St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-18
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA.
The Cost of an Encyclopedia, and
How the Popular Reprint Is Pub
IiShed

The Cost of an Encyclopedia, and
How the Popular Reprint Is Pub
liShed.
A remodeling of the Encyclopedia
Britannica has been rendered necessary,
and in the preparation of this, the Ninth
Edition, nothing has been left undone to
advance the high character of the work.
There are already more than 1000 of the
most distinguished writers of the day in
science, art and literature, from all
parts of the civilized world, engaged as
contributors.
The Britannica surpasses all other en-
cyclopedias in the number and quality
of its maps and wOOd-cut illustrations.
There being no international copyright
law, the English publishers reprint
American books ad libitum, and the
American publishers reciprOcate by re-
printing English books in the same way,
thereby balancing the deal. Leading
publishers, both of this country and of
England, are well aware and will so as
Sert, that the cost of an edition Of the
Britannica reaches into the millions of
dollars.
The first thing to look after in an enor-
nous work Of this kind are editors.
Then come the writer's. So, before the
publisher has the slightest tangible re-
suit of his enormous undertaking, in the
shape of prOOf-sheet, thousands upon
thousands of dollars have been eXpend
ed in buying up and employing the
best brains of the continents. Taking
the Encyclopedia Britannica for exam
pie. we find that there are twenty-fOur
volumes, averaging $50 pages to the
volume, or over 10000 pages in all. 1t
treats of over 100000 subjects. Each
subject complete in itself. This enor-
nous amount of labor is being avoided
by the publishers of the Popular Re-
view in the use of the gelatine process
which enables them to reproduce the
work entire, an exact fac-simile, with
out line of type being set.
HOW IT Is DONE,
is the simplest thing in the w0rld-that
is, to explain on paper.
Gelatine, when prepared by this Sc
cretprocess, has the property of becom-
ing almost as hard as metal when eX-
posed to the sunlight, and remaining
soft and soluble when kept in the dark.
When in liquid state it is run out into
thin sheets about type high"
A copy of the latest edition of the en-
encyclopaedia is cut up and carried to the
photographers room in the engraving
establishment. The pages are put in
front of large cameras and photo
graphed. The result is a black and
white negative-denSely black and alb
solutely translucent, making fac-sim-
lie of the type pages. In the negative
the black part of the page-that is, the
paper-is densely black.
These negatives are next placed in
frames over the sheets of gelatine and
exposed to the sunlight. Where the
sun shines through the negative the
gelatine becomes almost as hard as
metal; where the black part of the neg
alive protects the gelatine it remains
thus ''printed" is taken into a dark
room and washed with brush and Or
binary water. The soluble portion dis
appears, leaving the hardened part
that is, the standing up in bold
relief.
1t is, practically, exactly like a page
of type set up and ready for the press.
The Illustrations are made in the
same way.
Available feature of this edition,
which no other encyclopedia contains,
is the general index which follows each
of the long articleS-aS for instance:
1873 pages are devoted to France, to
which follows an analytical index of 80
pages. These indexes are invaluable
for quick reference, and were inserted
by request of the American subscribers.
There is also an index of subjects with
the authors names attached, in the first
part of each volume.
The same number of volumes twenty
four completes this as will the original,
and is sold at about half the price of the
Scrbner or Stoddart editions.
The prices per volume of the different
bindings of the Popular Reprint are as
follows:
Sheep library Observation-Disclosures. 3 SO
Half Seal Russia. Observation-Disclosures. so
The publishers of the Popular Reprint
of the Britannica have done a grand
thing in making it possible for nearly
every home in the land to possess it,and
the GLOBE takes great pleasure in call
ing the attention of our numerous read
ers to the fact that they now have an
opportunity of procuring the king of
encyclopedias at 50. 80 per volume, bound
in cloth of the best quality, which is less
than one-third Of the price of the Origi-
nal English edition in the same binding,
published by A. u G. Black, of Edin-
Durgh.
The size of the volumes of the Reprint
are octave, and far preferable to those
of the English edition, which is quarto.
Fourteen volumes are now ready for
delivery, and the remaining volumes
will be issued at the rate of from two to
four per month.
: c. w. Dumont, of 312 Maria avenue,
who is the Northwestern agent, has
placed some 300 sets in the Twin Cities.
j. r. Casselberry, 116 La Sale street,
Chicago, is the manager for the United
States