Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-02-28
PAPER-COVEREO NOVELS.
i Dealer Makes Both Ends of the Busfnet
Pay-Cheap Reading in Demand.

Dealer Makes Both Ends of the Bustness
Pay-Cheap Reading in Demand.
There are good profits TO e made
by dealing in second hand looks in a
city like New Ork, and one dealer
has found out how to ''eat his cake
and have it too," which careful
mothers tell the children cannot be
done. This dealer, with an eye to
the pennies, will take paIer-Coyered
novel, published at 80 nts, but
which he has bought for s., and sell
it for 80 cents, with the understand
ing that the buyer is to return it
when read. When the book comes
back he pays 30 cen for it, and puts
it for sale again at 80 cents. The
second buyer returns the book and
receives 10 cents, and for a third
time the book is on the shelves, this
time marked 20 cents. Again it
comes back, the reader takes 10 cents,
and tha book, if by careful patching
it can he kept in decent condition,
will change owners half dozen
times, leaving to the dealer a profit
OF a nickel e.ery time il comes to the
store. Books have often, through
careful handling, pIid 200 per cen.
on the original Investment and at
the end found their way back to the
shelves of the dealer, who has the
profits and the book.
Another system then comes into
play. Books will be sold on the 1.-TWO
fOr-One" plan. In this scheme buyer
will take two books at, say, 30 cents
each, paying 40 cents in cash; when
these have been read they are return
able, and the dealer will give any 20
cent book in the place for the two
brought back. When this 2O-cent
book is returned a IO-cent volume
may be taken in exchange, and when
this last comes back a nickel and the
book will bring out another lO-ccnt
hook. This process may be kept up
as long as the buyer sees lit The
thrifty dealer is always ready for a
trade.
OF course, it sometimes happens
that a buyer in the first instance will
keep the book, but as the store caters
to a class of customers who can hard
ly be termed collectors, but who like
highly seasoned literature, the chance
of diminution in profits in this way
is exceedingly slight. In this par
ticular branch of the secondhand
book business the demand for love
stories and blood d-and-thunder'
literature is large and steady. HuX-
ley, TYndall, Emerson, or Swineburne
fnd little favor among the reade 5
aid scant ceremony on the shelves,
but "Old Cap Collier" is a stanch
fayorite, while GabOriaU, Fergus
Hume, Conan Doyle, Zola, \. G. Gun
ter, and Sylvanus Cobb always COM
mand a respectful hearing from the
men and boys, The girls, and there
are lots of them who are ready Gus
toners, favor THE IurhesS, "
"Ouida," Mrs. Southworth, and
Laura Jean Libbey.
Once in while some of the yel-
low covered "Beadle's Dime Novels
of thirty years ago stray into the
pla e, but they stay there only a
short time, as ",naky SnodgraSs. the
SOrrOwful Scout and painted
Tete, the Pottawatomie Prisoner, "
are quickly dragged away to tighten
the gloom of 4 winters night and to
form the basis Of many a castle in
Spain inhabited by maidens in dis
tress surrounded by a hideous crew
of yelling ''varmints" or redskins. "
Common, everyday Indians were
never good enough for the yellow
novel heroes to kill.
An idea of the magnitude o. this
out-of the-way branch of trade may
be gathered from the fact that on the
shelves Of one of the two ''sto es''
run by this enterDrising tradesman
are no less than 5000 pape covered
novels, and in addition to this they
are piled away in corners, stacked
against the walls, and one room in
the rear OF the place is practically
given over to them for repair shop