, 1875-01-17

v.
editor Of tho Register and Gen LEn7 II the
xs.s not its parents, thsy oagit to discover VII
~. Their regulations for sense arc at stake.
Il. BnQREILEEa-u
I HuTonf or 7nc BOOKSELLERS: TIE o1D I'M
TEx NET. J:J IsS4sx CunEE1. 12no., pp. "a
London: Chatts = Wtntua.
Mr. Curwen begins his account Of the grea
English publishers and booase lers OF the pres
cnt century with h.stors J: the I,ongmans
T1ds house. will, the exeersson OF tho Riving
toni, is The eldest in Londo-; aa1ing bcsn found
ed in 1724- Snce iss establishment there Laf
not failed 70 % Thomas Locgm8n at the head
Of lie fuu. son OF tho Same name being alvars
ready to succeed 70 the business on the death oi
bis fsthsr- Tho reputation and prosperity Q,
tho house hsTe been founded upon the publicac
ton Of claasica. and educational literature,
Durirg the early aaroer OF ths Longnans il
vas the custom Of booksellers to unite in
the expe1ss and profit IT the Issue OF
heavy 7orks; and acccidnsly We find
this frm sh<rins in the publication Of 1ohnsoa'e
~Dcdonary," this "CycloEad1a" Of E2hrzim
Chambers. Johnson's 'sLives OF tho Poets, :"
~Gl B!as, +" e Humphrey Clinker," aud ..Ras-
se1.s." In 1794, the house had embarked :e103,-
90 IN various publications. Among these WEE
Mur1ays "EnElish Grammar one OF the moat
profitable schoo'-books ever issued from the
fesa- Tbe annual Esle OF the ''Ab1idsment. :"
IN England alous, WAS from 48 600 to $1,000
eoIEes- 49,,
Among other less valuable copyrights owned
b. the firm vas that OF tho - Lyrical Ballads, :"
Ito joint production Of Coleridee and Words-
worth. This volume, which contained Cole
diSea ..Ancient Mariner, vas first brought out
BY Cottla OF Bristol. and when, two yeara later
Qsoo), he sold his eutire copyrights to the Long
r.as tho price got upon this WAS 0. Tho f1ss
EDITION Of the work WAS finally worked of,
snd then Wordsworth, detachng his own poems
md adding several new ones, Obtained from
Loagnan E100 for tbs use Of the two editions !;
but the Arrangement waa not lucrative to the
Bookseller. Longman continued the publisher
pf Wordsworth, 1nd in 1867 Issued two volumes
containing many of the poets choicest pieces,
which met with no SUCCESS. In 1824 the :. E1-
cotlion appeared, bnt i: took six years to sell
The first edition OF 50s copies. So 1ate a 1899,
Wordsworth remarked With bitterness '4that he
hx! worked bard through long ifc for less Pc
ensIary emclnment than public performer
s+:ns for two or three sonss."
Tho roturns from tho poetry OF Coleridee and
Bosttcy veze. in the beginning, scarcely mora
encouraging. 6oushey's profits On Madoc"
amounted. in the frat twelvemonth, to
8 pounds, II shil1ings, and = panny. In
dir gust, he writes to q friend: "Books
ars now So dear t1ahs they are becoming
articles Of fashionable furniture mora than
s2ching elso; they who do buy them do
not ,ekd, and they WHO read them do not buy
thcr1- L hare seen Wiltshire clothier who
sises his bookseller no other instruction than
tho dimensions OF his shelves; and havs just
heard Of Liverpool merchant who Is fitting up
4 library. lnd has told his bfbliopole to sand him
Shakespeare, Milton, and Pope. and, il any OF
Ii ase fellows should publish anything new, to
Let him have 1t immedlasely. II Madoo' OBJ
ta;ns any celebrity, its size and cost will recon-
mend it to those gentry hdyos consumer nati,
BON to buy octaEos and halp the revenue"
Co1etidge'e Translation OF Schillcrs 4Wallestcin,"
brought out by Lougm2n in 1900, remained on
Ehe publishcr's ehelves sixteen yeara. and then
Ba]d rapidly at an advanced price.
Il 1862 the house Of Ionguaan paid Scott
c5co for 1.-The Lay OF the Last Minstrel, After
KAr2s adding E1o0, Is handsomely given to Rup-
ply the loss OF a fine horss which broke down
s1d3eoly whl;e the author was riding with one |
IT tho worthy publishers" In twenty-eight |
gcsrs, a po9 copies Of the poem had beeu aold.
It Ia said. but the statement rcsta on infrm |
authority, thst Ecctt received upwards OF Ecu,- |
20 from thees publishers in fifteen years. they |
having issued ''Guy Nannering" and ths |
y Monastery" In the meantime.
In 1914 1Ir. Long man e1tered into m arrange
:::cat with Thomas Moore, whereby ths latter
nr.u IN ra,.;rn mn far man ~ fha 1aYrvft
Il " Rokeby:" In pursutnco OF this agreement, |
EIone retired from London to ''a lone cottage |
Emong the fields OF De1byshire. where he wrote |
IalIa Ropkt. +" y work Those success justified |
he l1rge prica tho publishers paid fur it. Dec.
3; 1873 Moore xnxde note in his
tiEry which Elbows the subst.ntial estimation,
a nna casa 1t leest, In which the poem was held
y bis readers: '.The young Bristol lady who
neloeed ma .fe after reading 'Lalla Rookh haa
ny iandahle IDEAS on tho subject; .ne, II -ev-
~ raader Of 'Lalla noolh had done :ho same,
need nsvar h1ra written again" But ono OF
he most Euocessio1 xorkn that ever bore the i'm
,=lnt OF Longman WAS the History OF E1-
'ikad By Macaulay. The first tTo volumes
10 Issued in 1873, and within six months five
xlihsona, numbering Ii, COO copies, Ind been dis
Md Of. In seven years the aa1e Of these two
nssanazs 1:sd reached in. England nearly 10000
apos; while IN the United States, in fvo years.
hkd reached 125. 900 copiea. For the ngLt Of
'ubiizhing this portion Of the work for ten yeara
aacau1ay coceived from Mr. Lougman EG0o per
aauu, retaining in his Own hal,ds the copy
isls.-,* :
Hhea the eecond and third volumes OF the
History" mere published, the, sale uaa stl1 |
aoQe extraordinary The entire impression OF |