New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-20
GL1MPsEs OF A Bury LIFE.
MR. GEORGE W. cHILDs's REatscEscra
nARDsHIPs OF HIS EARLY BoYHooI-Hrs err.
CESS AS A PUBLIsHER-NoTED pppLE
WHOM HE HAS KNOWN,

From Lipplncott's Magazine for June
was seltsupporting at very early age. IN -.
twelfth year, when school was dismissed for "a -
mcr, TOOK the place OF ersnd,boy 70 boOk,ioss "a
vacation In hard work Aud I enjoyed n Ely tas
never been out Of employment Away. found .e Fave
rst at work IN P6adephia Wosh IT sSt n ga.s
s Se s%d pS Ens IN % s1 GsS
and In the winter time would mako the FIRE Ara ast
out the store In the same spirit, when books Sse
morning 60 for them with wbeelbsrrov Az gy 81,
never ouGown this wholesome habit Of doin, ,t Sse
directly and in order ] would to-day 4, H., .. npy
bundle up Chestnut.st sron The Lsdee,s oa.
would then. As mater Of fact, carry 6Sns,!
rsry q Sf tSa ro gSt o Understand that certain yoe
=, AZ the age Of thirteen entered the tJnjts s,..
Sayy and passed fifteen months q, NOrfos I Sss
school for time. Ihon came to PhisdsIrlt.s naee
entered book store kept by Mr.. ThonsabS ns, aa
eTand boy, worked from early In tho p,o,nIr, l %
late at night, and received salary Of three doiI
wee. Gradually ! began to attend the ess iiss
IN this city / became familiar with the ti,sss - -.
prices Of valuable books, and was soon able 10 ses
Them cheapy. In this way assisted Mr.. Thomssgs
for four years his business kept increasing: IA q
length he sent me TO represent him at ths boos ~.
sales held every SIX months In NewYork and aostss
Here, Of course, l made the Acquaintance OF msa.
bOok-buyers and pnbllsher-exceilsnt men, yh1na
have never forgotten, and who, ! am glad 10 q,
visit mo, and whenever they do tho old liz s,S ~
GA faces are very vivid In my memory-the Hssves
5Ij,pPPlncous. Pntnams' Tcknors' Fields, Appstoas
had saved enough money when about etgse,
up modest Store in smsi room in the Oh Pub Z.
ledger, building. II was a success made monsy
aspired TO higher things; that vas even heard .
say; shan yet be the owner Of " The Public Ledger,
II this true and doubtless It is, do not seem 70 hs,
was twenty one years old when entered INTO a.
book publishing business under the hm mans Of
T.. Peterson d Co, SteTWari Chlds & Peterson On,
OF our first books, Dr. K9nes Arctic E1plorsitonss
was great hit. 1t did not look al first as tSosA
We had made a wise venture. When the work ~
ready to issue, took sample copy and went OVER :
New-York 10 solicit orders from the leading booIssis,s
Mr. Chds' they said. You WON'T sell more tSss
thousand altogether They ordered AZ frst onIy 80
hundred copies. but soon after sent for 5000 rnore .
meet the demand. within one year after the pu6ies
ton We paid DR.. Kane copyright Of nearly $4,000
1t was the Doctors original intention TO write oniy
John Franklin. but persuaded him TO mako a n n
the popular narrative Of # he did, and he sftsrwari
When the manuscript vas finished he sent pIc a "a
theuc note; in which he said, " Here ron have Re
e e0aE S'm2ess 3u and D SSs SsI IS It has been
The beginning Of the end Of HIS remarkable career Hs
ded 10 Cuba within year after receiving his copyright
splendid tribute srrshsed for bin that funeral vac sas
one OF me most remarkable in history.
We made another hit with ParSon BrovnlOw's book
OF WhIoh 5000 cortes were ordered IN advance q
pnhIhation. Other successful works issued by qs
we're Peterson's Familiar Science Of which quar-
ter Of million copies have been sold Bouyer's Law
Dictionary "SherwOO1's Blacksiones ami D
HmRo cost oyeS sG ., British H snd Asess
named important book in ITS three large volumes, ard
great deal Of the credit fer the successful petoa
OF the undertaking Is due 10 the enterprise OF tie ss
J. b. Ltppncott who brought ont the last two youmss
nGon my retirement from the book. publishing bus.
Public Ledger" And want TO say lust bers th,,
much OF the success Of the paper has been due 10 &c
n tifTant n
DreIel " -
The war by greatly Increasing the cost Of labor ard
made 1t Impossible to coDt,nue r''V save 4
loss, the publication Of "The Ledger a. :
penny paper; 1t had been sold at cent ever since
~ WAS started in 1890, and MesSrs swan & Ahn then
the pTopretOr, though they had lost over si0O 900 ~
Sens The rate at SIX and quarter cents weel
the price Of the paper the rates Of advertising ey
Ge , fnl 70 GEsPoss OF their property The Iets
was-for a sum slightly in excess Of the amount d
IL was not generally known, of course. that d,
establishment was then losing about $50 upon every
number Of the paper which It s.ued To ali appear.
great tho columns wers crowded With sdvertssments
YET as mater Of fact, there was weekly loss Of
The Ledger was purchased on the Sd of December,
1894. A week later announced two simple bui
and advanced the Advertising rarS % a profitable
figure. of course there was an instant ard nor IN
considerable falling or Of patron ag But The Ledger
was ALREADY Institution OF the city FOR twenty
:earS II had pen the established medium Of communi.a
and s and ap ens GHpGby otfsTH 2y and
so eT a isneS 70 sI many gs9p cont was PS!
advertiser, thcI were soon won back again Al the
end of month he price OF The Led -er7 rducei
from twelve % TN cents week, and from that day to
THIS the crculs'lCn aud advertising has increased
Io9sicIIow, Emerson. lowell. fiOimes, Whittier, John
Lohtop, Motley, william Cullen Bryant George Bancroft
" II. Prescott, Flz.Greene Iaeck, Nathaniel Has.
horne Irving and scor Of other writer's
washington irwin remember we'll lis was not
face Que really hrsCt 4 kindly humoron. msn,
at eE STaH H9 be- Would v Tsv him 10 . s
dinner but hi, guests Understood his physical weakness:
a asT %a is desk piled very Up 'S %h pp
the last time was Their and remarked that he seemed
publication oi The first Ulame Of his Life Of Wash.
ngion' yes" he sale " I haven't the courage D
look at II. I'm afraid learn what the critics arc
Hawthorne was anothersenSitiye man and extremely
shy. The last time we met was under very DIS
tr"SsinC circumstances. IL was travelling South for
the l"ncit Of his heafh, scOmpaned by his friend.
". u. 'Tcknor, The publi'kr They stopped NJ che
10 The Ledger office 10 eli on me. They wero IN
excellent spirits; and that was on Friday. II was
agreed hat hey should a'tcu party 20 be given hs
next evening by MIR disqualification. These ssur-
Jay evening plrtr. wei" the feature OF social llfs
came, greatly to our Disappointment. As no exIans.
ton OF thric absence was srniUc. | called on sunday
morning AZ the hotel and went lrocty 10 their roon
opened u ami went in. Their, found Hawthorne
pacing up and down The room pparcn'lv dsIed
Hawthorne sad, how r. you! Where 10
TicknOr?7
They have taken him away" Nd he.
What d. you mcanl' ! asked II SOM uhder
stand you.7
wc!l,' lie said. q It Is too bad. he Wa nv best
friend depended him and he cUie here TO please
me-
| could make nothing out Of II all; hr Scored
iu hewIld roll
asked the rl"ik Mr. rufy. what ], I'll m'Am ie
then staggered me with M" info ina''v that IChhor
was dead had died that moInlnE'
where is his body - s>R'1
ct was taken early his morning the under
wa, aStor,ndcd. bat fastening lark Hawthorne,
comtortcd him a, much as could. lmhrd INN 10
keen Quiet and N last succeeded >oncN hi I'm calming
hin, AVN , ,hrn went 10 tn" uui"rfl7cr~ TOOK
charge OF T.cknors body. ,aW that Il W. properly
cared for and rphamr,l. and tCle-rdphed hts part
nor nv old fr,rL lame, Z Fi'll>. one GlicknorS
sons al once cane ON 10 Philadelphia ant took hls
i'ncr i,,hIn and distressing event very