The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-08-28
A WALL FROM THE HUB.
The Decline of Boston as q Liter.
ary Center-Culture Moving
West.
Boston Advertiser.

Inc surprising taDleS OIL clrcuIatl n pup.
lished by the public library, as We have
already remarked, throw some light upon
the reading which is done by the people Of
Boston. When fully analyzed two infer
ences NAV be drawn from the records Of
the library. In the first place, reading in
Boston is relatively more popular than it is
in any other great city OF the country
saw, in any city having more than $50, 200
inhabitants. In the second place, the pub
lie library has taken an ho"est and honor.
able part in improving the character of he
books actually resi-. But whether Boston
is to remain the literarycenter of the cOun-
try is little less certain. The golden era
of our literature is about t. close, although
DR.. Holmes, Mr. Lowell Mr.. Whittier, Mr..
Parkman, Mr.. Winthrop, the Atlantic
Monthly, and their publishers are still with
US.
On the other hand, some excellent pub
fishing, formerly peculiar to Boston, has
gone elsewhere. Within recent Years Bos-
ton has lost The North American Review,
which, as quarterly, aimed at the highest
scholarship aud he best literature OF the
country. A like fate has befallen the
American Law Review, which has gone to
st. Louis, and leaves Boston so much
poorer. We have lost Emerson and Long.
fellow, as we'll as Fields, whose name has
reflected so much honor and credit upon
Boston publishing Nor have their places
been filled by better men. Bancroft's his
tory is no longer published in Boston.
Boston depends upon Oth-r cities for the
best medical, legal and scientific journal.
And also in law books, as we'll as history,
we have los, ground, absolutely and rela-
lively, rs T r as publishing goes. Nor
should the tact be disguished that Boston
contains, at the present time, compare
lively few boOk-cOiiectOrs OF the highest
typ. Probably few private gentlemen in
Boston make ii point to collect a library
of English history, oi poetry, OF the an
Client classics, or of great speciality. BOs-
ton, however, is absolutely better supplied
with scholarly journals and readin9 than
is New York, though in publishing there
has been a marked change shen the Bos-
ton books Of to-day arr compared with the
rank of the 20, ks ten, twenty and thirty
years ago. Publishing has gone, 10 a con-
extent, to New Y rk, and lstt.rly,
into western cities, inclu ling San Fran
cisco. Besides this commercial change,
there has been change also in public
opinion and In the encouragement which
our publish. rs receive when they issue none
but high grade books. The publishing
which pays best is that which Offers Ii: ht
literature oil the sparkling kind, provided
the books are attractive and cheap in price.
Now, it is uDqu stionxble that Boston
and its suburb, c. mbridge, do the best
printing in the Uried States. 1t is
equally certain that our publishers are par
tial to high grade books. There is no Bos-
ton publisher who confines himself to re-
prints, to cheap publishing, or to that lit
erature which pays the best. And yet. We
seem to have lost ground scmewh It, as ap-
pears from the growth Of publishing in
other cenIers, and from the public favor
which is lsvished upon cheap or illus
Irated literature. The great English his
tories, for instance. are published in New
York rather than in Boston; so are the
great encyclopedias, and 50 are the scien-
Iitic classics like Spencer, TyndAll and
Huxley. In medical literature we are sur
passed by Phiiadelphia; in the pnbiica-
ION Of purely learned journals by Balti-
more. And throughout the country q
marked pref. renee is shown for light read
nR of the pleasant kind. if it he but cheap.
no special blame rests with
booksellers ard Librarians.
But the tast. OF the reading public. both
n Boston ami elsewhere, stands in need Of
IN improvement and Of more elevatiDg
endencies.