New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-11-27
SOME RECENT GIFT BOOKS.
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS PREPARED
FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Those prospective purchasers of Gift books for
the holiday season who are in quest Of literary
novelties that will form suitable additions 10 one s
library. well turn the readers attention TO
fresh and entertaining themes. may find it OF
profit TO the Christmas announcement OF
Dodd Mead & CO.. No. 20 Fifth-avo.
After looking over their list of books one is
inclined To doubt the statement that the statistics
on book production show increase of only 10 per
cent in the last ten years. Yet this was revealed
in the chapter book production Of the United
States in THE Bookman's Year Book" when the
question OF the development Of the publishing bust
ness was brought up in the Office Of a member OF
the firm Of Dodd, Mead & Co.. only few years
ago. Il shown that the number Of books pub
lshed in 1897 1928 compared with SOB IN
1896 5,46i in 1895 and iiN in 1884, In 1898 there
a greater number than in 1891. the figures being
$780, there were 4SS2 published in 1882 4G65 in
1891. In 1851. ten yeas ago. the total production
was 4i37. compared with i.i2s in 1897, showing
only the small increase Of 10 per cent.
TT is evident" said the one who had unearthed
the figures. that the growth OF the publishing
business. measured by the number Of books is
sued. has not been by any means equal to the
development of the country in other respects.
These figures also seem to point to a cause out
side the general conditions which has retarded the
progress Of the publishing business. believe one
reason may be found in the increase OF the circu-
lation of periodicals. Within the last ten years
the circulation of the monthly magazine has in
creased from a quarter Of a million to least ten
times that number"
do you regard the development Of the Sunday
newspaper as one Of the causes?
"Yes. ! think the development Of the sunday
newspaper has had considerable to do with retard-
ing the production of the book publishing business.
1t is question to me whether these facts do not
account for the decline OF tho bookstore, which is
painfully apparent throughout the country. and
often wonder if ( is no; a serious thing that the
American Nation IS becoming a reader Of news
papers rather than Of books
When the question was raised 10 whether the
publication Of story in serial form in news
paper magazine In any way hurt the sale or
the book. the answer was that in most cases the
publication was moro beneficial than otherwise.
This has been borne Out in the cases Of several
books which promise to be popular in the holidays
Gratifying sales have been made already. and II is
believed they will be close to the top Of the list OF
nifty successes which are included in the Christmas
announcement.
"Thc Forest Of Arden" by Hamilton W. Mabie
with illustrations by VIII II. Low. has been 50 sue
cessful that the publishers have decided to issue it
Independently of Under the Trees and Elsewhere,
Of which it really forms a part, ,,oo,.,noo
The series OF articles on American DooKnen
which had been appearing in The Bookman
have been gathered into volume by the author
of the life. work and pecuart.es Of Washington
Irving. James FenImore Cooper william Cullen
Drake. the historians Prescott and Parkman. Emer-
son. Nathaniel Hawt horne Walt Whitman, Lowell
Whittier IOngfeow and Holmes.
Esther Singleton has translated from the French
"The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner by Albert
Iavignac professor of harmony At the Paris Con
serVat0ry. An account is given OF Nagncr's feS-
tival theatre Bayrcuth. with large number or
illustrati tons. and more than TWO hundred examples
of music
Under the head OF fcCn are six books for which
the publishers have great hopes The admirers or
Ian Maclarcn will have an opportunity to enjoy the
first OF series OF stories from his pen which nave
occasionally
have been entirely unlike his Scotch sketches which
formed the Bonnie Briar Bush series. 1t is en-
titled afterwards" and the scenes are wholly
English with no appearance of Scotch dialect In
them. The other important stories Of fiction are
'Tattle Tales of Little Cupid" by Paul Leicester
Ford THE Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. by
Jerome X Jerome; "AyIwin." by Theodore Watts
Dunton: THE Cncal.cd' by Paul Laurence Dun
bar and John Splendid" by Neil Munroe.
Among the juvenile books are "A Little Girl in
Old Boston" by Amanda Douglas. witch Winnie
in Spain" by Elizabeth W. Champncy. and Elsie
on the Hudson" by Martha Finley.