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

COPYRIGHT.
Extracts trots the evidence token before the Select
Cwmmittee of the Honor of Commons, on the
Copyright Acts in April end May, IBM

(Concluded feeni a
,conster Paper.)
Mr. Joseph Hassling called is, wed examined.
Are yon a bookseller ?—Yes.
And • partner In the lutist of Larkingion. Hughes, Hard-
ing, Mayor, and Junes, in Finsbury.square?—Yes
Arc you at inform engaged in the publication of any
w•oks d 4 considemblo impress, ?—Yes.
tWhat works are ',on publishing of that description?—We
are potilishieg an edifies§ of Dug.tales Moisastwon Ang
li.
mown, in four or five fnlio volumes ; li/imitate's History of
St 01111P11 C4l/1- 41.,1; Portraits of Illustemo• Prisonsges of
G.•'4l Britsies, it. two folio volorns., wish 120 portraits and
envenom; Ormerod's History of Cheshire ; Wood's Ashen:
Ozoniensis, in sit volumes, quarto, they are Ike petucipal
works we use po'ilishing at tits time.
What wid n e delivery of eleven copies of these works
amount to?-al I. delivery of eleven copies of these works
will agonise' 1.. 2,1981. 14s
Have you a list of then, stating the amount of each •
seta ?—Flevreis cosines ..1 Ougdale's Monasticism An.
glecaorre, will he an absolute lom of 8191 ; the loss upon
Disedsle's History of St. Csihrdisl will lw 1091.;
the lots upon the Portraits of the Illustrious Persist:ages of
Gres! Britain, will be 1130/.; the him upon Orieserod't Hiss
hill of Ch"bire• will he 2431. Ills These tour sums
•mostioll to 1.9211. 10..; and the lust upon Wood's Adieus,
011011i1P11Pill, a ill he 2771 4s.
What lota was Pt 1141411.411 by the delivery of eleven estrus
copies of Mr Roiling's History of Coinage?—The less opus
eleven copies Or History of Coinages amounted Its
154/ ,• it wit an aetoat Item of that sum. 1nC411041 within six
111011111.1 alter the publication of the book, every copy wits
sold at 14/. a copy ; and if he had had ODA.e eleven copies
to sell, be would have had 154/. more to receive.
Can you Haile the comparative priers of English Woks
r, inted in Loudon, and the same works printed slimed ?
I hove the prieet of setae Eueislo I 1 printed on the
e•oirtineist, chub may throw light Noun that question.
3liscellaseaus Winks, with hit Memoirs, ',limited
at I:atle in seven volumes octavo, are sold retail for twenty-
Esc issue., *kick in English money atuounli 111 shoot a
guinea. The price of the London Edition of the same hook,
to five outmost itasts, is W. bs. ; Home's History of Eng-
land, from the IIIV,P.01:1 of Julio+ Creme to the Revolution
in laaS, pobliybril in twelve volsones ociari., is sold at
fiii Iy.fiee rimes retail prier, which is •Most 3ss. the price in
lamiloo is 3/ 12s. small paper, aiul Si. 12s, if printed its
korge piper; Robertson's History of Scotland, published in
three octavo volumes, is printed and sells fur 12 (saner,
about 10s., the price of the London edition, in three Imlay..
V. 0111111., is 11. 1..; Itoscur's History of ihr Medici
iniblished in four ',shrines octavo, is sold for le frolics, shoot
13t. 4ii. the lansilim price is 11 1 ls. 6,1.; Pope's Winks,
wills notes, by Winton, published in nine octavo volumes,
ire sold for 25 Pounce, 461011 l a guinea, the London price,
so fro volumes octavo, is five glIIIIIMS; the price of John-
son and Stecven's Shakspeare, published ill twelity•ihrre rip
tomes octavo, o nth sixty plates, is 60 francs, about 21. lOs the
London edition, published in twenty-one volumes, octavo,
without any plates at all, is sold at twelve (11111 Call on small
paper, and on laric piper foe eighteen guineas.
What is the price of bird Clarendon's History of the Re.
hellions taking with you thst the book beluogs to the Uni-
versity of (Word, and C4111..11 Ise printed by any other
thsn the Utriversity printa ?.-The laniiion prier of the
.os:y edition which she Clarendon Press has printed fie
• ,tint lot amounts to 71. 17s. dil small, and fifteen guineas
large. There is out a Pllllll edition of the wink i/I sell,
Bough greatly demaisiled. The price of au octavo i-ditime
coo,iai lig of tot lye volumes, primed on the Cooti neat, sells
:11.141,.1 for tisiriy-six resins. or about 1/. Hit,
Hssc you Pl..l.llolrit publishing any worka tram the preg-
ame of &limo-log rte vet. copies, besides Mr. Rutting's a His.
tie s' the C.1114.,:er —Yes, tie have.
Is there any Meonveutence n, 04111.. what they see ?—We
hare declined republishing Seem's.; Barclay's a Ship of
Fools," a fotoe volume of great rarity and high price. Our
prohable demand would sot have been mom than fur 100
copies at the pier of twelve 'Nimes each. The delivery of
eleven copies to the public libraries decided us against en.
tering tutu the spectilatioa. These is another work which
we 'ism declined printing, materially front the pressure of
the eleven copies, which is a work of great valve : it is " A
Series of Views ref onto, to the Architectural Antiquities of
Normandy," by Mr. Cormaii,of Varmooth ; it is • work pt.--
claim-1y intermits,: to antiquaties and to architects, but to
fee other classes of society; it relates to the Architectural
Antiquities of Not-messily,
Du you think, from your experience as • bookseßer, that
a cousidersble number of pinch: users of that class of books
sufficient, if they had einitinurd in the 'woke*, to have sup-
ported that blanch of publication, have been taken out of
the market by this gratuitous supply of books to the public
libras ies?—Very materially: I thissk to.
The Committee understand that you were the undertakers
of Vie rem int of that very important old work of English
poetry, called, a The Mirror for Magistrates," which was
printed in three volumes quarto !—Ycs, we were.
Was not the loss of eleven copies upon that work • very
iconsideroble loss ?oaf' was • loos of 110 guineas; and we
should not have lief. astir to have supplied the copies to
the public litirsiies if the work had not torsi five or six
years printisag, in enuaequence of whist' some of the sub-
scribers had declined.
Do you slot think that the supply to the public libraries
of these stereo Cllllll.l materially damps the curiosity and
wish to purchase of private purchasers?—Yu
The Committee would wish to ask you this question,
namely, IVlwther, in treating fur a reprint of any work, you
would wit refuse considerable improvements for the purpose
4./ pr. vesitisig the &horsy of the eleven copies to the public
libririrs?--1 would.
For immure, if a law book was offered to you for repr;ot.
ieg in a sew edition, in which smelt important new matter
might be intrudeced,suid many additional references cited
iu varioot parts of the hook, would you say to the author,
a cannot *Row that; I cannot take the book upon these
terms; for, in that case, I shall be liable to deliver the eke.
vets copies'"-1 should.
Them, in that respect, you think she existing Act operates
materially to prevent the nupromniest of books in succes-
sive editions?—ls would as.
Do you know any thing shout Mr. Thimbles Decasneronl
Do you hams whether the whole impression has been sold?
—lf they are out sold, they are so nearly sold that they are
difficult to be got.
DO you consider that Mr. Hardin has lost the full benefit
of the value of the eleven copies delivered to Ilse libraries?—
Yes
Do you recollect the price of the book?—Nine guineas.
What did he sell it to the trader for?—At different prices,
-eight, Moe, sold ten guineas, 1 believe.
Might it be taken safely at an average of eight guineas Ns.,
4 think so.
Then lie lost eiftlity•eiglit guineas?—Yes.
Mr John Marlin called its, cad exasented._

Are you nut engiged in the publication of Mr. Doderelra
Scenes and Muoismenta of Greece?—We are.
What would he the price of a complete copy of that work ?
—About thirty guineas.
What will the engraving of the plates and the colouring of
them cosi yon?—Alrout 3,0001.
What would be the amount of the eleven copies of that
w irk to be supplied to the public lair-tries at the selling
pricrA !—The selling price would he 130 guineas.
And wh.t would be the trade price ?—the trade price will
be abuser 275/.
It the cow.. were to go diirctly from the publisher to the
aufseriber, or the pnbluc, what puce would the pub:ishrr get
(mewl' roily copies which we oursr.via reccive
slam:swill 1111 i for. produce us the full prier; tit such as
are take.. by other publishers, we of course have only the

Insole price'.
Shunld you rxpecl any of the eleven libraries lob. sob•
scribers to thy. w•,rk, of the C 110491 wrre lint itiliverril in
Irgal •.bhgstton?-1 should ilipret Obey
mould. 1 ate by a teference to a bout; ou the saw subject,