The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1881-08-17
4 SECOND LITERARY RgVoE UfToN


The first literary revelation consisted in the
publication Of standard books in every depart
ment Of literature at from one-third TO one
tenth of their former cost.
The second literary revolution consists 10
still further very great reduction (conditionaD
even from the revolution prices, while, at the
same time, the average quality of the books
win continue to be materially improved.
HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE2
To attempt an impossibility could of cotrse
result only in failure, and It would be useless,
in our own interest or in that of the many
thousand customers who have shown us such
great patronage, to announce or promise what
could not be performed. We have dealt
frankly with our customers In giving facts
concerning costs and profits in the past, and
we do it now, by giving facts and figures
illustrating how we can afford to still further
reduce prices.
FACTS AND FIGURES.
Please note, at the start, our apology for
not having done heret6fore what we now pro-
pose to do, and consider
1st-We published our first book only so
long ago as January, 1870. Previous to that
time we were entirely without experience III
book publishing. What knowledge we had
Of the business was gained in newspaper pub
fishing, and in bookselling.
2d-We were also at that time almost en-
tire)y without capital, and until SO late as
February, 1881, we labored under the Diff
Guilty Of being without capital even approx
mately adequate for the magnitude of the
enterprise We were undertaking.
3d-Our entire scheme was in opposition to
all previous methods Of publishing and book
selling. And from the beginning to the
present, we have had the combined bitter OPP
and book-seling classes of the United States
4th-Starting thus, with minimum of
knowledge, and less capital, and with such
immense opposition, we thought 1t best, in the
interest of both the reading public and our
selves, that we undertake too little rather
than too much partial success would be bet
ter than total failure.
5th.-In spite Of our want of resources and
! OF experience, and in spite Of opposition, and
with the necessity of organizing and training
experiments, all of which no one could expect
would be uniformly successful we have from
January 1, 1880, to June 30, 1881, manufact-
ured and sold nearly 2,000, 900 volumes of
standard books for which we have received
the considerable sum of 500, 521.32
6th--In circular issued in January of the
present year we made the following state
ment: The public have so long been laugh.
! to believe books to be expensive luxuries and
| low npinpa fnlr oaeihla THAT 1noradrlitu haa
| from the first bean tia graz hsiaNia tina
| progress Of the Literary Revolution 1t was
easier to make good books cheap than 1t was
to make people believe it could be done. We
could readily have made prices even lower
than they have been, but for the terrible tax
we have been compelled to pay to this in
credulity."
We have during this period, from January
/, 1880. to June 30, 1881, paid for advertising,
the large sum of $40, 878.93. This immense
item necessarily has to come out of The profits
zoe make on the books sold.
7th-Although our scheme originally en-
bodied the principle of selling directly to the
consumer, and doing away with the exorbi-
| tant cost of middlemen, we have not under
taken to put aside the bookseller and the
book agent altogether, because large portion
| of the book buyers of the country have got
into the habit of looking to them for their
supplies, and If we we're to supply the wants
of such customers at ALL we were compelled
to do it through these ordinary channels.
| But we have endeavored to induce or compel
these middleriren to work, as we have been
doing, on more reasonably small percentage
OF profit (the Immensely increased sales at the
reduced prices, even with the smaller COM
missions, really give the bookseller larger
net profit than be formerly had.) According
| ly, we have during this period, from January
/, 1880, to June &c. 1881, allowed to the book
sellers and book agents, commissions ayerag-
ing about 25 per cent. of our total receipts
In other words, in addition to the $709, 521 81
we have received from the public for our
books, the public has also paid to the middle
men the large sum of $l77, $50 33 simply for
handling these books, making the total cost
of the books to the consumer $3.50, 001. So.
Sth--From these statements you can readily
see that if 5f
4 From the total amount which the
public has paid for books $3.50 90i 65
for Advertising these books si4o,s7soa
| And the amount paid to middlemen
for handling the BOOKS lH,Soo13
| We have total deduction of 1926
And remainder Of S5ss, 42.3s
Thus it is evident that If the public had
bought these books directly from us the un-
necessary expenses of advertising, and OF
paying mddlemen for handling them, being
avoided, the books would have cost them only
1858, 642. 80, being almost 30 per cent. less
than the 1886, 901.6 5 which they have paid fol
them, and our net proceeds would have beer
none the less.
/ A BETTER ILLUSTRATIONS.
The above figures show Clearly the pos
sftility Of great reduction from our prices al
heretofore given without diminishing our mel
income, but they do not necessarily show thai
1t is possible for us to manufacture and sci
books at such low prices without loss TO us
AS we have never made pretense Of publishing
books from charitable or philanthropc mo
tves, and do not wish our friends to think vi
are doing business at a loss, we will give /
conclusive and interesting illustration of how
we can afford these low prices.
LIBRARY OF UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE.
After labor of nearly two years by anablt
corps of American editors and writer's, FOL
whose services We have paid nearly $50, 600
we have within the brief period of less than
ten months made electrotype plates for tbs
Library of Universal Knowledge at cost Of
nearly $50, 900, making total investment or
this work of abort 100000. This labor al
being done and paid for, the Is large octave
volumes, making the largest Cyclop@dia ever
published in this conntfy, can be manufact
4 IL. <xE