The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-10-13
TAUCHNITZ And His EDITION.
STORY or A PUBLISHING HOUSE
WHOSE hooks ARE FAMOUS.
BEGINNING Of the Publication ef English
and American Works on Inc Continent
q Europe -Tauchnitx's Relations with
Authors His Respect for Copyrights.

Authors His Respect for Copyrights.
o. sne many thousands OF readers who
have found delight In the Tauchnitz edition
of English books probably comparatively
few have taken the trouble to inform them
selves to any extent Of the history Of tho
edition. The Crthc OF this month devotes
thirteen pages to an illustrated article by
1ighe Hopkins under the heading Of THE
Tauchnitz Edition. the illustrations In
which, II II announced. were made from
photographs taken especially for the writer.
Mr.. Hopkins h enthusiastically laudatory
throughout his article. following In this
respect the keynote Of his introduction.
which he builds upon n compliment Tauch-
nitz 10y a traveller who exclaimed:
Would the Continent L. quite what II
b without the 1auchnitz edition."
but even admirug readers Of the Tauch-
nitx publications will eclar that Mr. Hop
kins allows his enthusiasm To carry him away
when he says Of the TaUchnitz proof reader
that .he Is never. never caught mapping :
That the typographical errors are remark
ably few considering that the printing Of
the English works is done In Germany 10y
Garman il very true. but In Justice TO the
language to which baron Tauchnitz himself
pays such a tribute. Mr. Hopkins's never,
never must be qualified In the degree
OF the -Pinafore- Captains liability TO
reasickues-. However. that IL a small
matter. which challenges attention only
because Mr.. Hopkins thrnsis his boasiful
abatement into the very heginning Of his
account Of the work which immortalizes
the name Of Tauchnitz.
The Tauchnitz edition had it, beginning
In the year Of Queen yictoria's accession.
Christian Bernhard Tauchnitz establishing
the publishing drm on Fob. /, 1887. when he
himself was little less than 81. He was
born on Aug rs. 1919 He began the work
which il the principal business Of the Arm.
the TauchnItz cditio Of British and Amer-
can authors. four years after his house
began busincss. Tauchnitz had received
his business training from his uncle. who
WINS a publisher 81 classics and was tho
frs, TO Introduce stcrcotyping into Ger
many. The young man attached TO his
publishing house Offices for printing and
stereotyping.
There was no copyright for English or
American authors ia any part Of Europe
when Tauchnitz entered upon the publica-
ton Of English books. Piracy was free
from danger. Tauchniiz for a corner
bI0fF 81 NH NV lN'' f'l $3.50
OF asrcemenf with authors and ON that
basis no procccded with his publications
aad became a great and rich man In the
prospectus which he issued in 1891 No said
ALLOW me to remark that |. a. well a.
any other publisher in Germany. have a;
present the right 20 embark In such under
takings without any permission from the
nuthons. and that my propositions arise
It =. 4. .r..I. sH,r,hN IN fnk.s tho first
step toward a literary relationship brtwcen
England and Germany. and toward an
extension Of tho rights 81 copyright, and
to publish my editions in accordance with
thosc rights
He made payments TO oil AUTHORS whose
work he published, and they were Of course
not only glad to get the money. but highly
appreciaiive Of the courtesy OF Inc man
who paid out cash when the law did not
compel him to. Il il recorded that the only
volumes Of the Tauchnitz edition for which
payments were not made by the publisher
are the few reproductions Of classical writ
ings for which there was no longer any
copyright in any country when the Tauch-
nitz house took hold 81 them.
T~auchnitz's only assertion In favor Of
his edition at the beginning was that the
books he issued were the only authorized
editions for the Continent, lie had no
protection himself, any moro thar the
English writers hal. As tho years went on.
however. one country after another exc
cutcd copyright treaties with England.
and In time tho Tauchnitz edition became
not only an authorized. but also n copy
right edition. Editions Of the works Of
American authors published by Tauchnitz
continued TO he merely autfAgized editions
until ten years ago. when they, too, came
under the protection Of copyright abroad.
In It's carly days the Tauchnitz edition
was the only authorized collection of works
Of a foreign literature published In the
language In which thoy were written In
q country other tina their own. To-day
there are Ia the Tauchnitz storrroors
more than 1000 stereotype plates Of the
Tauchnitz editions Of these works. or
British authors there are represented S72
and OF Americans IS. and the collection COM
prises more than 800 volumes.
Lord Lytton's Pelham and Dickens's
sPickwick- were tho first volumes issued
ia the Tauchnitz edition. In isii. Tho
fye-hundredth volume was is-ued twenty
wears later. and in 1883, only eight wears
afterward. the thouSandth volume wns
published. THIS was M edition 81 the New
Testament showing the differences In tho
A~lexandrine, s:naitic and Vatican manu-
scripts and 1, was dedicated To My Eng
lish and American Authors. a. a Token Of
E<teem for the Living. and n Tribute Of
Remembrance 20 the Isad.'
Henry Morley furnished, Ia 1881, tho two
thousandth volume. -Of English lAtrrat-
urc In tho Raign Of victnria.- contain
ing facSimiles of the signatures 81 all tho
authors whose books had appeared In the
edition. And the edition gees on iDcrcas-
Ing at the rate Of seventy or eighty volumes
q war. we are told.
G. n. Tauchniiz was created a Baron.
Freiherr in isso for his ~rryicesin the promo
ton ~ literature Adolen years later he was
appointed British Consul General for Saxony
and the ThunngIsn States. and In 1877
he was made n life member 81 th" Saxon
upper Chamh-r. His landed property
Included the estates Of kleirz-chocher
near Leipzig. and TraitRu and heutnitz
IN the Saxon OtrrlauSiiE Reutni'z Was
his favorite residence. aud there he died
on Aug II. isas.