The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-10-05
LITERARY LEAVES.
AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS OF
THE OLOeN TIME

Only One Type Foundry In the unit'd
stntrs-American Books Unconsidersd-
wilson's Ornithoiogy Cause Of Its Pub
fishers Failure.
Among the notable Philadelphia
booksellers of the olden time were
Bradford q Iuskeep. la those early
days we depended upon Great Britain
for much cf our general Literature aud
all of our school. books. There was
only one type foundry in the onted
States, that of james Ronaldson, OF
Philadelphia. He supplied the type
for all the books. papers. etc. that were
printed from Maine to Georgia. and
from Mary land TO Missouri. There
was general prejudice in America
against American books. The fact
that a book was of domestic
origin was. ipso facto. suiii
cicnt to condemn IL. When
Marmon took tho world by storm Ma.
ior Barker, Of Philadelphia. "A man OF
fine literary talents. dramauzed IT,.
Manager Pace feared Ia produce il a.
the work OF an American. The manu-
script was carefully packed up, wl;5
imitation of English p0stmarks on IT,.
and it was brought out a. an EnglIsp
play. 1t was great success until the
secret leaked out, when the public i'm
I "A oil
no merit. aud it had To be Withdrawn
from the stage. A splendid change has
taken place in the last seventy years.
Were Sydney Smith alive now he would
have To reverse his cOntempiuOus sheer
at our literary poverty, and ask: who
does not read an American book
More books are published IN the United
States. and larger amount Is paid Tor
literary labor, thln IN any country of
Europe. More than a million copies OF
Irviug's works have been soli in this
country. we vino live To wines the
gigantic progress of the American book
trade should not forget those who did
so much to give the business its first
start. Bradford & luskeep wee among
the most ent rprisIDg of our oil book
sellers. They took just pride IN their
pursuit; their views were broad and
wide. and not bound by the shop or shut
up in the ledger.
Among the distinguished men
helped by Me- Bradford lin the first
barren footpath up the mountain OF
life was Alexander Wilson. l. was
by Mr.. Bradford's generous patronage
th.t Wilson was enabled 20 publish bus
celebrated ORTHODOXY. While en-
gagged upon this work he went on long
pedestrian excursions IN search OF
birds. which he shot and stuffed and
then drew. He was extremely exact
in his drawing. ard carefully count, d
the number ri scilss on tde tiny legs
and feet Of his subjects. Wilson
has been described rs lOokln =
| lie a bird. HIS eyes were
dark. piercing. ami luminous, and
his nose ~as 0f a besklIke shape. lie
was a S,O.cuman. ana possessed all the
patience. perseverance, auj pluck that
characleIizs the c 'untfymen Of Bruce
and Scott. While engaged upon ms
great work ne wrote: Whatever may
| be the result Of these matters. | shall
not sit down with folded hands while
ANYTHING can be done to carry my
point. since God helps them who helps
themselves. am fixing correspondents
IN every part Of these remote region,
The was writing from Boston,. Ike SO
| many plcketS or ouip0sis. 30 that
scarcely wren or TT shall be able To
pass along from New York 10 Canada
but ! shall get intelligence Of il. -
Mr. Bradford determined to make the
Ornithology a credit 10 the author. the
publisher. and the country. The type,
which was of uncommon beauty, was
cast in the United States. Inc paper
ives also Of American manufacture
Amies. the papeT-maker, carried his
patriotism so far tnat be would only
use American rags IN making It. The
plates were unusually large and richly
colored, The descriptions OF the birds
very full and correct. In fact. the
book surpassed any work that had been
published 10 the United States, and
though books superior in point Of typo
graphy have since appeared, 1t Is ex-
tremely doubtful whether Wilson 5
Ornithology has ever been equalled IN
its matter or plates.
Unfortunately the cost Of publication
of this magnificent work was SO great
and the sale 80 small that IL resulted IN
immediate Decuniary Joss 10 the enter
prising publishers. and WAS tie ultimate
cause OF their failure No Name Maya
zine.