Chapter 3

In using the term "bookselling," it is intended in this article to include all those businesses, exclusive of authorship, which are interested in the making, distribution, and selling of books, and while offering a few suggestions to these trade organizations, there will be no attempt to dogmatize on any particular sphere of it. As their working conditions are so continuallychanging, these must therefore fall in with modern requirements or give place to others which can accommodate themselves to the altered conditions.Since the origin of printing there have been differences and grievances, many of them imaginary, in connexion with the trade of bookselling. Some of these complaints are characterized as a decay of the author, the book, or the bookseller; sometimes it is the over-production of books or their cheapness, due to underselling or to outside firms being allowed to trade in them, but all these complaints either die a natural death or turn out to have little foundation, and the trade goes on in much the same way as it has done for centuries past. There is occasionally a reason for some of these criticisms, and although there have been variations in both the production and the distribution of books, yet many of the salient features remain the same as those existing in the early days of bookselling.Before suggesting a solution of some of the difficulties which we find current in the bookselling trade to-day, let us inquire into that of book production.Foremost among the real or imaginary difficulties is the question of over-production. This is, from many points of view, an important question with distributors of books, both wholesale and retail.Take the following interesting particulars, which appear somewhat out of harmony with our unsatisfactory means of distribution, but when we compare these figures with those of other countries, they seem insignificant: In the year 1913, 9,541, and in 1914, 8,863 new books were published in England. In 1913,10,607, and in 1914, 10,175 new books were published in America. In the year 1912, 34,801 new books were published in Germany, and in 1913 no fewer than 35,078 were issued from their various presses. Nearly four times as many books were thus yearly produced in Germany as in England—but it must be admitted that many of these are of a local or ephemeral character—and over three times as many as in America. A comparison between the number of authors and their proportion to the population is no less surprising. In 1910, there were 9,000 writers of books in America; there were 8,000 in Great Britain; while in Germany there are over 31,000 of suchlittérateurs. Of course, the war has greatly changed these figures.It is computed that the total number of printed books in the world is no less than 11,638,810, and that about 8,714,000 of these have been published subsequently to the year 1800. From 1500 to 1535 the number of books produced annually averaged only 1,250. It was not until 1700 that the annual average passed 10,000, and it was not until 1887 that it reached 100,000. From 1900 to 1908, however, the world's annual output averaged 174,375. Some interesting statistics relating to the production of printed books are given in the "Bulletin de l'Institut International de Bibliographie."The complaint of over-production is almost as old as the art of printing itself, for, according to Charles Knight's "The Old Printer," it is stated that some Roman printers of the Latin Classics in 1471 petitioned the Pope to interfere on their behalf. In their petitionsthey stated that "they were the first who introduced this Art, with vast labour and cost, into His Holiness's territory, and encouraged by our example, other printers have done the same. If you peruse the Catalogue of the books printed by us, you will admire how and where we could produce a sufficient quantity of paper or even rags for such a number of volumes. The total of these books amount to 12,475, a prodigious heap, and intolerable by reason of those unsold. We are unable to bear the expense of housekeeping for want of buyers, of which there cannot be a more flagrant proof than that our house is full of quire books, but void of every necessary of life."From this it would appear that the question of over-production has an early origin and is continually being repeated, but I dare venture the remark that there is not now or never has been any over-production in books that are worth putting on the market, and if publishers would refuse the bribes offered by those anxious to see their names in print, and only issue such books as in their mature judgment they consider worth putting before a community of intelligent readers, there would be less outcry of over-production. This question is very far-reaching, and especially affects the sellers of books. Frequently the publishers issue books, the cost being paid by an ambitious author; but for this the public would probably never hear of him; the book is shown to the trade, no reference whatever is made to its origin, and booksellers are often led to buy and stock a book by their trust in the publisher, and find out to their cost that thereis no demand whatever for the book, and it remains upon their shelves. It is a fair contention that the bookseller should be warned against such books, in which the publishers have taken no risks, neither should the booksellers be persuaded into so doing. Undoubtedly, if the trade is to prosper, there must be more discrimination in selecting stock. There are now so many influences at work to advertise a book: not only are there the ordinary media, but an author will go round to the booksellers, talking about his book, telling them it will sell in thousands, and that there has never been such a book written before. Instances have been known where the author has gone to a number of booksellers and ordered copies of his book, never calling or paying for them. The bookseller, by these means, has to put into his stock books which he is unable to sell. There should for safety be a method of allowing returns to be made of such books before the publishers make up their accounts; there would then be an inducement for a bookseller to display a book upon his counter or in his window, with a possibility of sales being made through the publicity given to the book.Many books are published for which no reasonable market exists, but as long as education continues to influence the mind there will be found persons who think their ideas are inspired, and they must give them expression in the printed book. There is to-day a larger reading public than ever, and the all-important point is how to get hold of them. On this point much has been written and said. It is of no use discussingthe old methods, so much extolled, of how the bookseller formerly lived over his shop and existed with, if not by, his books, and what men of encyclopædic knowledge these ancients were. These times are gone, and the men are gone with them. We must, therefore, deal with events as they are to-day. Every one engaged in the business of bookselling would no doubt confess that he is out,inter alia, to try and make money and earn a living, and this is one of the points I wish to discuss. First, the men who constitute the bookselling trade are probably as intelligent and as up to date in knowledge as they were in the past. It has been said that the second-hand bookseller is the only man with a knowledge of books, but this is not so. Unfortunately, the exigence of our social life often prevents him from giving as much attention to his trade as formerly. This has been intensified by the margin of profit not being commensurate with the labour; therefore in many cases other kindred businesses have been added to that of bookselling.Undoubtedly the greatest benefaction which has ever fallen to the book trade was the introduction in January, 1900, of the net system. By this system a reasonable profit was guaranteed, and members of the book trade were brought together and the trade organized and extended in a manner which would have been impossible without some such rallying point as that offered by the net system. This has now obtained such a hold, both upon the trade and the public, that it must remain one of the axioms of the bookselling trade.A similar system was started in America in 1901, and for many years considerably helped the publishers in that country in organizing the trade, and protecting that of the bookseller in his attempt to remedy some of the evils caused by undersellers and unfair competition. Unfortunately, an adverse decision in the American Supreme Court in what is known as the "Macy case," caused the members of the Association to wind up their organization. This was done at the end of 1914.In these days of increased business pressure and competition, it appears especially unfortunate that so large and important an organization affecting the publishing trade in America should so suddenly come to an end. It is, however, hoped that the publishers will be able before long to reconsider the situation and establish in some form or other a new representative organization to take charge of and to promote the general interests of the American publishing and bookselling trades, for, undoubtedly, without some such central control, the trade of bookselling cannot thrive in the same manner as it otherwise would do.A very important point is the relation of the publishers one to the other. If there were more trade-regulations to bring into harmony many of its unwritten laws, some of the difficulties which now often arise would never occur. At present the Publishers' Association mostly consider questions outside their own business workings, and nothing in the shape of terms or personal arrangements is touched upon or discussed; therefore unnecessary competition and varying termsexist to a considerable extent. How much unpleasant feeling might be avoided if some broad but definite rules were laid down for the guidance of publishers towards each other, and also to the wholesale and retail bookselling trades. This question will be further discussed later on. A very important question is, however, now awaiting solution—that of sending out books on sale or return. Continental booksellers adopted this method of bringing books before the public many years ago, with a great amount of success and satisfaction, but of course this is a very debatable question.It appears somewhat difficult for publishers to realize how much could often be done by a bookseller in pushing the sale of a book if he were guaranteed against loss: especially is this applicable to a book by a new author. How much better it would be for author, publisher, and bookseller, if in certain cases books, such as before mentioned, could be shown in windows of retail booksellers, and that the publisher should take them back or exchange them within, say, six months from publication, if still unsold. By these means books by unknown authors would get an advertisement such as could be obtained in no other way, and it would certainly help the bookseller with a show of books which at present he is unable to obtain.It is somewhat strange that so little difficulty regarding cost or selling price has yet arisen with the issue of the modern cheap editions of books. These cheap issues are published at net prices, they yield a fair profit to those through whose hands they pass,and the public are quite satisfied. Recent history of popular literature shows that success is obtained, not by high prices, but by big sales. What is wanted is the realization of what Matthew Arnold once wrote, "that he hoped for the day when food and books shall both alike be felt as needs."In connexion with the trade of publishing, the question is, how best to help the bookseller to obtain his supply of books, as the miscellaneous character of the books published, and the increasing number of publishers, and the cost of "travelling" books in the country, make it imperative that some distributing medium should be engaged in this work. In most countries such an agency exists, but methods vary in each country; it is represented here by the wholesale agent, who supplies from his own stock or collects from the publishers everything a country bookseller may have ordered. By some publishers this agency has a poor recognition, but without such distributing houses it would be quite impossible for the ordinary retail bookseller to obtain his supplies, as the public when ordering books scarcely ever give the publisher's name, and frequently give half a mutilated title, which only those in daily intercourse with all published books could recognize, so that this part of a general system of distribution should not only be fully recognized by the publisher, but in calculating discounts and expenses this distributing method should be considered. One is inclined to ask if there is anything wrong with the trade; if so, is it with the retail bookseller, for after all it is this agency which comes indirect contact with the public. Until the introduction of the net system before mentioned, there was a war of discounts existing which would have eventually meant ruin, and it is only a reasonable conclusion that what every bookseller recognizes as a good to the trade should be further extended. Is not the time ripe for more organization, without oppression, to be adopted by the trade? We have now the organizations of both the publisher and bookseller, to which all the leading members of each of these branches of the trade belong. Why cannot, as before suggested, some rules of a broad but inclusive character be laid down and agreed upon by members of both associations, so that the differences and difficulties which so frequently arise may be easily adjusted? By these means a dignity and influence as of old would be restored to the booksellers, petty grievances would be easily removed, and the question of a living discount would be more easily discussed, and the book world (which formerly had only two interests, that of author and publisher, but now has the bookseller as a separate factor) would be placed on a firmer foundation and in the position which, by its literary association, it deserves.In recommending closer co-operation between the Publishers' and Booksellers' Associations in the internal arrangements of the bookselling trade, my object is to advocate centralization, but with a liberty which should not be abused. How often a publisher wishes to bring before the various distributing agencies of the trade some work in which he has invested intelligence and money, and which is not a machine-made book!If such co-operation can be freed from jealousies, what better medium could be found for disseminating information than a central association formed of the above-named organizations? At first there would be much give and take, but if there could be a sub-committee of each association formed which would meet and discuss questions to be submitted to the respective central councils, matters would soon run smoothly, and if the respective presidents or secretaries could be so in touch with each other that preliminary difficulties could be made plain, there is little doubt that results satisfactory to the trade would follow. That important results would follow is practically certain. Take, for instance, the present arrangements for the Annual Meetings of the Publishers' and of the Associated Booksellers. The only attraction of the former is the chairman's address, which, although often eloquent, seldom leads to either a discussion or suggestions, with a result that everything is cut and dried in the most orthodox and dry-as-dust fashion.Almost the only difference in the Booksellers' Annual Meeting is that it brings members together from all parts of the country and helps to promote social intercourse. Festive gatherings and outings are a greater attraction than the business agenda, and the business man must often have forced upon him the fact that time which is frequently taken up in dinners and receptions could be better spent in discussing business questions. It can scarcely be denied that the two trade associations are capable of far greater usefulness than they at present achieve.In looking through a recent number of the "Publishers' Weekly," I was much struck by the practical way in which the annual meetings of the book trade of America were conducted. From the report of their proceedings I find that some twelve different subjects associated with the bookselling trade were discussed, among them being the following: Undue Competition of Jobbers; Postage Extra; Self-addressed Circulars issued by Publishers in their interest rather than the Dealers; Discounts to Lending Libraries; Uniform Discounts according to quantity purchased for every dealer alike; Failure to include Juvenile books in the net class.Surely there could be found a sufficient number of members of the bookselling trade to discuss some of the above or other subjects to the advantage of the trade generally?When one reflects that the yearly output of English books is considerably less than that of America, which is about one-third that of Germany, and that one-fifth of the inhabited world is dominated by the English language, it is surely time for all the members of the bookselling trade to wake up.It is not my intention to go into the details of cost prices, but all are agreed that to make an effectual organization for the book trade, the question of profits and terms must come in, both for the publisher as well as for the wholesale and retail bookseller. There is, however, a question which has often been much discussed as to whether trade terms should be based on a flat price, or the system of odd copy and discountsbe continued. There is much to be said for both systems, but the method of a sliding scale is invariably used both here and in other countries. In America and Germany, as well as in this country, sometimes the odd copy is given, and even in those countries which charge flat rates there is always an advantage in prices which correspond with numbers. This is only a reasonable concession to those who will speculate, or have built up a business in which a considerable amount of capital is locked up. There are few businesses where speculation is more precarious or where the articles of commerce so quickly deteriorate in value as that of the bookseller, and it is hoped that publishers will soon recognize that bookselling as a trade wants more help and more consideration than it receives at present. Otherwise, the small man will be pushed out, and the trade become centralized in a few big establishments, who will be able to dictate terms for distributing the books published, and a trade union of distributors may be formed which will prove a harder taskmaster than the most tyrannical trade union that has ever dictated terms to its employers. Every one, however, in the trade sincerely hopes that when the publisher and bookseller are brought more in contact with each other through their associations, these important points will be mutually considered from a practical point of view.It is often wise to see how the business of bookselling is carried on in other countries, so a glance at some of their methods should be interesting.In Germany, before the war, nearly all booksellershad an agent in Leipzig. This agent receives his client's order every day, and after dispatching them to different publishers, he collects the parcels and sends them off by post or rail. A "collector," as we know him in London, is not known there.Most firms give credit, and customers go into Leipzig once every year to the "Booksellers' House," when they pay their agent and the publishers.Firms in Berlin have a special way of dispatching their books, etc., to other firms in the country. It is a kind of private post service between the Booksellers' League in Berlin and booksellers and wholesale agents in other towns. Each member of this League pays a certain amount yearly, and has his goods sent on by the private post service. This is not a very quick method, although it is cheap.The following Consular Report upon this subject will be found interesting:—Even in this changing age the organization of the German book trade remains in principle what it has long been. The two main principles which make the trade as flourishing as it is, are the fixed selling price and the right of the retailer to return unsold books. The first, combined with very long credits, is the solid basis of the existence of the small retail houses, and has favoured the establishment of retailers everywhere. There is in Germany one bookseller for every 5,000 inhabitants, and the consequence of retail shops being found everywhere is that the German publisher spends very little in advertising, for hesends out all his novelties on sale according to a system established with the retail trade, or special wishes of the retailers, which he learns by means of his inexpensive circulars. In no other trade is there so close an understanding cultivated as between the German bookseller and his educated customers. The retailer circulates all his new books amongst likely buyers, and they become better known than through advertisements. The retailer pays for all the books bought during the year at the Easter Fair of the following year. The discounts vary according to the class of book, from 25 per cent. on the selling price of scientific books to 40 and even 50 per cent. on juvenile literature, besides which eleven copies are sent for ten, or thirteen for a dozen. The enormous number of scientific books published in Germany, including pamphlets, can only be explained by the existence of the intelligent retailers all over the country. The legal organization of the trade is the Verein in Leipzig, consisting of 2,685 members, which lays down regulations for the members of the trade amongst themselves, and for them in their dealings with the public. Thus the maintenance of the selling price (5 per cent. being allowed for cash, periodicals excepted) is rigidly insisted on, and if the rule is broken, it is adjudged by the Verein that publishers shall not supply the offender, or that they shall give him no credit or discount. Connected with this institution is a sort of publishers' and booksellers' clearing housein Leipzig, by which the ordering by retailers and the keeping of accounts between them and the publishers are facilitated and simplified, and the processes of ordering, packing, dispatching, and paying are greatly cheapened. It appears designed to prevent a great variety of petty expenditure, and to it, coupled with the fixed selling price and the long credit, is attributed the success of the trade in Germany.Again, there is that industrious little country, Norway, which has been termed "A Bookseller's Paradise." But it must be remembered that in that country wealth is more evenly distributed than it is here. There are no paupers, and public schools are plentiful. The English, French, and German languages are taught in most schools, and the Norwegian bookseller is usually a well-educated man and a product of one of the public schools.The following facts are from a summary of an able address given by Mr. W.H. Arnold before the American Booksellers' Association, and are well worthy of the study of the publishers and the booksellers in this country:—Bookselling in Norway is so organized as to eliminate almost all the risks to which English booksellers are exposed, to secure satisfactory results for the publishers, and to provide a fair reward for the author. Three trade organizations are in existence—The Publishers' Association, the National Association of Booksellers, and the Provincial Association of Booksellers, thequalification for membership in both the first and the last named being membership of the National Association. All booksellers must be members of the National Association. The Provincial Association includes all booksellers except those in Christiania. There is a National Board of Directors, composed of members of each association.An applicant wishing to become a bookseller addresses the National Board. A young man of eighteen may become a bookseller when he is thirty; he has twelve years' training—four years as apprentice, eight years as assistant. Besides a knowledge of books, he must give security, and if he can prove he has sufficient funds in hand, the National Directors will give their permission for his beginning business on his own account; but the Directors have it in their power to decide whether a new bookshop is wanted in the district mentioned.A town of 8,000 people would afford scope for two bookshops. Molde, familiar to English tourists, with a population of 2,200 has one thriving bookseller; Aalesund, with a population of 14,000, has three bookshops, and none of these booksellers need fear the incursion of other rivals.The subscription to the National Association is 10 krone—about 12s.—per annum; and for the Association's weekly journal, 6s.per annum is charged. An annual list of publications is issued, and once in ten years a reference catalogue isissued, costing about 20s.All miscellaneous publications are issued in paper covers, and can be obtained in cloth, but the paper is the more popular format. The book buyer who decides that the paper volume is worth preserving, if so minded gets it bound in cloth or half leather, cloth costing 1s.6d.and leather 2s.6d.Retail prices are always net—there are no price cutters in Norway.Publishers do not require to call on the trade: a descriptive circular is all that is necessary. The bookseller, after reading this, settles how many copies to buy outright, and additional copies can be had, subject to return. Prices of fiction range from 2s.6d.to 4s.No reduction in the price of a book is allowed until five years after publication.Payment for bought books is usually made half yearly, in January and July, and "on sale" volumes are accounted for in January, the volumes sold being paid for in March. The usual trade discount is 25 per cent., and when ten copies are bought an extra copy is included. School-books are always bought outright.The Provincial Association has a central depot in Christiania, the stock of which company is owned by the Association members. The central depot "collects," packs, and dispatches to its members in the provinces, charging a scheduled rate for this service. Subscription books are all sold through the book stores, the only booksdisposed of outside recognized channels being religious publications handled by pedlars.Of course, there can be objections raised to many points in this organization, but what I wish to point out is, that if an association can be of great value to the trade in a small community such as Norway, which experience shows it to be, surely by organizing and blending the different associations in our trade here, similar results may follow. Anyway, it can be safely relied upon that something definite and more workable should take the place of our present half-hearted and semi-distinct organizations which are supposed to supervise the workings of the book trade in this country.There are other questions one might consider. That of the cheap reprint is often a debatable one, some maintaining that it interferes with the sales of the more expensive editions; others that it often creates interest in a particular book, and, through its issue, inquiries are made for the author's previous books. From some points of view both these arguments have in them an element of truth, but it all depends upon the character of the book.As a rule the life of works of fiction is very short, except in special cases. The life of works of an author of, say, two or three books, would probably be about three to six months, so for books in this class a limit of twelve months should be allowed before a cheap edition is issued, and according to the popularity of the author, these times should vary up to two or three years before cheap editions of books by authorsof long standing are issued, and also the better edition should be cleared from the bookseller's shelves before the cheaper edition is published. From a bookseller's point of view, there is no language too strong in condemnation of the system now much in vogue, that a 2s.edition of a 6s.novel may be issued, and both editions kept in circulation at the same time. Editions selling at various prices are often sold by the author to different publishers, and each price is supposed to appeal to a different public. Can a bookseller be expected to keep a stock of all these editions? If so, his stock of cheap reprints would demand a special warehouse.The most reasonable course to pursue in all cheap issues is first to see if there is a public to which a cheap edition would appeal, settle a moderate price at which it should be published, allowing a fair profit to the trade, and after a sufficient time has been given for the original edition to have a good run, there may be issued the cheap edition, which, while appealing to a fresh public, will be remunerative to the author and publisher, and, let us hope, a help to civilization and the betterment of mankind.Much the same argument applies to the speculative religious work. There would not, of course, be so many different editions, but if the book in its special issue is of a distinctly argumentative character, and appeals to a thoughtful and intelligent public, a cheap edition is desirable, not only because it will sell, but because it will make people think, and truth is generally brought to the surface and put into operation by a public who thinks.I am, therefore, convinced that when due time and consideration have been given to a book, a cheap edition is often not only advisable, but necessary.Another question is, "Should a book be remaindered, and if so, under what conditions?" This is a very important one, and I am convinced that no definite rule can be laid down which would be applicable to all classes of remainders. There are books remaindered which will sell quickly when brought to the notice of a particular class of readers, and others which are only fit for the hawker's barrow or to be pulped as waste. I have known many books which have been remaindered and have thus had attention drawn to them; occasionally they have been quickly bought up, and often resold at their full published price. To instance only one, the first edition of Fitzgerald's "Omar Khayyám" was sold from a fourpenny box, and copies of this edition afterwards fetched £25. By this means a reputation was established and a position for this book secured. I maintain that discretion should be shown in this as well as in other departments of our trade. There are books which are only fit to become fuel for the fire, while others, either through over-printing or want of pushful advertising, have reached a very limited public, and through the book being reduced in price it has reached an eager public delighted to get a book of such value at a price suited to their limited means. Although bookselling is a business, and a most interesting one, yet it does not exist only for those who carry it on. If there were no bookseller's shops some means wouldhave to be found for disseminating that which goes to making the intelligence of a nation. "Show me the literature of a nation, and I will tell you the character of the people," said a great man, and I am quite convinced that if limits were placed upon the distribution of our books for the benefit of author or bookseller, the Government or the people would soon find some means by which their intellectual wants were supplied.My firm conviction is that no book should be destroyed which appeals to the intellect or which goes to the formation of character. When the time comes in the life of a book that it has exhausted the sphere for which it was intended, let it be offered as a remainder, and I am sure that it will percolate through the various strata of society until it finds its level of usefulness. This may be in the library of the collector or in the more useful sphere of the homes of the working classes, but a book of any literary value should never be destroyed.In summarizing the various suggestions made in this paper, I would suggest that the most serious consideration be afforded to the following important propositions, so that more unity and stability may be given to the position of the author, publisher, and the various factors in book-distributing and bookselling.Firstly, in regard to the author, my contention would be that the first book by an author, however good from a publisher's point of view it may be, should be either sent on sale or made returnable, say within six months. If the book has any literary merit it will be found out by that time,and the copies sent but will be sold. If not, they should be returned, so that the book distributor does not have to share a loss for which the publisher alone is responsible. The author should discourage as much as possible the auction-like action of the literary agent who tries to sell manuscripts to the highest bidder, thus lowering the tone of the relationship between the author and the publisher. And I say with all seriousness that should an author have satisfactory arrangements with a publisher he should stick to him, as I am sure it is best for both parties that a publisher should be able to put all the works of an author in his lists, and not only those issued by himself. By this arrangement a publisher will continue to interest himself in all the books by an author, and by advertising them will materially assist in continuous sales.Secondly, the publisher should discriminate between books in which he is financially interested, and those which he is publishing to please the ambition of a person who wishes to see his or her name in print. He should also fix his terms and stand by them to both the wholesale and retail trader. These are now fairly carried out by some of the older-established publishers, but in some of their cheaper issues they appear to be unable to discriminate between what is a wholesale order and a wholesale trader.Thirdly, the question of competition and underselling is still of the utmost importance, and I fear will never be settled until there is united action by a joint committee consisting of representatives of both thePublishers' and Booksellers' Associations, and all books are published at a fixed net price. The great objection to this arrangement is mainly the issue of juvenile and school-books. A margin frequently is demanded, so that a considerable discount can be given to the schoolmasters and mistresses or the governing bodies of our various educational authorities. It is, however, a fair question to ask, "Why should part of the legitimate profit of the bookseller be taken by the school representatives?" It is to be hoped that by association and unity these unsatisfactory anomalies will be swept away. One of the first subjects these joint associations would have to consider would be the minimum amount of profit which should be given to the retail bookseller. This should be, at least, 25 per cent. off the net selling price, and a further discount tobona fidewholesale and export booksellers. If all books were made net, and some such discounts as those mentioned were given, much of the present discontent would be removed, and, with a living profit assured, there would be a great inducement for many of the smaller men in the country to interest themselves in the trade, and thus bring about a renewal of an industry which should be beneficial both to the industrious bookseller as well as the intellectual community.

Since the origin of printing there have been differences and grievances, many of them imaginary, in connexion with the trade of bookselling. Some of these complaints are characterized as a decay of the author, the book, or the bookseller; sometimes it is the over-production of books or their cheapness, due to underselling or to outside firms being allowed to trade in them, but all these complaints either die a natural death or turn out to have little foundation, and the trade goes on in much the same way as it has done for centuries past. There is occasionally a reason for some of these criticisms, and although there have been variations in both the production and the distribution of books, yet many of the salient features remain the same as those existing in the early days of bookselling.

Before suggesting a solution of some of the difficulties which we find current in the bookselling trade to-day, let us inquire into that of book production.

Foremost among the real or imaginary difficulties is the question of over-production. This is, from many points of view, an important question with distributors of books, both wholesale and retail.

Take the following interesting particulars, which appear somewhat out of harmony with our unsatisfactory means of distribution, but when we compare these figures with those of other countries, they seem insignificant: In the year 1913, 9,541, and in 1914, 8,863 new books were published in England. In 1913,10,607, and in 1914, 10,175 new books were published in America. In the year 1912, 34,801 new books were published in Germany, and in 1913 no fewer than 35,078 were issued from their various presses. Nearly four times as many books were thus yearly produced in Germany as in England—but it must be admitted that many of these are of a local or ephemeral character—and over three times as many as in America. A comparison between the number of authors and their proportion to the population is no less surprising. In 1910, there were 9,000 writers of books in America; there were 8,000 in Great Britain; while in Germany there are over 31,000 of suchlittérateurs. Of course, the war has greatly changed these figures.

It is computed that the total number of printed books in the world is no less than 11,638,810, and that about 8,714,000 of these have been published subsequently to the year 1800. From 1500 to 1535 the number of books produced annually averaged only 1,250. It was not until 1700 that the annual average passed 10,000, and it was not until 1887 that it reached 100,000. From 1900 to 1908, however, the world's annual output averaged 174,375. Some interesting statistics relating to the production of printed books are given in the "Bulletin de l'Institut International de Bibliographie."

The complaint of over-production is almost as old as the art of printing itself, for, according to Charles Knight's "The Old Printer," it is stated that some Roman printers of the Latin Classics in 1471 petitioned the Pope to interfere on their behalf. In their petitionsthey stated that "they were the first who introduced this Art, with vast labour and cost, into His Holiness's territory, and encouraged by our example, other printers have done the same. If you peruse the Catalogue of the books printed by us, you will admire how and where we could produce a sufficient quantity of paper or even rags for such a number of volumes. The total of these books amount to 12,475, a prodigious heap, and intolerable by reason of those unsold. We are unable to bear the expense of housekeeping for want of buyers, of which there cannot be a more flagrant proof than that our house is full of quire books, but void of every necessary of life."

From this it would appear that the question of over-production has an early origin and is continually being repeated, but I dare venture the remark that there is not now or never has been any over-production in books that are worth putting on the market, and if publishers would refuse the bribes offered by those anxious to see their names in print, and only issue such books as in their mature judgment they consider worth putting before a community of intelligent readers, there would be less outcry of over-production. This question is very far-reaching, and especially affects the sellers of books. Frequently the publishers issue books, the cost being paid by an ambitious author; but for this the public would probably never hear of him; the book is shown to the trade, no reference whatever is made to its origin, and booksellers are often led to buy and stock a book by their trust in the publisher, and find out to their cost that thereis no demand whatever for the book, and it remains upon their shelves. It is a fair contention that the bookseller should be warned against such books, in which the publishers have taken no risks, neither should the booksellers be persuaded into so doing. Undoubtedly, if the trade is to prosper, there must be more discrimination in selecting stock. There are now so many influences at work to advertise a book: not only are there the ordinary media, but an author will go round to the booksellers, talking about his book, telling them it will sell in thousands, and that there has never been such a book written before. Instances have been known where the author has gone to a number of booksellers and ordered copies of his book, never calling or paying for them. The bookseller, by these means, has to put into his stock books which he is unable to sell. There should for safety be a method of allowing returns to be made of such books before the publishers make up their accounts; there would then be an inducement for a bookseller to display a book upon his counter or in his window, with a possibility of sales being made through the publicity given to the book.

Many books are published for which no reasonable market exists, but as long as education continues to influence the mind there will be found persons who think their ideas are inspired, and they must give them expression in the printed book. There is to-day a larger reading public than ever, and the all-important point is how to get hold of them. On this point much has been written and said. It is of no use discussingthe old methods, so much extolled, of how the bookseller formerly lived over his shop and existed with, if not by, his books, and what men of encyclopædic knowledge these ancients were. These times are gone, and the men are gone with them. We must, therefore, deal with events as they are to-day. Every one engaged in the business of bookselling would no doubt confess that he is out,inter alia, to try and make money and earn a living, and this is one of the points I wish to discuss. First, the men who constitute the bookselling trade are probably as intelligent and as up to date in knowledge as they were in the past. It has been said that the second-hand bookseller is the only man with a knowledge of books, but this is not so. Unfortunately, the exigence of our social life often prevents him from giving as much attention to his trade as formerly. This has been intensified by the margin of profit not being commensurate with the labour; therefore in many cases other kindred businesses have been added to that of bookselling.

Undoubtedly the greatest benefaction which has ever fallen to the book trade was the introduction in January, 1900, of the net system. By this system a reasonable profit was guaranteed, and members of the book trade were brought together and the trade organized and extended in a manner which would have been impossible without some such rallying point as that offered by the net system. This has now obtained such a hold, both upon the trade and the public, that it must remain one of the axioms of the bookselling trade.

A similar system was started in America in 1901, and for many years considerably helped the publishers in that country in organizing the trade, and protecting that of the bookseller in his attempt to remedy some of the evils caused by undersellers and unfair competition. Unfortunately, an adverse decision in the American Supreme Court in what is known as the "Macy case," caused the members of the Association to wind up their organization. This was done at the end of 1914.

In these days of increased business pressure and competition, it appears especially unfortunate that so large and important an organization affecting the publishing trade in America should so suddenly come to an end. It is, however, hoped that the publishers will be able before long to reconsider the situation and establish in some form or other a new representative organization to take charge of and to promote the general interests of the American publishing and bookselling trades, for, undoubtedly, without some such central control, the trade of bookselling cannot thrive in the same manner as it otherwise would do.

A very important point is the relation of the publishers one to the other. If there were more trade-regulations to bring into harmony many of its unwritten laws, some of the difficulties which now often arise would never occur. At present the Publishers' Association mostly consider questions outside their own business workings, and nothing in the shape of terms or personal arrangements is touched upon or discussed; therefore unnecessary competition and varying termsexist to a considerable extent. How much unpleasant feeling might be avoided if some broad but definite rules were laid down for the guidance of publishers towards each other, and also to the wholesale and retail bookselling trades. This question will be further discussed later on. A very important question is, however, now awaiting solution—that of sending out books on sale or return. Continental booksellers adopted this method of bringing books before the public many years ago, with a great amount of success and satisfaction, but of course this is a very debatable question.

It appears somewhat difficult for publishers to realize how much could often be done by a bookseller in pushing the sale of a book if he were guaranteed against loss: especially is this applicable to a book by a new author. How much better it would be for author, publisher, and bookseller, if in certain cases books, such as before mentioned, could be shown in windows of retail booksellers, and that the publisher should take them back or exchange them within, say, six months from publication, if still unsold. By these means books by unknown authors would get an advertisement such as could be obtained in no other way, and it would certainly help the bookseller with a show of books which at present he is unable to obtain.

It is somewhat strange that so little difficulty regarding cost or selling price has yet arisen with the issue of the modern cheap editions of books. These cheap issues are published at net prices, they yield a fair profit to those through whose hands they pass,and the public are quite satisfied. Recent history of popular literature shows that success is obtained, not by high prices, but by big sales. What is wanted is the realization of what Matthew Arnold once wrote, "that he hoped for the day when food and books shall both alike be felt as needs."

In connexion with the trade of publishing, the question is, how best to help the bookseller to obtain his supply of books, as the miscellaneous character of the books published, and the increasing number of publishers, and the cost of "travelling" books in the country, make it imperative that some distributing medium should be engaged in this work. In most countries such an agency exists, but methods vary in each country; it is represented here by the wholesale agent, who supplies from his own stock or collects from the publishers everything a country bookseller may have ordered. By some publishers this agency has a poor recognition, but without such distributing houses it would be quite impossible for the ordinary retail bookseller to obtain his supplies, as the public when ordering books scarcely ever give the publisher's name, and frequently give half a mutilated title, which only those in daily intercourse with all published books could recognize, so that this part of a general system of distribution should not only be fully recognized by the publisher, but in calculating discounts and expenses this distributing method should be considered. One is inclined to ask if there is anything wrong with the trade; if so, is it with the retail bookseller, for after all it is this agency which comes indirect contact with the public. Until the introduction of the net system before mentioned, there was a war of discounts existing which would have eventually meant ruin, and it is only a reasonable conclusion that what every bookseller recognizes as a good to the trade should be further extended. Is not the time ripe for more organization, without oppression, to be adopted by the trade? We have now the organizations of both the publisher and bookseller, to which all the leading members of each of these branches of the trade belong. Why cannot, as before suggested, some rules of a broad but inclusive character be laid down and agreed upon by members of both associations, so that the differences and difficulties which so frequently arise may be easily adjusted? By these means a dignity and influence as of old would be restored to the booksellers, petty grievances would be easily removed, and the question of a living discount would be more easily discussed, and the book world (which formerly had only two interests, that of author and publisher, but now has the bookseller as a separate factor) would be placed on a firmer foundation and in the position which, by its literary association, it deserves.

In recommending closer co-operation between the Publishers' and Booksellers' Associations in the internal arrangements of the bookselling trade, my object is to advocate centralization, but with a liberty which should not be abused. How often a publisher wishes to bring before the various distributing agencies of the trade some work in which he has invested intelligence and money, and which is not a machine-made book!If such co-operation can be freed from jealousies, what better medium could be found for disseminating information than a central association formed of the above-named organizations? At first there would be much give and take, but if there could be a sub-committee of each association formed which would meet and discuss questions to be submitted to the respective central councils, matters would soon run smoothly, and if the respective presidents or secretaries could be so in touch with each other that preliminary difficulties could be made plain, there is little doubt that results satisfactory to the trade would follow. That important results would follow is practically certain. Take, for instance, the present arrangements for the Annual Meetings of the Publishers' and of the Associated Booksellers. The only attraction of the former is the chairman's address, which, although often eloquent, seldom leads to either a discussion or suggestions, with a result that everything is cut and dried in the most orthodox and dry-as-dust fashion.

Almost the only difference in the Booksellers' Annual Meeting is that it brings members together from all parts of the country and helps to promote social intercourse. Festive gatherings and outings are a greater attraction than the business agenda, and the business man must often have forced upon him the fact that time which is frequently taken up in dinners and receptions could be better spent in discussing business questions. It can scarcely be denied that the two trade associations are capable of far greater usefulness than they at present achieve.

In looking through a recent number of the "Publishers' Weekly," I was much struck by the practical way in which the annual meetings of the book trade of America were conducted. From the report of their proceedings I find that some twelve different subjects associated with the bookselling trade were discussed, among them being the following: Undue Competition of Jobbers; Postage Extra; Self-addressed Circulars issued by Publishers in their interest rather than the Dealers; Discounts to Lending Libraries; Uniform Discounts according to quantity purchased for every dealer alike; Failure to include Juvenile books in the net class.

Surely there could be found a sufficient number of members of the bookselling trade to discuss some of the above or other subjects to the advantage of the trade generally?

When one reflects that the yearly output of English books is considerably less than that of America, which is about one-third that of Germany, and that one-fifth of the inhabited world is dominated by the English language, it is surely time for all the members of the bookselling trade to wake up.

It is not my intention to go into the details of cost prices, but all are agreed that to make an effectual organization for the book trade, the question of profits and terms must come in, both for the publisher as well as for the wholesale and retail bookseller. There is, however, a question which has often been much discussed as to whether trade terms should be based on a flat price, or the system of odd copy and discountsbe continued. There is much to be said for both systems, but the method of a sliding scale is invariably used both here and in other countries. In America and Germany, as well as in this country, sometimes the odd copy is given, and even in those countries which charge flat rates there is always an advantage in prices which correspond with numbers. This is only a reasonable concession to those who will speculate, or have built up a business in which a considerable amount of capital is locked up. There are few businesses where speculation is more precarious or where the articles of commerce so quickly deteriorate in value as that of the bookseller, and it is hoped that publishers will soon recognize that bookselling as a trade wants more help and more consideration than it receives at present. Otherwise, the small man will be pushed out, and the trade become centralized in a few big establishments, who will be able to dictate terms for distributing the books published, and a trade union of distributors may be formed which will prove a harder taskmaster than the most tyrannical trade union that has ever dictated terms to its employers. Every one, however, in the trade sincerely hopes that when the publisher and bookseller are brought more in contact with each other through their associations, these important points will be mutually considered from a practical point of view.

It is often wise to see how the business of bookselling is carried on in other countries, so a glance at some of their methods should be interesting.

In Germany, before the war, nearly all booksellershad an agent in Leipzig. This agent receives his client's order every day, and after dispatching them to different publishers, he collects the parcels and sends them off by post or rail. A "collector," as we know him in London, is not known there.

Most firms give credit, and customers go into Leipzig once every year to the "Booksellers' House," when they pay their agent and the publishers.

Firms in Berlin have a special way of dispatching their books, etc., to other firms in the country. It is a kind of private post service between the Booksellers' League in Berlin and booksellers and wholesale agents in other towns. Each member of this League pays a certain amount yearly, and has his goods sent on by the private post service. This is not a very quick method, although it is cheap.

The following Consular Report upon this subject will be found interesting:—

Even in this changing age the organization of the German book trade remains in principle what it has long been. The two main principles which make the trade as flourishing as it is, are the fixed selling price and the right of the retailer to return unsold books. The first, combined with very long credits, is the solid basis of the existence of the small retail houses, and has favoured the establishment of retailers everywhere. There is in Germany one bookseller for every 5,000 inhabitants, and the consequence of retail shops being found everywhere is that the German publisher spends very little in advertising, for hesends out all his novelties on sale according to a system established with the retail trade, or special wishes of the retailers, which he learns by means of his inexpensive circulars. In no other trade is there so close an understanding cultivated as between the German bookseller and his educated customers. The retailer circulates all his new books amongst likely buyers, and they become better known than through advertisements. The retailer pays for all the books bought during the year at the Easter Fair of the following year. The discounts vary according to the class of book, from 25 per cent. on the selling price of scientific books to 40 and even 50 per cent. on juvenile literature, besides which eleven copies are sent for ten, or thirteen for a dozen. The enormous number of scientific books published in Germany, including pamphlets, can only be explained by the existence of the intelligent retailers all over the country. The legal organization of the trade is the Verein in Leipzig, consisting of 2,685 members, which lays down regulations for the members of the trade amongst themselves, and for them in their dealings with the public. Thus the maintenance of the selling price (5 per cent. being allowed for cash, periodicals excepted) is rigidly insisted on, and if the rule is broken, it is adjudged by the Verein that publishers shall not supply the offender, or that they shall give him no credit or discount. Connected with this institution is a sort of publishers' and booksellers' clearing housein Leipzig, by which the ordering by retailers and the keeping of accounts between them and the publishers are facilitated and simplified, and the processes of ordering, packing, dispatching, and paying are greatly cheapened. It appears designed to prevent a great variety of petty expenditure, and to it, coupled with the fixed selling price and the long credit, is attributed the success of the trade in Germany.

Again, there is that industrious little country, Norway, which has been termed "A Bookseller's Paradise." But it must be remembered that in that country wealth is more evenly distributed than it is here. There are no paupers, and public schools are plentiful. The English, French, and German languages are taught in most schools, and the Norwegian bookseller is usually a well-educated man and a product of one of the public schools.

The following facts are from a summary of an able address given by Mr. W.H. Arnold before the American Booksellers' Association, and are well worthy of the study of the publishers and the booksellers in this country:—

Bookselling in Norway is so organized as to eliminate almost all the risks to which English booksellers are exposed, to secure satisfactory results for the publishers, and to provide a fair reward for the author. Three trade organizations are in existence—The Publishers' Association, the National Association of Booksellers, and the Provincial Association of Booksellers, thequalification for membership in both the first and the last named being membership of the National Association. All booksellers must be members of the National Association. The Provincial Association includes all booksellers except those in Christiania. There is a National Board of Directors, composed of members of each association.An applicant wishing to become a bookseller addresses the National Board. A young man of eighteen may become a bookseller when he is thirty; he has twelve years' training—four years as apprentice, eight years as assistant. Besides a knowledge of books, he must give security, and if he can prove he has sufficient funds in hand, the National Directors will give their permission for his beginning business on his own account; but the Directors have it in their power to decide whether a new bookshop is wanted in the district mentioned.A town of 8,000 people would afford scope for two bookshops. Molde, familiar to English tourists, with a population of 2,200 has one thriving bookseller; Aalesund, with a population of 14,000, has three bookshops, and none of these booksellers need fear the incursion of other rivals.The subscription to the National Association is 10 krone—about 12s.—per annum; and for the Association's weekly journal, 6s.per annum is charged. An annual list of publications is issued, and once in ten years a reference catalogue isissued, costing about 20s.All miscellaneous publications are issued in paper covers, and can be obtained in cloth, but the paper is the more popular format. The book buyer who decides that the paper volume is worth preserving, if so minded gets it bound in cloth or half leather, cloth costing 1s.6d.and leather 2s.6d.Retail prices are always net—there are no price cutters in Norway.Publishers do not require to call on the trade: a descriptive circular is all that is necessary. The bookseller, after reading this, settles how many copies to buy outright, and additional copies can be had, subject to return. Prices of fiction range from 2s.6d.to 4s.No reduction in the price of a book is allowed until five years after publication.Payment for bought books is usually made half yearly, in January and July, and "on sale" volumes are accounted for in January, the volumes sold being paid for in March. The usual trade discount is 25 per cent., and when ten copies are bought an extra copy is included. School-books are always bought outright.The Provincial Association has a central depot in Christiania, the stock of which company is owned by the Association members. The central depot "collects," packs, and dispatches to its members in the provinces, charging a scheduled rate for this service. Subscription books are all sold through the book stores, the only booksdisposed of outside recognized channels being religious publications handled by pedlars.

An applicant wishing to become a bookseller addresses the National Board. A young man of eighteen may become a bookseller when he is thirty; he has twelve years' training—four years as apprentice, eight years as assistant. Besides a knowledge of books, he must give security, and if he can prove he has sufficient funds in hand, the National Directors will give their permission for his beginning business on his own account; but the Directors have it in their power to decide whether a new bookshop is wanted in the district mentioned.

A town of 8,000 people would afford scope for two bookshops. Molde, familiar to English tourists, with a population of 2,200 has one thriving bookseller; Aalesund, with a population of 14,000, has three bookshops, and none of these booksellers need fear the incursion of other rivals.

The subscription to the National Association is 10 krone—about 12s.—per annum; and for the Association's weekly journal, 6s.per annum is charged. An annual list of publications is issued, and once in ten years a reference catalogue isissued, costing about 20s.All miscellaneous publications are issued in paper covers, and can be obtained in cloth, but the paper is the more popular format. The book buyer who decides that the paper volume is worth preserving, if so minded gets it bound in cloth or half leather, cloth costing 1s.6d.and leather 2s.6d.Retail prices are always net—there are no price cutters in Norway.

Publishers do not require to call on the trade: a descriptive circular is all that is necessary. The bookseller, after reading this, settles how many copies to buy outright, and additional copies can be had, subject to return. Prices of fiction range from 2s.6d.to 4s.No reduction in the price of a book is allowed until five years after publication.

Payment for bought books is usually made half yearly, in January and July, and "on sale" volumes are accounted for in January, the volumes sold being paid for in March. The usual trade discount is 25 per cent., and when ten copies are bought an extra copy is included. School-books are always bought outright.

The Provincial Association has a central depot in Christiania, the stock of which company is owned by the Association members. The central depot "collects," packs, and dispatches to its members in the provinces, charging a scheduled rate for this service. Subscription books are all sold through the book stores, the only booksdisposed of outside recognized channels being religious publications handled by pedlars.

Of course, there can be objections raised to many points in this organization, but what I wish to point out is, that if an association can be of great value to the trade in a small community such as Norway, which experience shows it to be, surely by organizing and blending the different associations in our trade here, similar results may follow. Anyway, it can be safely relied upon that something definite and more workable should take the place of our present half-hearted and semi-distinct organizations which are supposed to supervise the workings of the book trade in this country.

There are other questions one might consider. That of the cheap reprint is often a debatable one, some maintaining that it interferes with the sales of the more expensive editions; others that it often creates interest in a particular book, and, through its issue, inquiries are made for the author's previous books. From some points of view both these arguments have in them an element of truth, but it all depends upon the character of the book.

As a rule the life of works of fiction is very short, except in special cases. The life of works of an author of, say, two or three books, would probably be about three to six months, so for books in this class a limit of twelve months should be allowed before a cheap edition is issued, and according to the popularity of the author, these times should vary up to two or three years before cheap editions of books by authorsof long standing are issued, and also the better edition should be cleared from the bookseller's shelves before the cheaper edition is published. From a bookseller's point of view, there is no language too strong in condemnation of the system now much in vogue, that a 2s.edition of a 6s.novel may be issued, and both editions kept in circulation at the same time. Editions selling at various prices are often sold by the author to different publishers, and each price is supposed to appeal to a different public. Can a bookseller be expected to keep a stock of all these editions? If so, his stock of cheap reprints would demand a special warehouse.

The most reasonable course to pursue in all cheap issues is first to see if there is a public to which a cheap edition would appeal, settle a moderate price at which it should be published, allowing a fair profit to the trade, and after a sufficient time has been given for the original edition to have a good run, there may be issued the cheap edition, which, while appealing to a fresh public, will be remunerative to the author and publisher, and, let us hope, a help to civilization and the betterment of mankind.

Much the same argument applies to the speculative religious work. There would not, of course, be so many different editions, but if the book in its special issue is of a distinctly argumentative character, and appeals to a thoughtful and intelligent public, a cheap edition is desirable, not only because it will sell, but because it will make people think, and truth is generally brought to the surface and put into operation by a public who thinks.

I am, therefore, convinced that when due time and consideration have been given to a book, a cheap edition is often not only advisable, but necessary.

Another question is, "Should a book be remaindered, and if so, under what conditions?" This is a very important one, and I am convinced that no definite rule can be laid down which would be applicable to all classes of remainders. There are books remaindered which will sell quickly when brought to the notice of a particular class of readers, and others which are only fit for the hawker's barrow or to be pulped as waste. I have known many books which have been remaindered and have thus had attention drawn to them; occasionally they have been quickly bought up, and often resold at their full published price. To instance only one, the first edition of Fitzgerald's "Omar Khayyám" was sold from a fourpenny box, and copies of this edition afterwards fetched £25. By this means a reputation was established and a position for this book secured. I maintain that discretion should be shown in this as well as in other departments of our trade. There are books which are only fit to become fuel for the fire, while others, either through over-printing or want of pushful advertising, have reached a very limited public, and through the book being reduced in price it has reached an eager public delighted to get a book of such value at a price suited to their limited means. Although bookselling is a business, and a most interesting one, yet it does not exist only for those who carry it on. If there were no bookseller's shops some means wouldhave to be found for disseminating that which goes to making the intelligence of a nation. "Show me the literature of a nation, and I will tell you the character of the people," said a great man, and I am quite convinced that if limits were placed upon the distribution of our books for the benefit of author or bookseller, the Government or the people would soon find some means by which their intellectual wants were supplied.

My firm conviction is that no book should be destroyed which appeals to the intellect or which goes to the formation of character. When the time comes in the life of a book that it has exhausted the sphere for which it was intended, let it be offered as a remainder, and I am sure that it will percolate through the various strata of society until it finds its level of usefulness. This may be in the library of the collector or in the more useful sphere of the homes of the working classes, but a book of any literary value should never be destroyed.

In summarizing the various suggestions made in this paper, I would suggest that the most serious consideration be afforded to the following important propositions, so that more unity and stability may be given to the position of the author, publisher, and the various factors in book-distributing and bookselling.

Firstly, in regard to the author, my contention would be that the first book by an author, however good from a publisher's point of view it may be, should be either sent on sale or made returnable, say within six months. If the book has any literary merit it will be found out by that time,and the copies sent but will be sold. If not, they should be returned, so that the book distributor does not have to share a loss for which the publisher alone is responsible. The author should discourage as much as possible the auction-like action of the literary agent who tries to sell manuscripts to the highest bidder, thus lowering the tone of the relationship between the author and the publisher. And I say with all seriousness that should an author have satisfactory arrangements with a publisher he should stick to him, as I am sure it is best for both parties that a publisher should be able to put all the works of an author in his lists, and not only those issued by himself. By this arrangement a publisher will continue to interest himself in all the books by an author, and by advertising them will materially assist in continuous sales.

Secondly, the publisher should discriminate between books in which he is financially interested, and those which he is publishing to please the ambition of a person who wishes to see his or her name in print. He should also fix his terms and stand by them to both the wholesale and retail trader. These are now fairly carried out by some of the older-established publishers, but in some of their cheaper issues they appear to be unable to discriminate between what is a wholesale order and a wholesale trader.

Thirdly, the question of competition and underselling is still of the utmost importance, and I fear will never be settled until there is united action by a joint committee consisting of representatives of both thePublishers' and Booksellers' Associations, and all books are published at a fixed net price. The great objection to this arrangement is mainly the issue of juvenile and school-books. A margin frequently is demanded, so that a considerable discount can be given to the schoolmasters and mistresses or the governing bodies of our various educational authorities. It is, however, a fair question to ask, "Why should part of the legitimate profit of the bookseller be taken by the school representatives?" It is to be hoped that by association and unity these unsatisfactory anomalies will be swept away. One of the first subjects these joint associations would have to consider would be the minimum amount of profit which should be given to the retail bookseller. This should be, at least, 25 per cent. off the net selling price, and a further discount tobona fidewholesale and export booksellers. If all books were made net, and some such discounts as those mentioned were given, much of the present discontent would be removed, and, with a living profit assured, there would be a great inducement for many of the smaller men in the country to interest themselves in the trade, and thus bring about a renewal of an industry which should be beneficial both to the industrious bookseller as well as the intellectual community.

CHAPTER VII

Term and Sale Catalogues

Inthe early seventies, while living at Holloway, it was my good fortune to meet Mr. Edward Arber, who also dwelt in that district. At that time he was making the transcript of the Registers at Stationers' Hall, and also publishing many reprints from Old English literature. It is to the many interesting conversations which I had with him while walking to Stationers' Hall Court, as we both at that time did, that I became more interested in some of the ways of the booksellers of previous generations, and in the introduction and use of the Booksellers' Catalogues. From the origin of printing in England in 1472 until 1526, it is quite a question whetherany books which can be considered English literature were produced and printed in this country. The books sold here were mostly foreign productions, and, as numbers of them had an ultra-Romish tendency, it was a sure passport to a cruel death to possess a copy of many of the books of the period. Even these were produced in small octavo size, so that they could be carried in the owner's pocket without discovery.

The earliest register of books published was that by the Company of Stationers of London which began in 1554. This record was carried on until 1640, and it is from these catalogues, of which my friend Mr. Arber devoted the best part of twenty years in producing a transcript, in five folio volumes, that any bibliographer can now trace the authors and date of publication of much of the literature of that period. Following on from the before-mentioned period, there were various classified catalogues issued by different publishers, but in 1662-3 there was published a catalogue of books registered at Stationers' Hall from the 25th of December 1662 to the 25th of December 1663. This was the first attempt at the yearly issue of a complete list of books published, and, it is supposed, was brought to an end by the Plague and the Great Fire of London, which we know from "Pepys's Diary" and other records caused the destruction of an immense number of books to the value of some £200,000.

The next important series of Catalogues were "The Term Catalogues of Books printed in England." These were begun in November 1668 and ended in June 1709. Their title was evidently taken from a legal point of view, as they were divided into periods of Michaelmas Term, Hilary Term, Easter Term and the Trinity Term. The catalogues were very carefully reproduced in three volumes byMr. Arber, and often gives me much material for speculative thought and reflection. In an introductory preface to these Term Catalogues, Mr. Arber writes: "There is something perfectly God-like in a wide survey for a given period of the entire literature of a great nation. It is like Moses viewing from Mount Pisgah the whole of the land of promise, and will help us to a better understanding of and a greater delight in the ages of the Restoration of William and Mary and of Queen Anne." These catalogues were intended to be an annual list of the books entered at Stationers' Hall, and no London stationer could lawfully publish a book until he had been made free of this Company.

In looking through the volumes of catalogues above referred to, I have been greatly interested in the titles of some of these old books. What food for thought must there have been in some of the following: "Sober Singularity, or an Antidote againstInfection by the example of a Multitude"; "The Arts of Grandeur and Submission, a discourse concerning the behaviour of great men towards their inferiors"; "A Mirror or a Looking-glass for Saints and Sinners"; "The Ladies Blush"; "The Citizen turn'd Gentleman"; "Two Bulls roaring out Excommunication" (the first by Pope Paul III against Henry VIII; the other by Pope Pius V against Queen Elizabeth); "The Worth of a Penny; with the causes of the scarcity and the misery of the want thereof, in these hard and mercyless times"; "A Mirror that Flattereth not"; "A new Map of the Seat of the War in Germany so designed that you may presently know whether name of any place be in the map or not, and to see by inspection the distance of it from any other place without measuring by compasses"; "A Catholic Pill to purge Popery"; "England's Glory, or the great improvement of trade in general by a Royal Bank or Office ofCredit to be erected in London, that they may give out bills of credit to a vast extent that all Europe will accept of rather than money." By the title it is evident that the finances of this country were as important to the world then as they are to-day.

This list could be increased to fill a volume of these quaint and interesting titles. It also contained a list of the publications of many books, which are popular to-day by great authors such as John Bunyan, R. Baxter, Milton, Shakespeare, and others. One could not help noticing the names of some publishers which are well known in the book trade to-day, such as A. & J. Churchill, Collins, J. Moxon, Richard Bentley, although of course they are not the successors to those of the Term Catalogue period. The Catalogue also states that in 1702 the "Daily Courant" was started, being the first daily newspaper to be published in London. I findalso in these volumes what I think is the first notice of the odd copy being given. The advertisement runs as follows: "Proposals are now published for printing all the practical works of the late Rev. Mr. Robert Baxter in four volumes and in folio, many of which he wrote at the desire of Archbishop Ussher. To contain one thousand sheets of a large and very good paper, the price to subscribers four pounds, ten shillings in quires, the seventh book gratis, which reduces it to £3 12s.2d.The proposals at large may be had of the Undertakers, Thomas Parkinson and others." Ever since this period, the giving of the odd copy has been frequently discussed, but it appears quite possible that by the introduction of the net system it has received a very serious stoppage which may lead to its final abolition.

The earliest book auction sale recorded took place at Warwick Court, Warwick Lane, in 1676, and in the following tenyears only seventy-three auction sales of books are recorded as having been held. These auctions usually began at nine in the morning, and biddings might advance at a penny per time. The sales, however, differed from the sales of a later period. Formerly at the sales I attended the lots of books fell to the highest bidder, but although an auctioneer was usually present, he could only sell by a scale according to numbers, which was arranged by the publisher for whom the auctioneer acted. These delightful old catalogues are a continual source of inspiration to all booksellers, even if it is only the author or title of a book in which he is interested.

It is, however, the sale catalogues of the eighteenth and the greater part of the nineteenth century which interest me most. It was a period which may be called the Golden Age of bookselling. The sale catalogues of this later time unfortunately came to an end in 1890, with thatof Richard Bentley & Son, whose business was afterwards taken over by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. At the end of this catalogue, dated October 21, 1890, there was reprinted from "The Bookseller" an article on "Trade Sale Dinners," to which I contributed some of the information, and I am indebted to the courteous head of Messrs. Whitaker & Co. for allowing me to reproduce it in this chapter. It is as follows:

"The very ancient institution, peculiar to booksellers, of dining together on the occasion of a trade sale, is almost extinct and is, we very much regret to think, likely to become entirely so in the near future."The fashion of dining together on the occasion of a sale is a very old one. An interesting collection of sale catalogues in the possession of Mr. William Reader contains specimens dating back to 1704. They consist of the catalogues sent in the ordinary course of business to Osborne and his successor, the first of the Longmans. It is evident from these catalogues that sale dinners were a well-established custom of the trade as long ago as the beginning of the eighteenth century; and, as it must have required considerable time for the practice to have developed into a custom, their first beginnings maypossibly have been as far back as 'the spacious times of great Elizabeth,' when bookselling first took shape as a regular trade."The first catalogue in Mr. Reader's collection is that of the stock of Mrs. Elizabeth Harris, deceased, which is to be sold at 'The Bear, in Avey Mary Lane,' on the 11th December, 1704, 'beginning at 9 in the morning, when the whole company shall be entertained with a breakfast, and at noon with a good dinner and a glass of wine, and then proceed with the sale in order to finish that evening.' The sale of the stock of the late John Nicholson took place in 1718 at the Queen's Head Tavern in Paternoster Row, and the catalogue bears marginal notes in Osborne's handwriting, the names of Curil and Tonson appearing amongst the buyers. Nicholson's interest in certain share books was also disposed of, including Robert Clavel's shares, which he had formerly acquired. (Robert Clavel was a bookseller who flourished during the latter half of the previous century. He carried on business at the Peacock, in St. Paul's Churchyard, and in 1673 issued the well-known 'Catalogue of all the Books Printed in England since the Dreadful Fire of London in 1666 to the end of Michaelmas Term, 1672.') Nicholson's stock and shares appeared to have realized altogether £2,533, a very respectable sum for those days."It is remarkable that these sale catalogues were printed in almost exactly the same form as those of our own day. Nearly all are in folio, with broad margins for annotations, and they are addressed to'A select number of Booksellers of London and Westminster,' in the identical terms still current. Only those who were invited by having a catalogue sent them were expected to attend the sale, and the invitations were restricted to booksellers of established position. 'No stallmen admitted' is the significant notice printed at the head of one of the catalogues."It was not always a dinner that was given; sometimes it was a supper at which the buyers were entertained, as at the sale of Edward Valentine's stock in 1725, on the margin of which catalogue we first meet with the name of Longman among the buyers. In any case, however, whether the stock sold was that of an individual bookseller or a miscellaneous assortment from several contributors, it was the invariable custom to entertain those who came with a substantial repast 'and a glass of good wine.' At Thomas Osborne's sale in 1743, the catalogue even recites the delicacies which were provided, 'consisting of turkies and chines, hams and chickens, apple-pies, etc., and a glass of very good wine.'"Thirteen years later, in 1756, the sale took place of part of the stock of the late Thomas Longman, Osborne's successor and founder of the great Paternoster Row house. The copyrights and shares of Jacob and Richard Tonson were sold in August, 1767, and we notice the names of Dilly, Rivington, and Newbery amongst the buyers. Many of the copyrights were offered in twentieths, for the convenience of bidders. At that time, and long afterward, the risk and expense of publishing a bookwere jointly borne by a group of booksellers, who met periodically to agree upon the number to be printed, and to audit accounts, and these shares constantly appear in the sale catalogues of the period."The trade sales were always held at some selected tavern or coffee-house; until 1754, they took place at the Queen's Head Tavern in Paternoster Row, and up to that time it is a rare exception to find them held elsewhere. But in 1755 they were removed to the Queen's Arms in St. Paul's Churchyard, in consequence, as a note on a catalogue of that date states, of the Queen's Head Tavern being converted to another use. For many years subsequently the Queen's Arms continued in favour, and sales were held there as late as 1813; but from about 1790 the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill seems to have had the preference. The Horn Tavern, Doctors' Commons, was sometimes selected, and less frequently the Globe Tavern, in Fleet Street, where as long ago as 1768, a sale was held. The Chapter Coffee House in Paternoster Row was sometimes used, but not often, although the share-meetings continued to take place there until a very recent date. The London Coffee House gradually obtained a monopoly of the trade sales, until they were finally transferred to the Albion Tavern in Aldersgate Street."During a period of nearly a hundred and ninety years the sales appear to have been almost exclusively held at five houses, which, as time went on, succeeded each other in favour. The transfer to the Albion was gradual, but in 1831 the greaternumber were already held there, and in recent years seldom took place elsewhere, though occasionally one was held as far west as the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street."Within the present generation, the houses having annual sale dinners numbered about fourteen—Bentley, Bickers, Bohn, Chatto & Windus, Longmans, Macmillan, Murray, Quaritch, Routledge, Seeley and Burnside, Tegg, Ward and Lock, Warne, and Whittaker; and of these only two now survive. Messrs. Longmans' last sale dinner took place on November 5, 1872, and Mr. Murray's last dinner on November 4, 1887."It is curious that the form of trade sale catalogues should have remained so long unchanged. The old-fashioned yellow-wove post folios of Murray are well remembered. Those of Bentley are somewhat different. Their catalogues were printed in red and black for some years, but since 1885 in blue and brown; and, with a single exception, in 1880, their dinners always took place at the Albion."

"The fashion of dining together on the occasion of a sale is a very old one. An interesting collection of sale catalogues in the possession of Mr. William Reader contains specimens dating back to 1704. They consist of the catalogues sent in the ordinary course of business to Osborne and his successor, the first of the Longmans. It is evident from these catalogues that sale dinners were a well-established custom of the trade as long ago as the beginning of the eighteenth century; and, as it must have required considerable time for the practice to have developed into a custom, their first beginnings maypossibly have been as far back as 'the spacious times of great Elizabeth,' when bookselling first took shape as a regular trade.

"The first catalogue in Mr. Reader's collection is that of the stock of Mrs. Elizabeth Harris, deceased, which is to be sold at 'The Bear, in Avey Mary Lane,' on the 11th December, 1704, 'beginning at 9 in the morning, when the whole company shall be entertained with a breakfast, and at noon with a good dinner and a glass of wine, and then proceed with the sale in order to finish that evening.' The sale of the stock of the late John Nicholson took place in 1718 at the Queen's Head Tavern in Paternoster Row, and the catalogue bears marginal notes in Osborne's handwriting, the names of Curil and Tonson appearing amongst the buyers. Nicholson's interest in certain share books was also disposed of, including Robert Clavel's shares, which he had formerly acquired. (Robert Clavel was a bookseller who flourished during the latter half of the previous century. He carried on business at the Peacock, in St. Paul's Churchyard, and in 1673 issued the well-known 'Catalogue of all the Books Printed in England since the Dreadful Fire of London in 1666 to the end of Michaelmas Term, 1672.') Nicholson's stock and shares appeared to have realized altogether £2,533, a very respectable sum for those days.

"It is remarkable that these sale catalogues were printed in almost exactly the same form as those of our own day. Nearly all are in folio, with broad margins for annotations, and they are addressed to'A select number of Booksellers of London and Westminster,' in the identical terms still current. Only those who were invited by having a catalogue sent them were expected to attend the sale, and the invitations were restricted to booksellers of established position. 'No stallmen admitted' is the significant notice printed at the head of one of the catalogues.

"It was not always a dinner that was given; sometimes it was a supper at which the buyers were entertained, as at the sale of Edward Valentine's stock in 1725, on the margin of which catalogue we first meet with the name of Longman among the buyers. In any case, however, whether the stock sold was that of an individual bookseller or a miscellaneous assortment from several contributors, it was the invariable custom to entertain those who came with a substantial repast 'and a glass of good wine.' At Thomas Osborne's sale in 1743, the catalogue even recites the delicacies which were provided, 'consisting of turkies and chines, hams and chickens, apple-pies, etc., and a glass of very good wine.'

"Thirteen years later, in 1756, the sale took place of part of the stock of the late Thomas Longman, Osborne's successor and founder of the great Paternoster Row house. The copyrights and shares of Jacob and Richard Tonson were sold in August, 1767, and we notice the names of Dilly, Rivington, and Newbery amongst the buyers. Many of the copyrights were offered in twentieths, for the convenience of bidders. At that time, and long afterward, the risk and expense of publishing a bookwere jointly borne by a group of booksellers, who met periodically to agree upon the number to be printed, and to audit accounts, and these shares constantly appear in the sale catalogues of the period.

"The trade sales were always held at some selected tavern or coffee-house; until 1754, they took place at the Queen's Head Tavern in Paternoster Row, and up to that time it is a rare exception to find them held elsewhere. But in 1755 they were removed to the Queen's Arms in St. Paul's Churchyard, in consequence, as a note on a catalogue of that date states, of the Queen's Head Tavern being converted to another use. For many years subsequently the Queen's Arms continued in favour, and sales were held there as late as 1813; but from about 1790 the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill seems to have had the preference. The Horn Tavern, Doctors' Commons, was sometimes selected, and less frequently the Globe Tavern, in Fleet Street, where as long ago as 1768, a sale was held. The Chapter Coffee House in Paternoster Row was sometimes used, but not often, although the share-meetings continued to take place there until a very recent date. The London Coffee House gradually obtained a monopoly of the trade sales, until they were finally transferred to the Albion Tavern in Aldersgate Street.

"During a period of nearly a hundred and ninety years the sales appear to have been almost exclusively held at five houses, which, as time went on, succeeded each other in favour. The transfer to the Albion was gradual, but in 1831 the greaternumber were already held there, and in recent years seldom took place elsewhere, though occasionally one was held as far west as the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street.

"Within the present generation, the houses having annual sale dinners numbered about fourteen—Bentley, Bickers, Bohn, Chatto & Windus, Longmans, Macmillan, Murray, Quaritch, Routledge, Seeley and Burnside, Tegg, Ward and Lock, Warne, and Whittaker; and of these only two now survive. Messrs. Longmans' last sale dinner took place on November 5, 1872, and Mr. Murray's last dinner on November 4, 1887.

"It is curious that the form of trade sale catalogues should have remained so long unchanged. The old-fashioned yellow-wove post folios of Murray are well remembered. Those of Bentley are somewhat different. Their catalogues were printed in red and black for some years, but since 1885 in blue and brown; and, with a single exception, in 1880, their dinners always took place at the Albion."

It was in connexion with the firm with which I have been for so many years associated, that I happened, quite accidentally, some thirty years ago, to come across a parcel of catalogues which were placed with a heap of papers to be sent to the paper mills for destruction. My interestin them was such that as they were considered only waste paper, I took the bundle home, and they have since been to me an endless source of pleasure and instruction. Some of these catalogues are dated 1797, but from the early part of the nineteenth century, judging from the catalogues, books and booksellers had a very prosperous period. At this time, the following publishers and booksellers had a large number of titles in their catalogues, and in many instances they were very important publications. Among them are Sir Richard Phillips (Lord Mayor of London), Darton & Harvey (10 Crosby Square), Joseph Johnson, J. Walker, F. & C. Rivington, Murray & Highley (the predecessors of the celebrated house of John Murray), Longman, Hurst Rees & Orme (who at this period had a very miscellaneous catalogue of books, including plays), Wilson & Spence of York, Henry Mozley of Gainsborough, Cadell & Davies, J. Stockdale of Piccadilly, Scotcherd & Letterman, W. Miller, C. Law, Constable, Vernor & Hood, G. & J. Robinson, and R. Baldwin. Most of these catalogues contain books which had been issued by a combination of bookseller publishers; the shares in the publication of a particular book were divided up by those interested in the book; and the profits were divided between those who contributed to its publication.

A catalogue, dated April 1805, of Joseph Maurnan, agent to the University of Cambridge, besides enumerating Bibles of various sizes, from folio to twelves and twenty-fours, and Common Prayers of a like character (these were sold 5 for 4, 9 for 7, 12 for 10, and other numbers with a similar reduction), also contained such books as "Lambe on Constitutional Diseases"; Ruddiman's "Rudiments," new edition; Ruffhead's "Statutes," 18 vols., £38; New Geographical Game uponcards in a box, 7s.6d.; also a collection of Plays and Farces.

Another catalogue, dated June 1805, shows that at this period women held a position amongst the booksellers. This catalogue was issued by Elizabeth Mathews, 18 Strand, and the terms of the sale were four months' credit for £10; four and eight months' for £20; four, eight, and twelve months' for £50; four, eight, twelve, and sixteen for £100: money was evidently not of the same value then as now. Some of the most important books in this catalogue were "Annual Register," 33 vols.; Buffon's "Natural History," 15 vols.; Sheraton's "Cabinet Maker's Drawing Book," 18s.; "Encyclopædia Britannica," 20 vols. Another of the same period also contained many important works such as "Johnson's Dictionary," in 4 vols., Mavor's "Voyages and Travels," 25 vols., Radcliffe's "Mysteries of Udolpho," 4 vols.; "Pinder's Works," 5 vols.; Pope's"Homer," 5 vols. "Shakespeare's Works," in 21 vols., and with four different editions in 10 vols. and two in 9 vols., are all in this catalogue. From this period onward the same characteristics appear in catalogues, but by degrees, when publishers only sold the books they published, the constitution of the catalogue and the sales greatly changed and the business done was more ordinary and commonplace. I have spent many most enjoyable occasions when attending these sales, and also met there many distinguished people connected both with the trade and also with the making of literature.

As a few samples of the characteristics and the business done at some of the sale dinners when the custom was drawing to a close, I may mention that at Murray's sale, in 1885, the completing volume of the "Speaker's Commentary" was among the works offered, and some 2,500 copies were sold within the first ten minutes; of thatgreat traveller Du Chaillu's "Land of the Midnight Sun," in 2 vols., about 1,800 copies were sold. The educational works of Dr. Smith were then in great demand, and there were disposed of at this sale some 7,500 copies of his "English Course," and of the Latin 16,000, while of "Little Arthur's History of England," 12,500 copies were sold.

At another sale, when Bishop Wilberforce's Life was the leading book offered, the principal sales were as follows: 1,000 Mudie's Library, 900 Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 450 Hamilton & Co., 250 Smith & Son, 100 W. Kent, and 100 Hatchard's, whilst 22,500 of Smith's Latin Course were quickly purchased.

Times and the methods of education have greatly changed, but there are two things respecting these sales which strike me very forcibly. These are the comparatively small sales to-day of the above-mentioned educational works, also whetherthe publisher has been wise to stop these trade sales. They undoubtedly not only brought publishers and booksellers together, but offered an inducement to the booksellers which does not exist to the same extent to-day to make up stock orders and interest themselves in books.

Personally, as I have suggested in other chapters, I should be delighted to see some organized association brought into existence of which all those interested in the making and selling of books could become members, so that representatives of the different departments of the trade might meet together and talk over or discuss questions connected with it. This I am sure would lead to a greater and more satisfactory prosperity in all departments of the publishers' and booksellers' trade than has ever yet been attained.

CHAPTER VIII

Limited Editions and the Pleasures of Collecting

Itwould be quite impossible within the limits of a short chapter to deal with such a great subject as the above title represents. The subject, however, is fascinating not only to the book collector but to those in the trade, both new and second-hand, through whose hands the books pass.

Until the introduction of printing, what may be termed books or literature were all limited editions, as in olden times it was only by the industry of the scribes that other copies could be produced. Privately printed originally meant printed in a university or private residence and not in the offices of an ordinary printer. Now,however, privately printed and limited editions have each much the same meaning, as they are both practically limited in the numbers printed.

I must confess that I have a profound sympathy with all collectors of this particular class of book-producing, for it is with great pride that one takes down from the shelves a volume of this class of literature and reads how many copies of it were printed, and any history that may be connected with it. This attraction is from my point of view as far apart as the poles from that of collecting works produced before the origin of printing or even those in the centuries afterwards, where frequently the mistakes in printing make the value of the book. Such, for instance, as that of the Bible where the word "not" is left out in one of the commandments, or where a chance misprint or mistake is noted in some of Shakespeare's or other Elizabethan plays. A long list could easilybe made of the small things that render some of these ancient volumes valuable.

To-day, these limited editions are produced in the most careful, complete, and perfect manner possible. From a real book-lover's point of view, the beauty of the type, the excellency of the paper and the artistic merit of its binding, coupled with the literary value of the book itself, make a volume which one is proud to possess and have upon one's shelves. For some years past there has been a considerable demand for the limited issue of well-illustrated books numbered and signed by such artists as Rackham, Dulac, and others; these are widely sought after and collected; so also are those works issued by private presses of which the past fifty years has seen some splendid developments. Take, for instance, the Ashenden Press, with its beautiful edition of Dante; the Kelmscott Press, under the guidance of William Morris, which issued many of his own books (thewood-blocks of his works are now in the keeping of the British Museum, with whom they were deposited on the understanding that no one is to be at liberty to print from them for a hundred years); the Vale Press, which limited its editions to 200 copies; the Cardoc Press; the Eragny Press; the Essex House Press; the Dove Press, which finished its course in 1917 by the type being "cast" into the Thames and "distributed" at the bottom of the river; and Mr. Daniel's Press at Oxford. Although these various presses appeal to the collector, first editions and rare books have a greater number of collectors, whose lives are frequently passed in hunting after and trying to discover and secure lost old volumes.

This pleasurable following to-day has not the advantages that existed in the middle of the past century, as not only are there now more seekers after these treasures of the past, but America has somany collectors of old books that the demand is greater and the prices higher. These drawbacks will greatly interfere with both the business and the enjoyment of future collectors. The chances, too, of the old-book collector are not nearly so great as formerly, for the changes which have taken place, particularly in London, have certainly swept away many of their favourite haunts. It is to many a very great pleasure to look back in memory upon old Holywell Street, with its scores of book-hunters turning over the boxes and seeking for treasures. Mr. W.E. Gladstone and many dignitaries of the Church could often be seen there. Fleet Street, the Strand, Holborn, and many of the by-streets between Oxford Street and Trafalgar Square, were great thoroughfares for the book-hunter; and although the barrows of Farringdon Street are still in existence, either the bookstall man now knows his business better than his predecessor orthe gems are sold before he places these precious books on his barrow. Many times I have turned over the stock of old books on these Farringdon Street barrows, but have never yet been able to find anything of value, although others have been more fortunate. We have now no such opportunities as those of Charles Lamb; and I cannot say if we would avail ourselves of them even if we had. Lamb writes (March 25, 1829):—

"I have just come from town where I have been to get my bit of quarterly pension. I have brought home from stalls in Barbican the old 'Pilgrims Progress' with the prints Vanity Fair, etc., now scarce, four shillings, cheap. And also one of whom I have oft heard and had dreams, but never saw it in the flesh—that is in sheep-skin—'The whole Theological works of Thomas Aquinas.' My arms ached with lugging it a mile to the stage, but the burden was a pleasure."

All lovers of books must at some time feel the fascination of the second-hand bookseller's shop, and especially when it has a "Tuppenny Box" attached to it. At suchshops, you may examine every book in the place, read a little, look at the pictures and the binding, have a gossip with the intelligent bookseller, and never be asked to spend a penny. The keeper of such books usually knows his business and the origin and history of much of his stock, and is able to tell some good bookish stories in keeping with his profession. A true lover of books thinks little of their monetary value but treasures a volume because of its contents, or perhaps for some association or memory connected with the author.

One cannot get away from the feeling, when surrounded by old books, that there is probably some unsuspected treasure hidden among the volumes handled with so much pleasure. What a thrill would pass through you if you discovered one of Shakespeare's original plays or some other of the many precious dramas of the Elizabethan age. Or a first edition of Scott, Lamb, Burns, Blake, or even one of Dr.Watts' Divine Songs containing "Let dogs delight to bark and bite," a copy of which was sold for £155. It is said that the bibliomaniac fever generally begins at the bookstall. Of all kinds of human weakness, the craze for buying and collecting old books is the most excusable. In the early phases of this complaint, the book-lover is content to purchase only books which he reads; next, he buys books which he means to read, and, as his stores accumulate, hopes to read; by and by he takes home books in beautiful bindings, or artistic illustrations, or of an early date, and sometimes printed in a language which he cannot read. Once a lover, always a lover, is a true saying, particularly when applied to a lover of books. As old age draws near, the lover of books finds a solace and joy in the companionship of his silent friends, which not only increases as the years pass on but undoubtedly helps to maintain his interest in life. He mayretire from active business at any time, and still in his retirement be as happy and contented as at any period of his more strenuous days.

In my own case many of these ideals have been realized. Numberless volumes have been written on the pleasures of book-hunting and its results. Some glory in their collection of books upon certain subjects, such as Angling and all other kinds of sport; some have libraries on Philosophy, History, Biography, Architecture, and other branches of intellectual study; others collect fiction and first editions of celebrated authors, many of which have only a fleeting value. In whatever way we regard book-collecting, there can be no doubt that if carried through from an intellectual point of view, there are few things in life which are so rich in quiet satisfaction or which give such gratifying results to both mind and body.

It has been well said by Mr. J.A. Langford in his interesting volume entitled "The Praise of Books": "A wise man will select his books, for he would not wish to class them all under the sacred name of friends. Some can be accepted only as acquaintances. The best books of all kinds are taken to the heart and cherished as his most precious possession. Others to be chatted with for a time, to spend a few pleasant hours with, and laid aside, but not forgotten."

Such are some of the pleasures and the profits to be derived from collecting, be it first editions, scarce books, or limited editions.

CHAPTER IX

The Whitefriars Club

Ofall the institutions with which I have been associated, not one has given me so much pleasure, or of which I feel so proud in belonging to, as The Whitefriars Club. This Club was founded in 1865, and is a survival of the old Bohemian life of London; it knows no sect or politics, and its ambition is to create true fellowship amongst its members.

The Club has a room and meets at Anderton's Hotel in that highway of letters, Fleet Street. During the autumn and winter months it has always been their custom to hold meetings each Friday to hear an address from some distinguished publicist upon a subject of common interestand importance. After the introductory speech by the guest of the evening, the subject is open to discussion, and each member is invited to express his views and convictions as freely as possible. While listening to these speeches, I have often wished that reporters had been allowed to be present, as I am sure those connected with newspapers would have found these debates of more interest than those taking place in a building of a greater national importance. During the temporary retirement of our present excellent secretary, Mr. W.N. Shansfield, I had the honour and pleasure of acting as the Club's secretary for three years. At the end of my term of office, I was delighted to receive a beautiful pair of candelabra as a present from the Club, the greatly revered Lord Roberts being the guest of the evening on this occasion. I can safely say that this presentation was one of the most interesting events in my life, as after it had beenmade, Lord Roberts rose from his seat, came round to me, shook hands, and uttered some pleasant words of congratulation. To me the occasion was a memorable one. There are, however, so many interesting associations connected with this Club that I must go back to 1901, the year of my becoming a member.

At the time of my joining the Hon. Secretary was Sir Arthur Spurgeon, who has always been most loyal and helpful to members of the Club, and to whom every one is deeply indebted for the interest and support he has given to it. He it was who helped to develop the Club and made it one of the great centres of journalistic and literary London. The Club can never have a better or more thorough and efficient officer than the present secretary, my good friend, Mr. W.N. Shansfield. He is always at his post, and by his many amiable qualities greatly stimulates and carries on the friendly intercourse at which the Clubaims. Every member of the Club is entitled to the distinction of being a Friar, and the one who presides at our festivities is for the evening the Prior, so that discipline and order among the Brotherhood is a foregone conclusion.

The following toast is always given at each meeting by the Prior and is heartily responded to by the Friars and guests present: "Friars and Guests,—By this wine we commemorate the White Friars of old, fortified with spirit—the spirit of admiration for their services to charity and good learning—and sweetened by sympathy for those who, broken by fortune, dwell in Alsatia. It is left for me, as Prior of the day, to add the cordial—a cordial welcome to the guests of the Brotherhood assembled at our board. Gentlemen, I bid a hearty welcome to you all, and invite you to join with the Brothers of a gracious order in drinking to the prosperity of the Whitefriars Club."

Among the Priors who have presided at our gatherings memory calls up many who were leaders in the world of Literature and Journalism, such as William Senior, Richard Whiteing, G. Manville Fenn, Sir F. Carruthers Gould, Sir J. Foster Fraser, Sir Arthur Spurgeon, Sir Anthony Hope, G.B. Burgin (who also edits "The Whitefriars Journal"), Edward Clodd, Clement K. Shorter, Sir W. Robertson Nicoll and Sir William Treloar, who have all distinguished themselves by their aptitude and eloquence. It would be a breach of the rules of our Order to give any account of the various nobles and gentlemen who have honoured the Club by their presence. Sufficient to say that, be the invited guest ever so exalted, the Club's invitation is seldom declined. Many times I have heard from a guest what a delightful evening he has spent and the enjoyment he has experienced in the good fellowship which dominates the members and the proceedings of the Club.

On two occasions during the year, we have what is termed "Ladies' Nights." This may appear strange to those who think that the monastic order is carried out in its entirety, but I am sure the evening is always as enjoyable to the ladies as it is to the Friars. On these occasions, we have the toast of "Mere Man," proposed by a lady, and, as a set off, the toast of "Sov'ram Woman," of course proposed by a Friar; and each is equally appreciated. A volume which would be of great interest to the public generally, might easily be compiled of extracts from the Journals of the Club, but as it is understood by the members that no reporters are present at our meetings, and that the proceedings are for the members only and that no publicity is given to them, I must not depart from this order of secrecy.

One of my early associations with the Club was on the visit of Mark Twain to this country. He was invited to accompanysome of the members to Lambeth Palace, to hear an address from the Librarian upon the many beautiful MSS. which the Library contained. This was most interesting, as was also the visit to the Lollards' Tower, with its many religious associations. After our visit to the Palace we were invited to take tea, if I remember rightly, at the Authors' Club. Here a number of notable authors and others were assembled to welcome the American guest, among them being Dr. Stubbs, Bishop of Oxford, and Canon Barnett. I was one of a group who were narrating some of their interesting experiences, when the Rev. Canon told a story which greatly amused his hearers and especially the members of our Club. The story caused shouts of laughter and the Bishop held up his hands in apparent surprise, and made some remark respecting it. I happened to suggest that the rev. gentleman should be called to order by the Bishop, but he again held up his hands andsaid, "Not in my Diocese," a retort which caused more laughter than the story.

There is one association in connexion with the Whitefriars Club which I shall not be breaking their rules by mentioning. This is our "Summer Outing" in June or July, to which ladies were always invited. One of these "Outings"—and certainly to me the one in which I found my greatest anticipations realized—was that made to the home of our great novelist, George Meredith, in 1902. I give, therefore, the following sketch from notes made by myself and a small extract from the Club's Journal.

It was on a cloudy, windy, but exhilarating day that a company of "Whitefriars" started on a pilgrimage to Burford Bridge and Box Hill to visit one of England's greatest novelists, George Meredith. The railway journey proved far too short, as we spent the time in discussing with some of our gifted fellow-travellers questionssocial and political, one topic being "Would England become peopled by an effeminate race should it cease to foster a jingo or warlike spirit." Needless to say, no final discussion upon this stupendous subject was reached before arriving at our destination. At Burford Bridge a capital lunch had been provided, after which the Prior for the day, Mr. Robert Leighton, proposed the health of Friar George Meredith. Other toasts were proposed or responded to by Madam Sarah Grand, Mr. T.P. O'Connor, M.P., and Friar Sir Arthur Spurgeon.

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