The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-15
sTnE A B Il
Anthony ComstOck SURPRISES a New and
Costly American Edition.

/ New YORK, Feb. IA number of big liter
airy guns in various parts of the country will
learn this morning that Anthony Comstock has
forbidden a wel[known bookseller of New York
to furnish them with a work for which they re
Gently subscribed. There was, at a compare
lively recent date, published in London a com
plete translation of the famous Arabic work
known as 'The Thousand and One Nights" or
perhaps. more popularity known as THE Arabian
Nights" An American edition of 500 copies was
printed, the price being fixed at one
guinea. The translation was by Mr..
John Payne, and was as nearly literal as
the capabilities of the English language would
permit. 1t was at once recognized by critics
to be a more fairly representative and charac-
teristic version of this remarkable Eastern work
OF fiction than either the original TRANSACTIONS
made by Montony Galland, in 1704, the
scholarly edition prepared by Edward William
Lane, in 1894, or any of the other translations
that have been made in the past. Before the
fourth volume left the press the demand for the
book had raised it's price to a high figure. and
complete sets of the edition brought. in London,
as high as t33. and have sold in this city for
more than 5000 a set. In view of this demand
for the work, the well-known publisher, George
Barry, of Walnut street, Philadelphia, decided
to print a limited edition, to be a fac-simile of
the English work, except that the American
printed book should contain a number of etch-
The price of the work, which. like its
prototype, Is printed upon fine Opel
doom (Holland) paper, and is bound in
parchment, with gilt top, was fixed at 80 a vol
nme, there being nine volumes in a set. r.
Worthington, of Broadway and Ninth street,
undertook the exclusive agency of this artistic
book, and opened a limited subscription list for
sale. finding but little difficulty in obtaining the
required number of subscribers among the low
ers of good libraries in this city. The first vol
ume was issued about Jan. /, and the second vol
ume has just made its appearance and been
forwarded to the subscribers. On Wednesday
afternoon Anthony Comstock walked into Mr..
Worthington's esta blishment. and, brandishing a
copy OF volume No. 2, told Mr.. WOrthington
that he would continue the sale of ''this obscene
book at his peril. Mr.. Worthington was taken
completely by surprise. He recalled a similar
experience with Comstock, several years ago,
him of the sale in this city of Boccacio's
which he had purchased
a number of volumes of without a suspicion
that this classic book came within the scope of
Comstock's peculiar license of suppression. He
was amazed, and did not fail to show his amaze
ment Opening the volume, Comstock pointed
out a number of marked paragraphs The had no
fault to find with the etchingsl, and then said,
in effect, that he was advised by tho district at
torney that the sale of the book was criminal.
and that if Mr.. Worthington did not at once
withdraw it from sale he would be arrested. AS
Mr.. Worthington is simply az agent and is by no
means DESTROYS of breaking any of the laws, he
promptly notified the Philadelphia house that he
could receive no further installments of the
work, and packed away such few copies as he
happened to have on hand. Constock has there
fore scored a complete triumph so far as the
American edition is concerned in this city. and
has given a boost to the value of such copies of
the English edition as are here, that the publish
fishers who hold them will no doubt fully appre-
ciate. 1t is said that there is hardly a frst-class
publishing house in New York that has not
handled several sets of the English or Villon So
ciety edition.