St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1884-10-25
Fashion i'm Bibles.

clpal English DlDie puOIlcdtIou HOUSES
now on one of his tri-yeariy tours from
New York through the largest Western
cities, said. as he pointed to 4 room full of
samples of Bibles ud prayer-books:
Fashion enters into the Bible business
and the styles have1leyer been 50 nu-
merous as now. When Moody and
Sankev were in the zenith of their fame
in this country, it was observed that
MIR. Moody used Bible bound in limp
covers, the leather of which projected
and turned down over the edges. 1t
was q Bible published BY compare
tive!y small London house, and had as
an appendix concordance. and much
chronological and general Bible infor-
nation, such as description of all ami
mails, mountains, etc, mentioned in the
Bible. Although this Bible retailed rs
high rs S1i, every Bible student was
bound to have one rs soon as it was
found that Mr.. Moody used one, and
the publishers made fortune and
scornfully rejected overtures from one
of the richest Bible publishing houses
in London. Then the latter company,
who enjoy the title of the Queens pub
fishers, employed Bible students, who
wrote matter for an appendix As exhaust
i've as that of the Bible used by Mr..
Moody, and we have sold a million and
a quarter of them. This immense sale
was largely due to the interest in Bible
study melted by Moody and Sankey.
The revised New Testament had an im-
mense sale for awhile. and then fell flat,
and very few are sold now. the old ver
I. T.
to introduce the King James version,
and the people will be just as slow in
accepting the latest translation.
"The English can undersell the Amer
cans in small Bibles and PRAYER books.
but the Americans have monopoly
in the sale of large family and pulpit
Bibles. Very few illustrated Bibles are
demanded. the Dore Bible being the
most popular of these. Limp Turkey
morocco bindingis all the go now. The
Turkey morocco that is used in these
bindings is technically called Persian
leather and is goat skin tanned in Per-
sia. 1t is easily worked ard emb psSed
i'm over hundred different STYLES.
Here is an imitation of leopard skin,
here of armadillo shell, and here of
ivory. Then there are the renaissance
calf, the Nile Persian. the India Per-
sian and the genuine antique croco-
die bindings, small Bible bound in
the latter selling for Sl5. Episco-
pal prayer books and hymn-books
are bound separately and enclosed to-
gether in sort of portfolio with ;,n in-
geniously arranged handle. We are
compelled, by the rules of the church.
to bind them in two distinct volumes,
because we have to pay a royalty of ten
per cent. on the hymnal, which money
goes to the fund for the support of in
digent pastors. Catholic prayer-books
are a profitable branch of trade. be-
cause there are so many versions. They
are all the same in substance and vet
differ in words and titles, such as The
Kew of Heaven, etc. There are three
great Bible publishing houses in Lon
don. The limited number is due to the
fact that large capital is required to
successfully conduct the business. My
firm is one of these extensive houses.
They call themselves the Queens
printers, and their right to do so arises
from patent centuries old.
"TiIl l756 the printing of the English
Bible was open to any one who could
obtain the royal license, but few were
able to do so. Wilkes, Queen Eliza
beth's Ambassador TO France, Holland
and Germany. was for some time priv
ileged as Her Maiesty's printer in The
English language. This patent was
sold in part to John Jugge. son of the
printer of the Bishops Bible, but a
great outcry was raised against the
monopoly and number of people on
one occasion openly denounced it. An
other and more extensive patent was
for great sum. In 1889 Barker OBJ
tanned direct patent for himself and
his son Robert. Robert extended his
patents to 1917. The patent was for a
time assigned to Bonham Norton and
John Bile, but in 1855 Robert Barker
paid E600 for another extension. The
Barker's interest lasted 13O years, ex-
piring in 1909, when it became the
property of the Baskets, who sold it
for 10000 to the ancestors of our
house. The first Bible ever printed in
this country is now owned b. Mr.. +.
Hooker away up in the Pocono Noun
tains. PENNSYLVANIA, who has refused
10000 for it. Some wretched vandal
tore out the title page, but forgot to
remove the title page of the New Testa-
ment, which bears the imprint OF Chris
topher Barker, whom have just mem
toned. "-Cleceidnd Herald.
"A young lady in Ulster County. n.
Y, called at lawyers office in King
ston the other day and asked to have
suit begun against a former lover for
breach of promise. ..He promised to