The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-26

A. Flns WoFE Doas In Thls Clty ~ n
Eurepe. but u CaslB.

To rHr EDTroR o. THE sUN-Sir; In THE
Sun u May p there vas a very interesting
although In some respects misleading
article With the caption Fine Art NJ Book
binding. referring 10 the decadence Of the
ART The writer said that New York book
sellers will tell you that there Il something
unaccountabla in this the decadence
They DO not tell you that one Of the principal
reasons for the so-called decadence b that
they are not satisfied With making a reasor-
able profit. ~ tho European bookseller or
binder h. bat they also must decry the
ability Of the American shop 10 produce a.
good work ~ j. done In Europe. notwith-
standing the fact. a. the writer Of the article
says. European Workmen have been I'm
norted b remedy any defects.
In the past tNenty-pye years TuE sCN
has published NJ various times details Of
lawsuits In Whirh PUBLISHERS have sued
customers for unpaid balances due on so
called edit ions ~ luxe and limited, mum
beFrd and In some cases specially printed
titles. iHcluding the name Of the purchaser.
In which editions t vas said that the copy
was specially printed and bound for Mr..
John Doe when the fact was that depart
msnt stores were selling an scientifically
similar ~. without the specially printed title
page. for a bargain prire. ThHi h another
reason for the decadence Of the art. The
lover Of BEAUTIFULLY bound books y wary Of
being drcelyed. even though he may b. deal
Ing With a firm Of unlinpeachable standipg.
I will. without mentioning names. give
an Instance Of uninfentiOnal fraud BY
reputable nrm ! was called upon some
lime ago ~ examine a set 81 books sold
by the firm 10 Mr. A, lawyer 81 nirr-
afiOnal reputation. and ] VAS told that
might he called upon 20 sutsian!iste
saying that the sale was fraudulent.
aecepted the conditions ana examined
he books. The set vas acquired ~ the
firm and sold To Mr. 4. a. a first edition.
the fact thai one Of The books was Of Inferior
Taper the lhirty-hve others having been
printed on a fine quality Of laid paper
A. NJ had another -. o. the zane
edition published 6y tbs ZANE arm. suE-
ge4ted that We examine them and We DIS
covered that the disputed book. a short
loS Ssy; n - $500 Vim iSe obIscy Of maine
the volumes Of uniform thickness. | then
reexamined the first edition and found
that the hnisheF Who lettered the books
thought that g. the story vas 20 short and
n. with the result that the perlOn Nho sold
u TO the firm. assuming THAT the atory was
missing. substituted . 10 cent pirated COPY
Ny discovery resulted In an amioable settle
meni % the ease out Of court
Before the Club hlndeTy" gave I'D the
ghost the late Mr. Robert Hoe Was itS sole
owner. and he offered 10 turn the whole |
plant over for ai.O0o TO The artists" who
were not working Tor their health and AZ
they kneW she business was not and could
not BE- pat on a paying basis they refused
10 accept the proposition Mr. Hoe, despair.
insg AZ vaffinp IA N = hifa ,slenhanf 0lOaad
the btnslness and went 10 Europe.
The Club hindery was started by mem
hers 81 the GrOlier Club. and u NHs expected
shas al q the members would nsve ,ss,r
Of them did 81 the start. but eventually
stopped for the reason that the impaired
artists had no originality. They were
Ras S%'Ssls q 1sS S aT. s ave- me past
one expert has said that Robert Hoe tore
the. covers away iron psny book which |
bad cost hundreds Of dollars 70 bind BE-
tents ne nice fa ,I'S s,orv' NJ RoSsr,
Hoe would spend thousands o. dollars for
q COPY Of a book Of which there wae only
one IN existence. but 40 10 tearing hundred
In regard 10 tks -amsiearss ne writer
speaks 81 the card. s0ms Of the real anna.
tours are 20 retiring that they will not avail /
themselves o. the opportunities offered In /
81 he publisher. and Ire Guild 81 Ats and
Crafts % display their skl. their work I
being a labor Of love and done solely for ]
presentation 10 Intimate friends or relatives /
The only compensation hey look for or
expect isappreClRtiOn Of their aTtistic akill. /
II any lover OF hne hOOkbinding II Wiling [
% pay Tor u he can have a. hne work done Z
10 this city AZ can h. done In Europe. bur I
the trouble IA that too manv who can aTord |
u are imhued with the Mea that unless the /
product bears the imprint OF q European
binder y u lac King "a every essential neces I
NEW Nopg MAJ a 4 MaunNUw