The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-06-07
RALEIGH TOBACCO MARKET.
RECEIPTS OF AUTHORSHIP.
Commercial Value of Some of tn
Worlds Masterpieces.

One of the most capricious and IN
teresting phases of English literature
is found in the commercial value which
has attached to some OF the most en-
during masterpieces OF the language
| in the worlds market.
Measured by the appreciation which
the world has of the plays of Shakes
peare, three hundred years after the
sod of England has closed over the
ashes of the bard of Avon, the immor-
tai dramas for which Shakespeare re-
ceived barely enough to keep MIN alive
would have netted him fortune equal
| to that of all the Rothschilds. But, in
stead of this, he died in comparative
poverty and obscurity. No entry was
made of his death except in the re-
cords of the parish; and to-day, while
the world pays tribute to his colossal
genius, the man himself is yelled in
shroud of mist as dense as that which
envelops the life of Homer.
| Milton, whose contributions to the
| language are second only to those of
shakespeare, received only few paltry
shillings for Paradise Lost"
| And yet within the present century
| large sums of money have been paid
for literary work. Some of this has
been common place and ephemeral,
while much of it has been the fruit OF
genius. In this second category may
| be classed the works of Sir Walter
Scott, George Eliot and Lord Macauly.
| Perhaps the largest check ever re-
ceived for literary work was check
for 10000 made payable to Lord
| Macauly. The secret of success IS
found in the interest which the public
| {oI in, hot &c
auly possessed the faculty of inter-
esting the people of Great Britain, in
his own day and time, and for that rea-
son his labors were handsomely re-
Quilted On the other hand the work of
Shakespeare and Milton appealed to
the tardy appreciation of posterity,
and hence they were virtually permit
ted to die of starvation.
| Coming down to more recent trans
actions in the literary market, Du
Maurier, the author of "Trilby," re-
ceived $4,000 from the Harpers as the
price of that celebrated production.
The returns from the book, however,
were so large that, as an act of pure
justice, he was subsequently paid $40,-
900 additional.
Mrs. Humphrey Ward, the author of
Robert Forester" is said to have
received $4,000 for her latest publ
cation. From good authority it is I'M
derstood that the Century Publishing
Company paid 900 for the Life of
Lincoln, which was published some
years ago, and even at this price a
handsome profit was realized by the
publishers. Gladstone and Tennyson
have each commanded as much as n
dollar a word for some of the literary
work which they have done. Rudyard
Kipling, whose recent difficulty with
his brother-in-law among the YER
mont hills is still freshly recalled, has
received as much as $3.50 for a single
Ipcem.
One of the best paid American poets
is Thomas =. Aldrich. Close behind
him is James Whitcomb Riley. Among
prose writer's Mark Twain and Joel
Chandler Harris are both considered
as standard authors and receive a good
price for their wares in the literary
market.
Magazines pay as high as $25 and $50
a column for literary contributions,
but only to such authors as have
caught the ear of the public.
There is much encouragement to
young writer's in these interesting
figures. AS TO whether or not the
standard of compensation is exactly
just is open to serious question, but it
cannot be denied that the world is Hbe-
raj in the bounty which it lavishes
upon its favorites. Meritorious contri-
buttons often die unnoticed simply be-
laaals.sa f.hare Is nothing in them which