New-York tribune., 1885-01-26
NOTES ON BOOKS
WITH Mr.. HENRY STEVENS AND MIX
GEORGE AUGUSTUS sALA AS AUTHoRl'

lfkon iiH LASDoE,' Dec. 80.
"Wbo Spoils our New English Books" is the
ouestion Asked and Answered by Henry stevens Oh
Vermont IN a little book which has not been
spoiled BY anybody The paper which is here re-
urinted was read before the Library Association at
cambridge in October, 1882. Some of the MALE
factors whose iniquitss it set in the light OF day'
tbouaht il. remember too mercless in Its expos
ure Plaipspoken il certainly is, but IN times whel
avery outrage upon good taste in the making oi
hooks is brazenly defended by ITS authors vi
"trade, principles no speaking can be 100 piai'
Mr. Stevens for the rest, has never Deeh 'housuv
mealy-mouthed. He is an authority on DOCKS oio
and new. and has learned to judge the new by the
AID. almost the only standard of merit left us III
these days. -,
Time was. as Mr. Stevens tells US, when hahu-
some book and new English book were synonym
Gus terms 1t is so no longer. Out OF every 70"
new books ordered from the Row, nine VIII coino
limpng in all misshaped IN some particular Vi "
other Their makeup is discreditapie; the page 10
not in proportion to the margins. and the margins
CORRESPOND not unto the size of the paper. The
1eaaino ia defective or the headlines are MIS-
placed. The paper on which they are printed Is
sboddv paper The ink is sallow The type is
worn or i-cut ill-spaced, ill-pointed. The press
work is hasty, and the pages crooked rom 'ne
paper not being laid square to the FORM Inc pihu-
or has ploughed the margins deep and generally
left the bottom margin narrower thah 'he .op
though il should be twice as broad-ohe VI 'no
most nnsiohtly of all faults. And yet Mr. Stevens
assnrcs us that the greedy publisher and all MS
,roodv craftsmen each of whom has contributed
"a spoil the volume, have really gained little by
their reckless avarce. 1t costs but little more W
make beautiful and durable book than 10 make
q clumsy aud ugly one. But the fartalns OF '"o
which is stolen from the book IN each OF these pro-
cesses is a tribute to business principles.
The decadence in the manufacture OF Ehglisn
hooks is too plain to be denied, unless it DE by the
nnblisber of some work for which market has to
he found. Mr.. Stevens, however, admits that an
attempt has been made to persuade the pubic tha'
beautiful books are still to be bought.
"We are not unmindful of the mastery efforts
of certain recent printers to retrieve TINS
by throwing on to the already oyerburdenes d trade
several bir. heavy and voluminous works OF stand
ard authors termed 6dItiens de luxe so 1ar tne
intelligent consumer in this small lslanu mas suG-
that this enterprise may be counted as another
downward step in the noble art OF
bookmaking in this country Many sets tn
America. but some of them are already quietly
finding their way back, being lll-smteed 10 th'
wants and taste of that practical people,
Mr.. Stevens treats his subject methodicahy a.
well as puugenty has distributed his evil -doers
tially on the back of each. He does not forget to
nav tribute of respect to those who have done
well. among whom he honoraby distinguishes the
late Mr. William Pickering, as publisher, and the
late Mr. Charles Whittingham, as printer lie sug-
gests remedies as he goes along, but the general
remedy he proposes is nothing less than tne estap-
fishing of school of typography, in which every
dscine of these ten tribes shall study recognized
grammar of book manufacture. Then, he hopes
.the art of bookmakng will drift back into the
practice of those same laws of proportion, taSie'
and workmanship so well settled and displayed IN
old manuscripts and old books, large and small
long before and long subsequent to the birth
typography" The elegant little volume in which
this sonnd doctrine is set forth is published by the
authors son, Mr. H. V. Stevens, and teaches by ex-
annie as we'll as by prccept. The American pub
fisher might learn much from it, if he would =
among other things not to send his volumes into
the world without inis, colophon, or so mucn as
dash to signify that the end is como.
Our friend Mr.. Sala, who is now on his way TO
lecture the American people, left behind him an
interesting little lecture 10 the British Nation OH
book collecting. Heoiferstwo pieces ofadyce to the
book-collector who is poor, and to the biblomaniac
in whose madness there is some method.
The first must get together las many
books on as many possibly conceiv-
able subjects as ever his means will allow him
to do:, an exhortation which might ftly be ad-
dressed with a correction two of phraseology, 10
the trustees of the British Museum. The second
"should be continually on the lookout Tin remote
suburbs, on the shabbiest boOkstails at brokers'
shops, and if need be, in costernongers barrows
in the New-Cut) for works which his reading tells
him are curious and which his experience conylnces
him are scarce" For these he is To pay from Elk to
eighteen pence, then-here the reader is to take a
long breath: Then he should spend from one 10
three guineas on the binding of his book and
calmly live on in the hope that the world Will lind
it after many days when the collector is sold up
and reward his quietly speculative investment
with good round sum-"
There would be nothing to be said against these
extraordinary precepts were they but addressed to
millionnares hard up for amusement and careless
about throwing away money. Nor is there the least
need of putting the experienced collector on his
euard: he knows too well that Mr.. Saa
is talking nonsense. But If he is going
to repeat it to the ingenious youth OF America,
word Of caution may not be amiss albeit the lngen-
nous youth Of America must have grown moro In
genuous than he used to be if he needs even this
word No doubt curious and scarce books are still
to be found on book stalls and even
on barrows, but Mr.. Sala confeunds
two very different things when he advises your
buying them-their value as mere curiosities and
their value present or prospective, as objects OF
commerce. The world is full of such books-books
which are difficult to find because nobody wants
them or would give enough for them to pay dealer
for finding them. catalogue of books rare in this
unscientlfc sense would I'LL library In the bibli-
ographIcal sense book is not unless it also
sought for-unless it belongs in one of those we'll
defined categories of books which are collected,
catalogued, competed for. Mere rarity is nothing.
Mr. Sala's experience may tell him that his coster-
mongers treasures are scarce, though his expert
ence, or that of any casual collector is worth lit
tie in such matter. But will it tell him that the