The Winchester appeal. [volume] (Winchester, Tenn.) 1856-1856, 1856-06-07
Book-Making in America.

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books, not including periodicals,
amounts to more than three hundred.
About three lourths of these are en-
gagged in Boston, New York, Philadcl-
phia, and Baltimore; the balance be-
ing divided between Cincinnati, Buff
falo, Auburn, Albany, Louisville, Chi
cago, st. Louis, and few other places.
There are more than three thousand
booksellers who dispense the publica-
tions of these three hundred, besides
six or seven thousand apothecarics,
groccrs and hardware dealers, who
connect literature with drugs, molas.
scs and nails.
The best printing in America is
probably now done in Cambridge; the
best cloth binding in Boston; and the
best calf and morocco in New York
and Philadelphia. In these two lat
ter styles we are, as yet, q long dis
tance from IIeyday, the pride Of Lon
don. His finish is supreme. There
is nothing between it and perfection.
Books have multiplied to such an
extent in our country, that it now
takes $50 paper mills, with 5000 en-
gincs in constant operation, to supply
the printers, who work day and night
to keep their engagements with pub
fishers. These tireless mills produced
27O,00O,000 pounds Of paper the past
year, which immense supply has sold
for about $27,00O,GO0. A pound and
a quarter of rags arc required for o
pound of paper, and 40o,000,00O
pounds were therefore consumed in
this way last year. The cost Of man
ulacturing a twelvcmonths' supply OF
paper for the United States, aside from
labor and rags, is computed at $4,000,
900.
Some idea of the stock required to
launch a popular work may be gather
ed from Messrs. Longman's LEDGER
These gentlemen report that when
25 600 copies of Mr. MAcaul ay's two
recent volumes flying abroad from
Paternoster Row, no less than
5000 rcams ofpaper, six tons of paste
board, and 1000 yards Of ca leo, We're
swallowed up.
Most ofthc large publis hing houses
now stereotype everything they in
tend to print. The clectropying pro-
cess is largely employed; ana an eX-
pertinent is now being made in Boston,
of which we shall hear more at some
future time, which, if successful, will
decrease the expense Of stereotyping
about one third. We have lately
heard that q machine is in use in New
York for type setting, and that the sec
ond volume of Mr.. lrving's Life OF
Washington was prepared for the
press by its aid.
Four hundred years ago, q single
book of gossipping fiction was sold be-
fore the palace gate in the French
capital for fifteen hundred dollars
The same amount Of matter contain
ed in this expensive volume, Mr.. Har-
per now supplies for twenty-five cents
Costly books, however, are not yet out
of fashion, for VIC arc all glad to know
that seventeen hundred subscribers
have already been obtained for Prof
Agassiz's splendid new enterprise.
The Harper establishment, the lar
gest of our publishing houses, cover:
half an acre Of ground Ii old Mr.
Caxton, who printed those stOlies Of
the Trojan war SO long ago, could fol
low the ex-Mayor of sNew York city
in one of his morning rounds in Frank
lin square, he would be, to say the
least, a little surprised. He woul.
see in one room the floor loaded witt
a weight of $50 tons of presses. The
electrotyping process would puzzle
him somewhat; the drying and press
ing process would startle him; the bus
tie would make his head ache; ant
the stock-room would quite finish him
An edition of Harpers Magazine
alone consists of 100000 copies. Few
persons have any idea how large
number this is as appliedto the editio
of a book. It's computed that fthcs
magazines were to rain down, an
one man should attempt to pick then
up like chips, it would take him fort
night to pick up the copies of one sin
gle number, supposing him to pick u
one every three seconds, and to wor
ten hours a day.
The rapidity with which books ar
, now manufactured is almost incredi
BILE. A complete copy oil Bulwer'
novels, published across the water i
three volumes, and reproduced her
in one, was swept through the pres
in New York in SO hours, and olerc'
for sale smoking hot in the Streets
The fabulous edifice proposed by
Yankee from Vermont no longer seem
an impossibility. Build the establish
ment according to my PLAN said he
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