Some Further Recollections and Reflections
In my previous chapter I dealt with many things in the book trade which
impressed me more particularly in the first years of my Stationers'
Hall Court experience. I will now try to give a brief account of other
incidents with which I was associated during some of the following
years. These are not stated in chronological order but have been jotted
down as they have reappeared in my memory.
One thing which has struck me is to find what a number of publishers
during the last fifty years have either ceased to exist or have been
incorporated with other firms; many of them being houses of great
importance and publishers of a considerable number of popular books.
The following are some of the firms which I am able to call to my
memory which were then in existence: Messrs. Walton & Maberley, A.W.
Bennett, J. Bennett, J. Russell Smith, H. Colburn, John Maxwell (the
husband of Miss Braddon), Bradbury, Evans & Co., J.C. Nimmo (the
publisher of many beautiful books), Houlston & Wright (the publishers
of the Enquire Within series), Groombridge & Son, Rivington & Co.
(taken over by Longmans & Co.), J. Masters, W. Hunt, W. Mackintosh,
E. Moxon (the early publisher of Tennyson's and Swinburne's works),
J. Camden Hotten (who published and introduced into this country Mark
Twain, Bret Harte, and Artemus Ward. He died at the age of forty, and
his business was taken over by Messrs. Chatto & Windus), J.C. Newby,
Saunders & Ottley, Griffith & Farran (the successors to John Newbery),
W. Day & Son (high-class printers and publishers), W. Tegg, Hardwick,
J. & C. Mozley, A. Strahan (one of the most enthusiastic publishers of
his day), Tinsley Bros. (they published for T. Hardy, George Meredith,
and Miss Braddon), R. Bentley (his business was taken over by Macmillan
in 1898), N. Trübner, and Charles Knight (who died in 1873, aged 81;
he was the first publisher of the British Almanac and Companion and
also issued the Penny Cyclopædia and the History of England, with other
interesting and educational work), L. Booth, Virtue, R. & A. Suttaby,
Smith Elder & Co. (now incorporated with John Murray), and many others.
It is also somewhat astonishing what a change has taken place in
the character of the books issued by some publishers. To instance a
few, Messrs. Cassell & Co. principally issued educational and serial
publications, C. Griffin were educational and religious publishers,
Messrs. Nelson & Son published mainly juveniles, including a large
selection of 1_d._, 2_d._, 3_d._, 4_d._, and 6_d._ books. Messrs. W.
Collins & Son were also educational and religious publishers.
I should like to place on the other side some of the gains the
publishing trade has received, and mention new firms that are among the
leaders of the trade to-day. Messrs. Methuen & Co. have by a literary
judgment and a judicial trend established one of the leading publishing
businesses since the period before mentioned.
In 1894 Mr. W. Heinemann issued his first original popular 6_s._ novel;
this was Sir Thomas Hall Caine's "The Manxman," which not only had a
great sale but was a send off such as few publishers have experienced.
This novel being first issued in the 6_s._ form, had a considerable
influence in bringing the three-volume novel to an end in 1897. The
credit, however, for the original 6_s._ novel must be given to Mr.
Vizetelly, who commenced some ten years earlier the issue of his
one-volume 6_s._ novel series, which contained, beside other important
novels, "A Mummer's Wife," by George Moore. Mr. J.M. Dent, in founding
the "Every Man Library," made for his firm a name which is known
throughout the world. In this he established a library of literary
classics in its broader sense, issuing them in every particular worthy
of the books produced. He has thus earned the gratitude of students in
every country in which the English language is spoken or read. This
firm has also produced many works of great literary and epoch-making
value.
Important additions to literature, including Fiction, have been made by
such firms as Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton, Hutchinson & Co., T. Fisher
Unwin, Constable & Co., E. Arnold, G. Harrap, Sidgwick & Jackson,
Eveleigh Nash, A. Melrose, T. Werner Laurie, Duckworth, Selwyn &
Blount, H. Jenkins, J. Lane, Chatto & Windus, with others, all of whom,
it is hoped, have a great future before them. In 1873 the Cambridge
University Press opened their business premises in Paternoster Row;
previous to this, Messrs. Rivington & Co. had acted as their London
agents.
In 1874 the Oxford University Press began their now very important
business under the management of Mr. Frowde. It is now managed by Mr.
Humphrey Milford.
I cannot, however, help thinking that there were more books of what
may be termed a literary or classical character issued and sold during
the early part of my career than there are to-day. It certainly
looks as though the publishers of the future will have considerable
opportunities of issuing the works of some of the great masters in
literature. Whether or not we are to-day producing works of a character
which will be sought for and collected by future generations it is
difficult to say. There is one thing certain, however, and that is the
spirit and desire to collect first editions of special authors was
never greater than it is now. Undoubtedly, the desire to write books
as well as to read them is an element to be dealt with, and if it were
possible for the publisher to be so gifted that he would publish only
books that were really worth publishing, much of the rubbish now being
issued and which has only an ephemeral sale would never spoil paper and
print. We shall, I suppose, never get perfection, but that is no reason
why we should not aim at getting it.
Take poetry, for instance. In my young days, Milton, Tupper,
Longfellow, Keats, Shelley, Byron, with others, were considered the
leading sellers, while Tennyson, W. Morris, Swinburne, Lewis Morris,
the Brownings, were fast pushing some of the older poets out of
existence and gaining a deserved popularity, which will last for many
generations. Tennyson's popularity was such that it was reported that
when he changed his publishers from Moxon to Strahan the latter
promised to give him annually the sum of £4,500 for the right to
publish his books. There are few poets to-day who could command such an
arrangement.
Then there is Swinburne, who in one of his volumes had expressed
himself somewhat too realistically and was refused further publication
by E. Moxon. Some of his later works were issued by J.C. Hotten and
afterwards by Chatto & Windus. There are few, if any, publishers to-day
who would take up the Moxon attitude, but times have changed for the
better.
In 1890 there were 114 volumes of poetry published, in 1891, 146; and I
should conclude that from that period up to the beginning of the war,
the number issued fluctuated to a very small extent. In the classified
analysis of books and new editions published in 1917, poetry and the
drama numbered 544, while in 1918 there were 642 published, which shows
that the war has had a considerable influence in providing food for
the imagination, poetry being frequently a true interpretation of the
feelings of the individual as well as of the nation.
* * * * *
The Victorian era was noted for the issue of many books which sent
a thrill of excitement through both the religious and intellectual
world. It was in 1867 that "Essays and Reviews" was published, and
as it contained contributions by some of the leading men of that
period, it greatly influenced the tendency towards liberty of thought
and helped forward the period when human life and reason should have
its consideration as well as the supernatural. Darwin's "Origin of
Species" was still a living influence, although published in 1859,
and undoubtedly prepared the way for such men as Huxley and Herbert
Spencer. It is not too much to say that these, with other books by men
of like opinions, created the spirit of reason and toleration which is
having its effect upon the life and education of to-day.
The Victorian era has also been termed the age of the novelist. To
a certain extent that is true, as we undoubtedly had during Queen
Victoria's reign some of the greatest authors of fiction that this
nation has ever produced. To confirm this it is only necessary to
mention the names of such men as Charles Dickens, W.M. Thackeray,
George Meredith, Thomas Hardy, R.D. Blackmore, H.S. Merriman, C.
Kingsley, S.R. Crockett, Charles Reade, Anthony Trollope, Wilkie
Collins, Charles Lever, Lord Lytton. All of these authors still have
a large number of readers and admirers and their circulation has been
enormous.
It is perhaps a debatable question whether the female novelists of this
period will live as long as the male novelist. Undoubtedly there were
many whose works had very important sales, such as Charlotte Brontë,
Mrs. Henry Wood, Miss Braddon, Miss Muloch, Miss C.M. Yonge, Edna
Lyall, Mrs. Sewell, Mrs. Oliphant, with many others; but I think it
very doubtful if a collected edition, from a literary point of view, of
many of these authors will ever be undertaken by a publisher.
At this period the publishing arrangements between this country and
America were in a most unsatisfactory condition, there being only
a Copyright Act which allowed an American to possess copyright in
England while no Englishman could hold copyright in the United States,
so that directly a book obtained popularity in either country it was
reprinted, much to the loss of both author and publisher. I remember
that in America a very popular novel had been published entitled
"Arthur Bonnicastle." The American publisher, with the idea of securing
copyright in England, had the last chapter printed and published here
prior to the publication of the book, but a firm of London publishers,
knowing its popularity in America, had printed an edition before
hearing of the arrangement for the last chapter. They were therefore
compelled to strike out the last chapter, as the copyright in this
country had been secured, and issued the book with an explanatory
preface exposing the injustice of allowing an American firm to secure
copyright in this country while no Englishman could hold copyright in
the United States. This action probably helped considerably the passing
of the various Copyright Acts which have made it now possible for the
authors in each country to obtain greater satisfaction from the results
of their labours than they had done in previous years.
It was about 1870 that Edna Lyall's books became very popular, and,
being on very friendly terms with Mr. C. Layton, the representative in
London of Messrs. Appleton & Co. of New York, I suggested that his
firm should reprint this author's books in America. This was done,
and they proved a very great success. There was, however, one very
satisfactory arrangement between the principal American publishers
which I dare say may have existed in this country. This was that
any American publisher who was first in the field with an English
author was not afterwards interfered with, however popular the author
might become. I know this was the case with Edna Lyall, who received
considerable sums from her American publishers, although they had no
copyright in her books.
In relation to copyright, I will mention a great event which took
place in 1912: the closing for ever of the necessary registration
at Stationers' Hall of all books published to secure copyright.
The original charter was granted in 1557 and varied according to
alterations made by Parliament. The old Copyright Act was limited to
seven years after the death of the author, or forty-two years from
the date of publication, whichever should be longer. The new Act gave
a term of copyright for life and fifty years after. It came into
operation on July 1, 1912, and from that date no registration was
required.
Though the new Act has undoubtedly many advantages one cannot help
regretting that this source of important details respecting titles,
authors and other information, has now ceased and that a system which
shows the registration of some of Shakespeare's plays, and many other
books of which all lovers of English literature are justly proud, is
closed for ever. The last book to be registered by the Stationers'
Company was "A Guide to the Shops Act," which appears rather an
ignominious ending.
One never-to-be-forgotten event took place in 1885, upon the
publication of the Revised Version of the Bible. The Oxford &
Cambridge University Presses had united in purchasing the publishing
rights, for which it was reported they paid some £20,000. The New
Testament had been published in 1881, and it was reported that over one
million copies were sold within twenty-four hours of its publication,
so when the complete Bible was issued the excitement was intense.
Numbers could only be supplied in small quantities and for many weeks
the greatest anxiety prevailed in the trade. The desire to obtain
copies not only for this country but also for our Colonies was very
great. Eventually the supply was equal to the demand, but, judging
from opinions now occasionally expressed, it does not appear that the
revised edition is the final edition. In all probability we shall have
a revised edition of the revised version.
While speaking of the Bible, I am proud to be the possessor of a copy
of the one hundred copies produced for the Caxton Celebration in 1877.
This copy was presented to me by Mr. Frowde, who had so much to do with
its production by the Oxford University Press. At a luncheon given
after the opening of the Caxton Exhibition, at which Mr. Gladstone,
amongst others, was present, he addressed the audience, and, holding up
a copy of this edition in his hand, explained how it had been produced.
This, he said, was partly performed at Oxford and partly at London. The
impression was limited to 100 copies, and not a sheet was worked from
the printing press until the clock struck two on the morning of the
30th June, 1877, the day of the luncheon; the copies were then printed,
dried, hot pressed and sent to London by an early train, taken to the
binding works of the Oxford warehouse, rolled, folded, rolled again,
pressed, collated, sewed, backed, cut, gilt, and excellently bound
in morocco, all within twelve hours. The first copy was sent to Mr.
Gladstone. The production of such a book in such a short space of time
must have created a record. It was a wonderful performance of which the
Oxford University Press may be justly proud, and I am very delighted to
possess a copy.
* * * * *
Probably there is no other word in the English language that conveys a
greater and a more varied meaning than that of Books. Besides reminding
us of the books we have known and loved, it also throws the mind back
to ancient history and the records handed down to us on Babylonian
bricks or Egyptian papyrus. It was said by St. John, some 2,000 years
ago, that if all the books had been written which might have been
written upon a particular subject, the world itself could not contain
them. If the world could not have contained them 2,000 years ago, what
would have been the condition of affairs since the introduction of
printing?
Records of different nationalities are being continually discovered
and printed, and there are few things more fascinating than the
knowledge they reveal of ancient history and the manners and customs
of the ancient peoples. Recent explorations have greatly added to our
knowledge of the past and probably, when some of the Eastern peoples
have settled down to peaceable pursuits instead of national war and
strife, we shall have given to us from the sands of Asia and Africa,
records and information which will astonish the world, for if, as Dr.
Keith states, this world has probably been inhabited for some fifteen
millions of years it is to be hoped that records of its peoples' lives
and habits exist, and that in some way they have been preserved.
Although all lovers of books and literature are interested in these
ancient records, I do not intend attempting even a sketch of these
fascinating periods of history and literature, but shall deal with a
slight summary of a few names of authors, from the time of the first
book printed by Caxton in 1474. This was entitled "Recuyell of the
Historyes of Troye," which it is said laid a foundation upon which
has been built the greatest of all the elements which will endow the
world with civilization. It is generally understood that one hundred
different volumes were issued from the Caxton press. It is, I suppose,
a somewhat debatable question whether true literature really gained or
lost by the introduction of printing; but it is quite certain that its
influence for good has been very great. By the making of books, and
thus being able to circulate in a cheaper form the old literature and
help on the making of the new, it acted as a stimulus for good which
developed greatly during the following centuries.
Take the Bible alone; it is to the wide circulation given to it through
the introduction of printing that we owe the peace and goodwill
that are by degrees permeating the civilized world. We do not know
what literature had been destroyed during previous ages, but through
the printing press many great authors of the fifteenth and sixteenth
century have been preserved and have left for all time works of which
the English-speaking race are justly proud. Among these authors are
Francis Bacon, Francis Beaumont, William Camden, George Chapman, John
Donne, M. Drayton, R. Hakluyt, G. Herbert, Richard Hooker, Ben Jonson,
John Knox, John Lyly, Robert Herrick, Christopher Marlowe, Sir Walter
Ralegh, William Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spencer, and
many others.
The authors of the seventeenth century also contributed largely to
the literature of this country, among them being Joseph Addison,
Richard Baxter, Sir T. Browne, John Bunyan, the Earl of Clarendon,
John Dryden, John Locke, John Milton, Samuel Pepys, Sir W. Temple,
Henry Vaughan, Edmund Waller, Isaac Walton, Daniel Defoe, A. Pope, S.
Richardson and Jonathan Swift. This list could be largely increased
by the addition of many well-known authors of later periods, but
undoubtedly the introduction of printing greatly stimulated the love of
literature and books which has grown up to the present day.
I have not attempted to give the names of authors who lived during the
eighteenth or nineteenth century as many of them are as familiar as
household words. During the last and the present century, there have
been many authors whose works will be read by generations yet to come,
but it is quite a question whether or no a great change has not taken
place in the present-day lovers of books, both in the serious reader
as well as the lover of lighter literature. Undoubtedly the war has
not only made people think, but has made them reason upon the why
and the wherefore of things. I cannot help feeling that the future of
literature as well as that of daily life will have to be viewed from
more solidly scientific foundations, and people will want books in
which the facts of life are interwoven with the everyday possibilities
of life and much of the supernatural imaginings will have gone for
ever. Future authors have a great source in the present to draw upon
in the moral and physical as well as the ideal life. Those who have
the clearest ideas upon these points will be those whose works will be
handed down to the generations yet to come. These views are not so much
from the authors' point of view, as of one who has been associated with
books and has watched events for over sixty years. During that period
there have been many and important changes in the character of books as
well as of public opinion with regard to them. I anticipate, however,
that greater changes are possible in the near future.
From my own observation I cannot help feeling that the future of making
and selling books, apart from authorship, will involve many changes.
What a great influence must have been exercised by the sending out to
the trenches and to all the various departments and agencies connected
with the war, the millions of books and miscellaneous reading matter
to those engaged in the war. Few people realize to what an enormous
extent this was done. It was officially stated that in January, 1919,
the Camps Library dispatched to France 129,000 novels, and 60,000 other
publications were forwarded regularly every week. These are in addition
to those sent out by the American Government and by the Y.M.C.A. and
other agencies, and as there will be more money earned in the future
by the people generally than there has ever been before, it is to be
hoped that they will spend some of it upon books.
What I shall hope to see is that every place which is established
for public recreation or instruction has a well-selected library and
reading-room. We can only speculate upon the good this would do,
although I am firmly convinced that the great work which the Free
Libraries have done, and are still doing, will be largely extended. Our
young people must have some place of interest to which they can always
go. Then we shall be a happier and more contented people. Besides
this, the author with high and noble ideals will have some object in
producing works which help to nobler thoughts and aspirations, works
which lead to a higher and better life. Books enable us to realize
our lives and make us feel the wonder and mystery of the world, they
widen our horizon and create a sympathy with humanity. The influence of
literature marks the growth of liberty and joy.
The buying and selling of books is a delightful occupation. The
bookseller in his work lives in a bygone world as well as in the
present. Speaking for myself, I know what a comfort it is in old age
to have an exhaustless treasury in books, to have the best in life of
all the ages to fall back upon. The man who gives up his work to enjoy
old age has nothing to fear if his mind is enriched by knowledge of the
best in life and can enjoy the sympathy and friendship of books.
My own love of books was the cause of my entering to a small extent
into authorship. Besides occasionally contributing to our trade
journals, I also wrote articles in the "Encyclopædia Britannica"
on publishing, etc., and also in "The Nineteenth Century," "The
Fortnightly Review," and other journals. Some of these I afterwards
collected in a volume which I published in 1912 under the title of
"The Fascination of Books." I have also issued volumes entitled
"The Pleasure of Literature and the Solace of Books," "Saunterings
in Bookland," and others. I have also published yearly since 1903,
a little "Friend to Friend Kalendar," to which each year I have
contributed a poem on Friendship. This has not only had a large
circulation, but has brought me many letters of appreciation and added
to my many friendships.
The trade of the bookseller, as we now know him, has gradually
developed from the early part of the last century. Until then the
bookseller either largely printed, or in association with other
publisher-booksellers joined in producing, many of the books they
sold, the various bookselling partners whose names were on the
title page sometimes numbering over twenty different firms. The
making and selling of books has now developed into many different
channels. There is the Author, the Author's Agent, the Publisher, the
wholesale Distributor, and lastly, but not the least important, is the
Bookseller. These various mediums through which most books must pass,
have to be considered, particularly as regards terms, and although a
book may cost little in its production, there are many expenses to be
considered before its selling price can be fixed. This has led to much
dissatisfaction during the past fifty years, and although arrangements
entirely satisfactory to the trade generally have not yet been made,
it is now in a more flourishing condition than it has ever been. What
I think is now required is the formation of a Booksellers' Central
Committee, of which Authors, Publishers, and Booksellers should become
members. This would exclude the Author's Agent and every one not
directly connected with the trade of bookselling, as printers, binders
and others have their own organizations. Committees of each branch of
the trade should be formed to deal with all trade technicalities,
but discussions by the members in Council would be allowed upon any
departmental difficulty, and the decision of the whole body accepted as
final.
In connexion with this body, an arrangement might be made whereby the
trade assistants could have a separate establishment for educational
and other matters connected with the trade. They should have the
power of electing a certain number of members to represent them when
any Trades Union or other difficult question came up for general
consideration. The future is full of difficulties, and it is only
through friendly discussions among the various representatives of all
departments of the bookselling trade that these difficulties can be
satisfactorily settled.
The need for some progressive alteration in the trade must be apparent
to every one associated with it, especially when we look back for
some fifty years and remember the difficulties that then existed
respecting the giving of discounts to the public, and then consider how
during the terrible war now brought to a close and in the years since,
the question of discounts has seldom arisen. Those who remember the
difficulties which the discount system caused at the before-mentioned
period will feel thankful for the part taken in its abolition by the
united action of the Publishers' and Booksellers' Associations, and
especially by the general establishment of the net book system and in
many cases the doing away with the odd copy. But this subject has been
more fully dealt with in the chapter on Underselling.
It is, however, only by trade organization that difficulties which
must in future arise can be solved, and it is to be hoped that it
will further the interest of the assistants and the younger members
of the trade so that instead of that want of knowledge which we often
hear expressed, we shall have men engaged who are worthy of their
craft, and with altered surroundings bookselling, if not regarded as a
profession, may be considered as an occupation of light and leading.
I have not dealt here with what is known as the second-hand bookseller.
He is the one individual in our trade whom I envy. It is true that
while he deals with the books of the past the ordinary bookseller deals
with those of the present, and those to come. His knowledge, however,
of his particular branch of trade is, I think, wonderful, for not only
does he know the history of a book from its birth to its place upon his
shelves, but a little conversation with him and a walk round his shop
and the taking down some of the books from their shelves, is sufficient
to make any book-lover forget this world in the pleasure and imaginings
of those precious treasures which to know is to revere.