The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-07-12
THE DESTINY OF BOOKS,

What Becomes Of All tho Tones Annually
Turned Out from the Printing Press Is q
Mystery That Nobody seems to DO Able
to Solve.
The question Is often asked, says a
writer In the Cleveland World, what
becomes of all new books? From the
big publishing houses OF New and
Boston there Is an output of new books
that Ia astonishing In It's magnitude
DOCKS or all kinds and characters
When 1t Is considered that 1t costs sew
eral hundred dollars to put in type
and print a work Of 300 pages. 1t is a
puzzling proposition how all of these
works pay for themselves. Do they?
Surely. II they did not pay, the pub
fishers could not bring them out, one
after another. with bewildering regu-
larity And these publishers occupy
splendid buildings in the most fash
ionable quarters Of the big cities.
1t Is often asserted that one success
full book pays for many failures. If
this Is really the case. there must be
immense profits for the firm that is able
thus make few mistakes. But what be-
comes Of the failures? Nobody hears
Of bonfires made of these books that
fail. The secondhand dealers will not
purchase books that nobody will buy.
The big department stores get some Of
these; but no great quantities of them,
for thew handle only cheap editions Of
popular works. The paper manufac-
tureqs say they can make paper out OF
the raw material cheaper than they can
boil over the printed sheets.
A book which Is popular today Is
utterly forgotten tomorrow. 1t was
only a short while ago that 1.-THE Quick
or the Dead" was the most talked Of
book; yesterday, 1t was "Robert Els
mere;" today. "Trilby." Will these
books, O hundred years from now. find
place alongside 1.-THE Vicar of Wake
field. "Ivanhoe." "Esmond" and Cop
perfield?"
Absurd Errors of Judgment.
The history OF literature teachers that
nobody makes more absurd errors OF
Judgment than those writers whose
works are now admired by posterity.
Milton declared that the three great
est English poets were Spencer, Shakes
peare and Cowley." And Cowley, too,
was the darling Of Dryden" Be-
tween 1856 and 1884,, seven folio edi-
tions Of his works were published. The
first edition out thirty-three years be-
fore Cowley's first, but his fourth not
till four years after Cowleys seventh!
Cowley. In short, was more popular
In his age than the immortal Shakes
peare! Cowley's works were even
more popular than Milton's. In twenty
one years only four editions of "Par-
adise Lost were required! Milton was
less applauded even by his contempora-
rles than was Waller. Cowley had been
dead sixty years when Pope asked:
WHO now reads Cowley?" Such Is
fame! 1t Is not unlikely that in less
time the critics will be asking:
who now reads 'Trilby'?"
In 1880 Sir Thomas Blount published
a work In which he had collected the
Judgments passed by learned men on
the most famous writer's of the ages.
Among these famous writer's are not
found Spencer, Shapespeare and Milton.
Those books which were most talked Of
in their day have been the ones which
have been soonest forgotten. Yet, how
to account for Blount's overlooking
such names as Spencer Shakespeare
and Milton Is hard to account for.
Albeit, Racon was born three years
before Shakespeare. and outlined him
by ten; yet ''in his multlfarious writ
ings row here either quotes Shakes
peare or alludes to him"
That Shakespeare should be neg
.ected in his day is as difficult to UNDER
stand as that certain books which now
sell by the hundreds Of thousands ever
found a publisher.