The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-30 00:00:00

E BOOKSiLLING TRADE

A controversy, in which the public interests are very
closely concerned, has just now, after some years' duration,
assumed a critical appearance. One of the most quiet and
respectable of our national trades is seriously disturbed by
commotions within its own body, and it is by no means clear
to what result these differences may ultimately tend. The
booksellers of the kingdom are at strife among themselves;
• .

they are united in combinations and disunited by accessions,
while oppression and hardship are respectively practised and
endured by those who can exert power and those who are
compelled to respect it. To make these proceedings intelli-
gible to the general reader will require a little preliminary
exposition.
The bookselling trade has a character peculiarly its own.
It is composed of two classes, which may be termed those
of manufacturers and retailers. The manufacturers are
the publishers—that is to say, those tradesmen whose
business consists in printing and producing the com-
positions of authors in the form of books. These
books are subsequently distributed to the public
through the agency of retailers, or booksellers proper, who
obtain them from the publishers and sell them to their cus-
tomers at a profit. A book is a commodity which, for very
obvious reasons, always comes into the market with a fixed
and definite price, and unless, therefore, the bookseller could
secure an advance upon this price in his own sales, which is
a very improbable supposition, it is plain that he must
either go without profit or get some reduction of the original
price in his particular favour. The latter system is that in
use. A book has two prices—the publication price and the
trade price ; the former being that at which the public are
expected to purchase it, and the latter that at which the re-
tail salesman is permitted to procure it ; his own profits, of
course, being made out of the difference between the two. It
is ul on the disposal of this difference that the controversy in
question has arisen.
Nominally, the trade price is constituted by a deduc-
tion of one-fourth, or twenty-five per cent., from the pub-
lication, price ; but, practically, even this considerable dif-
ference is so increased by customary allowances of reckon•
log, that the actual deduction amounts to not less than one-
third. In other words, if a book is published at the
price of 15s. a copy to the general purchaser, a bookseller
can procure it for the purposes of retail trade at the price of
103., so that there remains ss. to cover his expenses and re-

turn him a profit on the transaction. Now, ft would slat's,
rally be concluded that the publishers having disposed o
their commodities to the retail dealers at a price regulated
by known considerations, would have no further concern in
the matter. It must be understood that this trade price re-
presents the bond fide cost of the whole book. It includes
the expenses of printing, binding, and so forth, together with
the remuneration of the writer, and when this price has been
paid by the retail dealer to the publishing house, both pub-
lisher 4nd writer ought to have received their fair dues as
assessed by themselves. The publishers, however, refuse to
terminate their interest in a book with its sale to the retail
dealer. They follow the retail dealer into his own
shop, and insist on dictating the disposal of the profits
they leave him. It is obvious that if a retailer
has procured a book for 10s. which is presumptively
saleable at 155., he has a very considerable margin to ope-
rate upon. He may either demand the full value of 15s. and
pocket his 30 per cent. gain, or he may reduce the gain upon
each book with a view of obtaining either a larger sale or
quicker returns. lie may sell his book for Hs., 125., 135.,
or any sum, in short, between 10s. and 155., according to the
temper of his customers or the accidental character of his
business. Nothing could seem more natural or proper than
that these arrangements should be left, as in all other trades,
to the judgment of the retailers themselves. But here the
publishers step in and say, "You shall not enjoy any such
freedom. You shall not dispense with any portion of your
personal profits except to such an extent as we prescribe.
To attract a cash customer you may take off Is. 6d. from
your 155., but no more. • The.rest you must put in your own
pocket, or you shall get no more publications of ours."
Such is the language held by the publishers, and their
conditions are enforced by an organized system of coercion.
An association has been constituted to which all booksellers
within 12 miles of the General Post-office are invited to be -
long. The members of this body sign a declaration to the
effect that they will not sell books to any general customer,
even for cash payment, at a greater discount than 10 per
cent., or, in other words, at a less profit than 23 per cent. to
themselves. In return for this pledge of fraternity they re-
ceive a ticket, and to none but the holders of this ticket will
the publishers supply any books except at the full publication
price ; so that any refractory retailer can,be absolutely deprived
at a single blow of all such portion of his business as consisted
in the sale of new books Any bookseller willing to
content himself with smaller profits than those
dictatorially assigned to him is described as an "under-
seller," and is forthwith deprived of his trade ticket by the
Executive Council of the Association, and placarded through-
out London as a man with whom, under pain of similar
penalties, all trade dealings are interdicted. Against this
imperious proscription many booksellers have rebelled, and
have applied, in their straits, to the authors themselves for
the works which the publishers refused to supply, till at
length the system has been found insupportable, and an ap-
peal is made to the public.
It will, no doubt, be alleged by the advocates of the existing
practice that it commands the assent of the vast majority of
the trade, as testified by their subscription to the rules.
This, however, can be no valid evidence, for, in the face
of such absolute powers as we have described, it is plain
that the number of those venturing to dissent would be ex-
ceedingly few. Conditions may be obviously dictated to
booksellers without much resistance by those who can debar
them from obtaining any books to sell. We have attentively
perused a circular, bearing date last month, in which the
regulations of the Amalgamated Publishers are directly
defended, but we cannot discover any valid reason for
this anomalous interference with the free course of com-
petition and the natural operations of trade. On the
other hand, as the great publishing houses are generally
retailers themselves, and as they thus take profit in a
double capacity, they would seem to have an obvious in-
terest in exerting their powers as publishers to enhance
their remuneration as booksellers. We hardly see how
the difference between the actual cost of a book's production
and its price to the general purchaser can represent any-
thing but the cost of the agency by which the books are
distributed ; and if this agency can be performed, as is plain,
upon terms more reasonable than those assumed, it is diffi-
cult to imagine why the public should be excluded from the
benefit of the condition. If the author and publisher of a
book ate both remunerated by a price of 103. a copy, and
agents can be found in abundance to undertake its distribu-
tion for 2s. more, why should these agents be compelled to
demand and the public to pay a sum of 13s. 6d. instead of
12s. ? These considerations, on appeal to us duly made, we
have felt bound to submit to the verdict of opinion. If
anything can be said for the system which is not apparent
on its surface, the readers of the Times will doubtless hear
of it; but in the meantime we must express our belief that
the remonstrant booksellers have shown a very good case.—
Times.

The commercial adrices from the continent con•
tinue wholly devoid of interest, except so far as they relate
to the speculative proceedings of the French Government.
The conversion of the Five per Cents. will be settled during
the present veek, Saturday being the last day for expressing
dissent. Of course, up to the latest moment it will be im-
possible to form an estimate of its probable success, from the
absence of claims for reimbursement, since few would be
likely to throw away the chance of what each day 'nay
ear
bring forth by prematurely exercising their option. From
the present state of the market the result would app
doubtful, but any operations that may be contemplated for
the purpose of influencing prices would naturally be delayeted
d,
so as to tell at the critical period, while, if the ant.icipa
declaration of the Empire is to take place to-morrow, it
might
also be made to appear as a consequence of that event.
From the decrees published this morning, howaYer'
one step, which must influence the market appears
already to have been adopted, in the announcement
the tha
imt a
is t
I sum equal to about 400,000/., out of the proceeds of.
.t-
-ber from the confiscated estates of the Orleans family,
nour o
be invested in Rentes as a subsidy for the Legion uf flo.
Among the new railway arrangements itns is menti9ne d n
and
tnd
permission has been given to the Lyo and Avign9
combine for
the Avignon and Marseilles Companies to
the construction of a line to Alontpelier, which will
complete the link to Cette. It is also stated that the two
companies which were competing for the Bordeaux ,hd
an amalgamation.
Cette concession have agreed upon
Whether the original promoters are to
la9t
blit recelve justice
by a reilll4 a 9194 c3,uti9a-ra99e74 14