court of Holland, not Leiden.

Leiden booksellers first had a guild in 1652, but their activities were not entirely unregulated before then. Van Selm cites a city ordinance from 1600 covering sales of movable goods. But he claims that certain provisions of the ordinance did not govern book auctions, arguing that if those provisions had been meant to apply to book auctions, the first used-book auction would have been administered by a city functionary, as sales of other movable goods had to be.

1. Which of the following statements about the Netherlands at the end of the sixteenth century would, if true, most strongly support van Selm’s suggestion mentioned in the first paragraph of the passage?

A. The booksellers’ guilds also included printers in their membership.
B. Guilds could define or restrict the terms of trade for public sales in ways that adversely affected the ability of some booksellers to innovate.
C. Only printers or booksellers could be members of guilds that were related to book production or book marketing.
D. Even if there was a guild governing a given trade in a particular city, membership in that guild was voluntary for people plying that trade.
E. Some members of guilds were apprentices in a trade and not fully qualified in the trade.

2. The passage is primarily concerned with answering which of the following questions?

A. What accounts for the fact that the first used-book auction in the Netherlands came to be held in Leiden?
B. What procedural hurdles did a bookseller have to surmount in order to hold a used-book auction in Leiden in the seventeenth century?
C. What role was played by Louis Elsevier in transforming the Leiden authorities’ attitudes to used-book auctions?
D. What types of historical evidence are available about the role played by guilds in Leiden in the seventeenth century?
E. What was the relationship between provincial and local governments in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century?

3. The information in the passage most strongly supports which of the following statements about the government audit office of Holland province?

A. Its operations were supervised by the Court of Holland.
B. It did not favor the formation of guilds within its jurisdiction.
C. Its authority trumped that of the Leiden city government in at least some matters.
D. It required the Court of Holland to rent out the Grote Zaal, with a view to increasing the public revenue of Holland province.
E. It was unaware of the local government's opposition to Elsevier’s auction.

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Show Answer Question #1

Official Answer

B

Show Answer Question #2

Official Answer

A

Show Answer Question #3

Official Answer

C

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partiban98 · Answer

For the question "Which of the following statements about the Netherlands at the end of the sixteenth century would, if true, most strongly support van Selm’s suggestion mentioned in the first paragraph of the passage?", I answered (A)  The booksellers’ guilds also included printers in their membership.

My reasoning was that,
1) From the passage, van Selm suggests the innovation of used book auctions occurred in Leiden because it was  the only major Dutch city in 1599 where booksellers were not subject to a guild.
2) So clearly van Selm suggests the guilds had a motive behind suppressing the spread of used book auctions. If the booksellers guilds had printers in their membership, those printers had a financial motive to suppress the spread of used book auctions, as they would desire that people purchased newly printed books from them instead.

I am not able to understand why this logic is wrong and (B) is the correct answer. Am I making interpretations beyond what the text suggests by suggesting the printers would have a motive to suppress used book auctions?

Would be very grateful to have an expert chime in on this.

sayan640 · Answer

Kindly focus on this part ..

Historian Bert van Selm suggests this innovation occurred there because Leiden was then the only major Dutch city where booksellers were not subject to a guild,  
It means the guild would impose many restrcitions . Since there was no guild , it became easier to organize the auction.
B should be the answer.

JoeKan1234 · Answer

1. Which of the following statements about the Netherlands at the end of the sixteenth century would, if true, most strongly support van Selm’s suggestion mentioned in the first paragraph of the passage?

A. The booksellers’ guilds also included printers in their membership.
B. Guilds could define or restrict the terms of trade for public sales in ways that adversely affected the ability of some booksellers to innovate.
C. Only printers or booksellers could be members of guilds that were related to book production or book marketing.
D. Even if there was a guild governing a given trade in a particular city, membership in that guild was voluntary for people plying that trade.
E. Some members of guilds were apprentices in a trade and not fully qualified in the trade.

"this innovation occurred there because Leiden was then the only major Dutch city where booksellers were not subject to a guild, that is, a trade association that, while designed to protect its members’ interests, also regulated their work activities."

The passage suggests that without a guild, which regulates the work activities, the innovation occurred. One way to strengthen this argument is to attack a potential weakness. What if, when a guild is present, the innovation can still occur? This will weaken the argument because it shows that innovation is not affected by the guild. B rightly attacks this weakness.

2. The passage is primarily concerned with answering which of the following questions?

A. What accounts for the fact that the first used-book auction in the Netherlands came to be held in Leiden?
B. What procedural  hurdles did a bookseller have to surmount  in order to hold a used-book auction in Leiden in the seventeenth century?
C. What  role was played by Louis Elsevier  in transforming the Leiden authorities’ attitudes to used-book auctions?
D.  What types of historical evidence are available  about the role played by guilds in Leiden in the seventeenth century?
E. What was the r elationship between provincial and local governments  in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century?

Main idea:
P1: the impact of a guild on the innovation, "auction", of bookstores.

P2: Louis obtained permission from the audit office for the auction.

P3: Bookstores activities were not entirely unregulated before there was a guild. But the auction was not governed.

A is the best choice.

SergejK · Answer

3. The information in the passage most strongly supports which of the following statements about the government audit office of Holland province?
A. Its operations were supervised by the Court of Holland.
B. It did not favor the formation of guilds within its jurisdiction.
C. Its authority trumped that of the Leiden city government in at least some matters.
D. It required the Court of Holland to rent out the Grote Zaal, with a view to increasing the public revenue of Holland province.
E. It was unaware of the local government's opposition to Elsevier’s auction.

This is an inference question about the government audit office of Holland province. We find the following information about the audit office in the 2nd paragraph: "Elsevier sought and received official permission from the government audit office of Holland province to hold the auction,  even though the Leiden local government  and the Sint Lukas guild (for artists)  were opposed ." So they seem to have, at least some instances where the audit can overrule guilds and even the local government. We have to dive into the answer choices to find the correct answer. 
A) There is no connection between Court of Holland and the government audit office. The Court of Holland owns the great hall but that's pretty much it. 
B) No information about what the office favours is provided, only that they were able to act against the interests of the guilds
C) Correct, it is the inference we can make in the sentence about the audit office.
D) No such requirement is mentioned
E) No information is provided or can be inferred that the office knew or didn't know about the government stance. It is fair to assume that they must have known. However, it is also possible that as the higher authority (at least in this case) they simply granted the permission without the knowledge of the local government's stand on this matter.

Arjun123321 · Answer

I think you overthinked this one and stretched it beyond the boundaries of the para. This might happen in support and assumption questions.

However, there is a trick to this.

In any questions which asks for statements that "Strongly Support" the statements in the para, you can infer them as statements whene NEGATED will "STRONGLY STAND AGAINST" the statements in the para.

It works when you are confused between some options.

So in your case, for option 1, try negating it.

A) -  the booksellers guild did NOT include printers in their membership  , this statmenet doesnt break the information given in the para. So you can safely reject this option.

However if you negate option B

B) guilds could NOT define or restrict the terms of trade for public sales in ways that adversely affected the ability of some booksellers to innovate , then there is no apparent reason for the booksellers to not sell books, and hence the statements in the passage doesnt hold up and hence doesnt support the info in para. This makes this choice the correct choice.

You can use similar thinking for question 3

Although Leiden was not a large commercial center, the first used-book

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Although Leiden was not a large commercial center, the first used-book

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