Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-05-21
GLIMPSEs OF A BUSY LIFE.
HARDsHIPs OF HIS EARLY BoYHoop-Hrs SUCCESS
As PUBLISHER.

HARpsHIPs OF HIS EARLY BoYHoop-Hrs SUCCESS
| As A PUBLISHER.
From Lppincotts Magazine for June.
| was self-supporting at a very early age. In
/ my twelfth year, when school was dismissed for
the summer, took the place Of errand boy in a
book store in Baltimore, at q salary Of 90 a
| week. and spent the vacation in hard work, and
| / enjoyed 1t. have never been out of en-
ployment; always found something to do, and
was always eager to do it, and think earned
! every cent of my first money. When first at
work in Philadelphia would get up very early
in the morning, go down to the store and wash
the pavement, and put things in order before
breakfast, and in the winter time would make the
| fire and sweep out the store. In the same
spirit, when books were bought at night at auc-
ton, would early the next morning go for
| them with wheelbarrow. And have never
outgrown this wholesome habit of doing things
directly and in order. / would to-day lief
carry a bundle up Chestnut street from the
Ledger Office as would then. As matter of
fact, carry bundles very often. But under
stand that certain young men of the period
would scorn to do as much.
At the age OF thirteen entered the United
States navy, and passed fifteen months at Nor
folk; but didn't like it. Returning to Balti-
more, l attended school for a time. Then l
came to Philadelphia, and entered bookstore
kept by Mr.. Thomson. at the corner of 9th and
Arch streets. was both clerk and errand boy,
worked from early in the morning until late at
night, and received a salary of % a week.
Gradually began to attend the evening auc-
tions, which at that time were frequently held
in this city; became familiar with the titles
and prices of valuable books, and was soon able
to buy them cheaply. In this way assisted
Mr.. Thomson for four years; his business kept
increasing; and at length he sent me to repre-
l. l. n
months in New York and Boston. Here, of
course, made the acquaintance of many book
buyers and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. men, whom l
have never forgotten, and who, am glad to
say. have not forgotten me. Those still living
often visit me, and whenever they do the old
life and the old faces are very vivid in my
memory-the Harpers. Lippincotts, Putnams,
Ticknors. Fields, Appletons, Little & Browns
1 had saved enough money when about eigh-
teen years old to go into business for myself:
so set up modest store in a small room in
the old Public Ledger building. 1t was sue
cess; l made money slowly but surely. Mean
while, 1t is said of me that aspired to higher
things; that was even heard to say. II shall
yet be the owner of the Public ledger" If this
Is true. and doubtless it is, do not seem to
have overreached myself at that early age.
/ was twenty-one years old when 1 entered
into the bOOk-publishing business under the
firm name of Il. Z. Peterson x Co. afterward
Childs Il Peterson. One of our first books, DIR.
hdlle hECllC EAplOTdIlODS was q great nit.
1t did not look at first as though we had made
a wise venture. When the work was ready to
Issue / took a sample copy and went over to
New York to solicit orders from the leading
booksellers. The largest house would only
said, you won't sell more than a thousand
altogether" They ordered at first only 100
copies, but soon after sent for 5000 more to
meet the demand Within one year after the
publication We paid DR.. Kane copyright of
lr ,l,oN 500,
tention to write only a scientific account of the
expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. but
persuaded him to make of it the popular mar
rative of 1t he did. and he afterward admitted
to me that was right in my suggestion When
the manuscript was finished he sent me a pa
thetic note, in which he said: Here you have
the book complete, and, poor as it is, it has
been my coffin No doubt he had then some
premonition of the beginning of the end of his
remarkable career. He died in Cuba within a
year after receiving his copyright money, and
doubtless many people remember well the
splendid tribute arranged for him; that funeral
was one of the most remarkable in history.
We made another hit with Parson Brownlow's
book, of which $4,000 copies were ordered in
advance of publication. Other successful works
issued by us were ''Peterson's Familiar
Science" of which q quarter of a million copies
have been sold; "Bouvier's Law Dictionary"
''SherwoOd's Blackstone" and DIR. Allibone's
great Dictionary of British and American Au-
named important book in its three large volumes.
and a great deal of the credit for the successful
completion of the undertaking is due to the en-
terprise of the late J. b. Lppincott who
brought out the last two volumes upon my re-
tirement from the book-publishing business in
1863 The following year / purchased the
Pubic Ledger. And l want to say lust here
that much Of the success OF the paper has been
due to the cordial and intelligent cooperation
of my friend A. j. Drexel
a hv fnar he 80
labor and material, chiefly the white paper had
made 1t impossible to continue, save at a loss
the publication of the Ledger as a penny paper.
1t had been sold at cent ever since it was
started in 1886, and Messrs. Swain & Abell
then the proprietors, though they had lost over
100000 by keeping the rate at ''six and
quarter cents per week" were averse to a
change. Unable to agree to increase the price
OF the paper or the rates of advertising they
determined to dispose of their property The
of 1t just as it was-for a sum slightly in excess
OF the amount of Its annual loss.
1t was not generally known, of course that
the establishment was then losing about $3.50
upon every number of the paper which it is
sued To all appearances it was as prosperous
as ever; the circulation was great, the columns
were crowded with advertisements. Yet, as a
matter of fact, there was a weekly loss of
$1,000. or S150.000 year.
The Ledger was purchased on the Sd of De-
cember, 1864 week later 1 announced two
simple but radical changes. / doubled the
price of the paper and advanced the advertis-
ing rates to profitable figure. OF course
there was an instant and not uncomfortable
falling OFF of patronage. But the Ledger was
already an institution" of the city; for twenty
years it had been the established medium of
communication between employers and en-
ployed. between buyers and sellers, landlords
and tenants, bereaved families and their
friends. To many people it was a necessity
So, although at first lost some subscribers and
advertisers, they were soon won back again.
At the end of a month the price of the Ledger
was reduced from II to 10 cents a week and
from that day to this the circulation and adyer-