The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-05-28 00:00:00

Mr. Mills's " Maps Curcio," 11,:.1 Mere ale entered swoop!
the subscribers, the University Libraries of.Caininidge, Tri-
nity Cotter, Dublin, and several other Colleges.
Does the placing eleven copies in there eleven libraries,
in your opinion, benefit or injure Ike sale of the work ?—I
should conceive that Boy work so expensive as this would be
materially injured by such delivery. II would have an inju-
rious tendency.
If the law which reqnires the delivery of eleven e"pies to.
the public libraries emit issues, do you propioe to publish the
work without letter-press!—lf that provision for the deli-
very conlinues, we shall publish it will I letter-press
War any, nod what application mode to you on the part
of the French Government to have this work to prldish
at
Paris ?—The proposition wax made to the author when he
was in Peri.; and on his set iris home, the stork was sheen',
at the request of the Fiends luitiltite. W the French
Princes, to the Officers of the Fiencli Government, and a
great many others, and by then' an iifrer wan made on be-
half alb, French Government lu mablish the plates in four
volumes f•ho. each volume to contain a hundred plates.
with accompanying letter-press ; but the 'indoor wishing it
to he published in this country, declined the proposition.
llYould it hive been more beneficial to the *whew to have
published at Paris ?—1 should conceive it would reitainly.
Is the proposed letter-press consider:llde in extent
will make, as near as we can tell, about a liege &ilk) leaf Of
two pages to each plate.
Whitt would be the least possible cast of eleven Of
ibis wink, if only the paper and working, and ',loot jog of
the WOO be enn.idereill—The lowest mire ...old be 144 f.
the actual cost, uul iiielnitiog the ennraviiig
Thai sum *maid nut Melody auy proportion of the en.
irons your exp--rience in the trade, silo, ma your opinion
m to. the delivery of these eleven copies ',gill would
the yof these cities produce?—it would be •ex-
tremely
Wjuri .... s
The class of books that you publish are mostly of the ex-
pensive kind ?...At prevent they have Is
And very much adorned will, plates !—They are; and we
are undertaking, at Ibis "noniron several otbrla or the .11111 e
kind,
In all these works du you not consider the delivery of the
elerco copies a very scrim's load do.

Mr Chin les Slothard, ranter in, and erealsined.
You are mehlishing the Monumental Effigies of Great
Britain ?—l'en.
The price in twenty-eight ruthless the large paper, tad
twenty guineas the small?—Yes.
Di, you publish the amok on your own account ?--Ctr.
tainly.
Do you conceive that the delivery of the eleven copies to
the public libraries is a gees* grirvaiire!—A very great mine
indeed; f.w I believe, that if I had known it when I coins
worts' the work, I should nut have begun it.
Do you conceive, that sultit ct to the delivery of the Aires
copies that work could have been published by a Imokseller!
—Na, valiantly not. nor at its pees. ft prier. Indeed, at its
preicot price, it in imputsible, when the work is completi
that I can sell it at that prier. In order to sell il, I must
raise it ont quarter above its present price.
You are eniplo,cil at present by the Society of Antigun-
v;es, in making a correct copy of the Bayeux tapestry?—
Yea.
IT, %nu consider that that work of youi's could ever he
published by any private individual, subject to she delivery
of the eleven copies !—II think no one nook! undertake 11.
There are letter-preys observations occompativing the
work ?—Yen, and the letterpress is more expensive !webers
than taw plates, from its sheiwations.
Is it di curates! with wood rats?—\o. with vigitt ars On
cuppeeplate loaned the lutier-press i, ill • :tied, that is
to say, it is painted and gilt.
And in that painted and gilt state are the copies delivered
to the Ultima sittes!—They have never been demand. il vet,
bat I expect it. The work is nothing without it—it cannot
go out of my hands without it is -0 thine.
Yon have stated that the delivery of eleven copies would
have di leered you from undertaking the Munums,nisil
tirizien, would the delivery of five copies have deterred y.n. !
should think it • ye. y great tax upon me. 1 should
think it au petit, elicits from price.
Should it have deterred you from Iwgii iii i i the publica-
tion of them ?-11 should think it would. I -.bould have
taken it into consideration, 'Jeannie, though many copies
may remain some years em my bands, I know the whole
must eventually sell.

Samuel 11.yruns, req. ealled io, anal exavni oral.
For twenty-five years I have been preparing for wadi.
cation au extensive work on the Roman Antiquities of
England, entitled, " &lupine Britannic,' Kowtow," consist-
ing of thou one hundred and sixty plates in folio, ninny
of them fairly inches by wooly-three, on which work I have
already expeoded 6,0001. From the nature of this work, whirls
requires that the greater parr Ur the plates should lie cotton-
ed, to render them intelligible, it is not pi obahle that muse
than a hundred copies will ever be completed ; and if
tbar
whole of that number should be until, sat fifty guineas a
copy, 1 should sot he reimbursed my eapeases loi 'he two
first anima's of this work already published, I leave given
• short letter-press description of the plates; but fiudiug
that order the last Act of Parliament foe the encourage-
ment of learning, stay continuing to give such printed ex-
planations would subject me to the heavy tax of eke' is en.
pies of my work fur the public libraries, and deprive me of
several of my plischasers, some of those libraries having
bought my two had volumes, I have determined to omit any
letter-puss, and have engraved my title pages and list of
plates. lam convinced that few bunks of antiquities or na-
tural history, consisting chiefly of plates which are attended
with a very heavy expense, sad especially those which require
to be coloured, ear be published in this country with letter-
press, if the editors are thereby liable to be taxed with the
delivery talk eleven copies fur Ilse public libraries, and that
the publishers will he under the necessity either of omitting'
any printed description, or having Omni printed nu the coo-
tinsel, where much would be saved in the article of paper
done, the price of the larger sorts of which in this country
is extremely high in consequence of the heavy ditty on them.
I give 12 guineas per ream for the spiAllest paper which I use
fur this work, and 17 guineas fur the larger, which I am
obliged to employ on account of thesis' or bolllc of the plater.
(The witness here exhibited some plates for the loin rat ~,, al
the Committee.) I produce these prints fir ilic purpose of
showing that they could nut be explained without colours ;
I now exhibit one of the title pages, which the Committee
will observe is engraved, for it is necessary in order to etr sle
the present Act that every thing should he engraved.—
'llene plates represent Mosaic pavements discovered in this
country, and are extremely laborious. 1 hive given seven
ur eight shillings for printing a single print, and colouring
il. If I could sell tweiily-five copies ut this troth in Eng-
land 1 should be salisfied.

Has the de/ay hitherto, of publishing any of there plates
since the passing of the Act of 1814, been occasioned by that
Act?—Certainly, fur 1 Lave been preparing to adapt my
work according to she provisious of list Act, and to avoid
the obligation of delivering the eleven eupit ri f lave be. it
obliged to knee the subsequent plates publklicol without
any letter- prt ss, soil simply to give an intro ed list of sloe
plates, so as to prevent Cite claim on the part of the libra-
zies.

You hail intended to give descriptions of the plates
in let-
ter•prets
But you bate been obliged In nitre that intention, in con-
sequence of the late Act ?—Cerisinly.
'lke volume that 1138 published prior to the Act was ac-
companied by letter-prrav to each plate ?—lics.
iVhat proportion of letter-press was there In each plate
—To one, there were Iwo leaves; and to another. the Anti•
quilies of Woolletwater, there were m in). I think there
were twenty or wv.re pages.
The discovery of these Roman Antiquities has east you
many years labour and attention ? A pr.loil of twenty-
bee years.
The Committee would presume that you feel it to he im-
possible that soy thing like the •torne interest wool,' attach
10 these plates without the explattal ltlier•press to
each plate?—Certainly not; I introit bre. aft. r to print
same letter-press, probably on the Conliorilt, noel import it.
Which letter-peeve you would otherwise have !motet] in
ibis country ?—Yea. with the walk
Yon are keeper of the Reciiiila of the Tow.r of letiolon,
and greatly acquainted with worts of Etiglish history in