Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-23
THE NATIONS LITERATURE.
A PrOdtgiOus Display by the Publish
ers and booksellers Of Ihe United
states.
New York sun, July q

1 US anu hOoAseAAeEs or Ahe United
states.
New York sun, July %
The book publishers Of the country
have a new method Of rutting their
wares before the retail dealer and the
public, and yesterday opened in Clin-
ton Hall what is known as the Book
sellers Exchange and Clearing House. %
For many years the leading publishers
of New York, Philadelphia, and BOs-
ton have been accustomed to place all
of their overstOck IN Messrs. Leayitt 8
hands to be sold by auction to a con-
vention of country stOrekeepers, and
the result has been unsatisfactory to
all, the publisher being frequently
compelled to part with his goods at
ruinous rates, and the buyer as often
burdening himself IN the excitement
of bidding with a line of unstable
works. Accordingly at the summer
convention of 1874 a new system was
demanded, and the existing one was
proposed. Under it each publisher be-
longing to the association sends to an
annual fair common spt cimen library
of his publications, and this fair Is at
tended only by such booksellers as are
in good standing in business circles.
Each of these buyers must either pay
cash or must come well bOlstered with
endOTsers, and he can make any bar
gain as to price that the publishers viii
submit to-, There are no restrictions as
to the discount to be allowed, but the
lengths of credits is closely regulated
by the terms of the association, and is
a part Of Mr.. Leavitt's management.
Mr.. Leavitt investigates the financial
standing of each buyer, and if satisfied
of his responsibility, he takes his notes
for from four to SIX months, according
to the amount Of the purchase, and
himself pays cash to the publisher.
The publishers ike the plan, and so
does Mr.. Leavitt, but the buyers object
to the red tape of bringing forward en-
dorsers and of paying
MR.. LEAYITT's COMMISSION
for his agency. Therefore the proba-
bilities are that the sales in the Elk
change rooms will be small, and that
the buyers after selecting what they
want will 90 to the publishers Offices
and close the bargain without the in
tsrVentiOn Of Mr.. Leavitt. The dis
play vest erday filed the entire second
story of the Library building, and en-
braced over 10000 volumes. The room
usually OccuTied by Mr.. Leavitt was
filed with book. shelves, and the desks
in the reading room Of the Mercantile
Library, having been cleared Of news
papers, supported well-lOaded forms.
Harper a Bros. are exhibiting 1000
books, affOrding asample Of almOsteYery
edition printed on their presses, for their
sy temOf transacting business is TO keep
their books alive. If an edition drags
along for years before being exhausted,
as soon as the last book is sold another
edition is struck from the stereotype
plates, so that no one af the firm s
books is ever out Of print. A glance
over their shelves reveals many old
works, well known years ago, whose
sales d not now average one copy a
week. Carlton 4 Co. keep only live
works on their shelves and catalogues.
If a work does not 60 with a rush when
it is first printed, a second edition Is
seldom put forth, 50 that Of AL their
publications only 80 are In the market,
and those are largely made up Of the
works OF Mrs. holmes. Marion Har-
land, CAPTAIN Mayne Reid, Josh Bill
lings, Fanny Fern, and other writer's
of their class. Cassell, Petter 4 Galpin
show the largest collection Of choice,
flat gift books, huge in size and hand
sOmely illustrated; and Thomas Nelson
& Co. have their shelves filed with
eleven hundred volumes, largely various
editions Of the Bible.
NOAH wEBSTER's LIFE WORK.
In a conspicuous place G. & G. Mer-
Ram have a table filled with the only
book they ever published-Wsbster.s
Dictionary, It is served up IN nine
teen different editions, Of which the
most conspicuous is the great Una
bridged in many grades Of binding
Next to Harper's in size Is that of
3, 1000 volumes Of the Methodist Book
Concern. Scribner, Armstrong i Co.
have $500 samples on their shelves; j.
B. Lippincott & Co., Of Philadelphia,
have 1000; Lee & Shepard, $500; T.
B. Peterson & Bros, Of Philadelphia,
l 200: American Sunday School Union,
,2UO; d. Appleton 4 Co., Loco, Os
good & Co, 1000; Macmillan 4 Co.. |
900.
A notable fact in the trade is the !
Of the leading houses for
the control of the sale Of standard |
novels.
THE NOVELIST OF CIVILIZATION.
E5ery prominent house IN the Ex-
change yesteI day had at lesst one edi-
ton, of Dickens work on exhibition,
and it was usually the specimen on
which they wished to stake their repu-
tations. Peterson, Harper, Hurd &
and OsgOOd, had notably
beautiful sets, and many Of the smaller
houses, not able to carry a complete
edition of the favOrite novelist 8 works,
showed their appreciation Of the pOpu-
lar taste by exhibiting daintily bound
gift copies of some of his shorter stO-
rias.
Sheldon, Randolph, Dutton, O'Shea,
Putnam, Wiley, Little, Brown & Co,
Barnes, and enough other publishers
to make the whole number Of them
ninety, have specimen volumes ranging
from 200 to 500 each, and many of
them complain that they have notroom
enough to shelve all the books that
they are anxious to exhibit. In cor
of this it may be said that
the cellars are stored full Of huge
packing boxes, many Of which are still
and vet lhara docs NOT s.nm