Chapter IV: 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.

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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.

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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.