New-York tribune., 1912-02-24
PUBLISHERS AND BOOKS
Records and "reminiscences OF q
Hundred Years.
THE uoI-sE OF HARPER. A Century OF
iiiPublishing i'm Franklin Square By -
Henry Harper With portraits. e'o' pP'
500 Harper & Bros.

,rt1t, tIo1-SE OF HARPER. Century OF
lPublishing in Franklin SauaIe' o,iS bS m ~
Henry Harper. with portraits. eVo' pp'
600 Harper & Bros.
This is a companionable volume easy
and entertaining reading, not oVerioaueu
with details that could he of only sniall
interest 70 the general public, and even
might prove unintelligible to H. Inc
author has seized every possibility Oh
the other hand, offered him by the ms
tory of the house of Harper Il Bros ana
of its members to touch at greater OF
less length upon the general life OF Ne"
York during the nineteenth century ana
upon the political history of city ana
country.
The founders of the house, James,
1obn. Wesley and Fletcher Harper, were
the sons of a house carpenter small
farmer and storekeeper, and the grand
children of James Harper, who, porn In
England in 174O, came TO this country
nrior TO the War of Independence. He
settled at Newtown. Long Island. as
teacher and farmer, and after the close
of the Revolutionary war moved 10 New
York. where he conducted prosperous
wholesale and retail grocery business
from which he retired to pass his closing
years in Brooklyn.
James, the Oldest Of the four Harper
brothers, began life as apprentice In a
printing shop in this city, learning tho
trade sids by side with Thurlow Weed.
His brother John entered the establish
ment few years later, the two starting
in business on their own account I'm
March, 1917. under the firm name Of
J. & ]. Harper. For n time they were
merely compositors and printers, the
first book which bears their imprint
being "Seneca's Morals" got out by them
for the elder Duyckinck. The young
firm made its first Independent publish
ing venture in the following year with an
edition Of five hundred copies OF Locke's
Essay Upon the Human Understand
ing" agreeing, however, to place book
sellers imprints on the title page in
stead Of their own in return for advance
orders Of at least one hundred copies
Wesley, the third brother, and Fletcher,
the fourth, became members later. 1t
was not, however, until 1888 that the
name Of the house was changed TO Har-
per e. Bros. One of the earliest OF its
important undertakings was the publ
cation Of the Waverley Novels. "Har-
per's Magazine" was founded in 1850,
"Harper's Weekly" seven years later and
the "Bazar" in 1867. "Harper's Young
People," started in 1870. was discontin-
ued twenty years later.
The pages Of this book are studded
with the names Of half a century OF
American publishing, English and Amer
ican-names forgotten and still remem-
bered-and with stories Of their books
The author traces the development Of
the international copyright propaganda,
which in its earliest days was far from
favorably received on this side of the
ocean, and in this connection gives some
information concerning the c6mpensa-
tion given by his house to English
authors for advance sheets of their works
in the days of literary piracy:
Harper & Bros. paid Charles Dickens
Il 200 for Great Expectations; TO Thack
TLay Trcy, t1o I9I sgoo me Eirglnians" to Anthony
one novel. The payments to Wiikie Collins
ran as as hlgh as as 200 each for THE Woman
noonItneo II White, o.. Man Nan and Wife" and The
NWonn Moonstohe; Ef, For Charles Reade's The
Life and Lotters" was published, and we
PAID tl,Goo lor the advance sheets.
The above transactions are but a few in
a long list The record books [of otner
American publishersl would show a similar
array OF facts and figures and make clear
that. while many people In this country
and England were of the opinion that the
editions of English books published in this
country brought no pecuniary profits to The
authors, the facts were that large sums
were regularly paid by American publish
ers Tor the privilege OF few days priority.
The firm passed through five fires from
the day Of its founding to the year 1853.
when its present building was erected
in Franklin Square. 1t was one of The
city's earliest flreproof buildings, and is
to-day decidedly worth visiting, its plan
making it veritable labyrinth even 70
those whose business leads them 10
visit 1t frequently. Iron beams, then
just being introduced, were used I'm it's
construction. but the firm and architects
relied chiefly ON the fact that no COM
munication is possible within the build.
ing between the different stories. tho
only way Of access from one floor to
another being by circular staircase in
a brick tower in the centre of the court
yard. Iron bridges leSd from this tower
to the different floors.
The history of "Harpers Weekly" dur
ing the Civil War is told at length. as II
deserves to be. and, OF course. Thomas
Mast is not forgotten in the account II
the war on the Tweed ring. The story
is continued down to the editorship ot
Colonel Harvey.
Prescott, Motley, Du Chaillu, How
ellis. Twain, Hearn, Curtis. Alden, Igna-