Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-12-12
WAR GREATLY INCREASES
AMERICAN BIBLE SALES
For First Time in History, This
Country Supplies Many British
and Continental Markets.
GIBBONS BUY GREAT NUMBERS
Organization Has Placed Hundreds
OF Thousands IN Hotel Rooms.
Bibles Sold In $50 Different Styles
at Many Prices.


mere is close connection between
war and the Bible trade. For the first
time in the history of Bible printing
ana selling. and solely because Of the
war, American Bible publishers are
TINS year making Bibles and Testa-
! in"nts to sell I'm the British. the Con-
tinental, South African and Australian
markets. result Is a Bible business
| unprecedented In number of volumes
, issued. and in value Of sales. This
situation is not that of the missionary
and the Bible societies. but Of Bibles
in the regular trade.
Bible makers and sellers report that
"hen other business is bad the Bible
business liz good. This year, owing to
the war, the Bible business through
out all the world IL larger than ever
before. save only the par,s Of Eurono
at war. the excess of the business
ms year viii amount, IL is said. TO
~ TO 30 per cent. OF tho nations AZ
war, England is affected hardly az all,
While Bible sales in GERMANY i'm tho
regular market and apart from the
furnishing Of Bibles TO soldiers. is Sc
rlously interfered with. France has
~ p'bie puS lNS, ana SO mas SuS =
hia Even the Bclgians and Scrbians
nave Kept up their purchaser
GIDEoNs ARE LARGEST
SINGLE PURCHASER
The largest single customer iri the
ISible trade In America Is the Gideons
lhesc are now buying. IL is said. so
ooe Bibles year. Since they began
! buying. Six years ago, they have pur-
chased from one firm Of Billie makers
and sellers 100000 Bibles Gideons are
, commercial travellers. who buy Bibles
ana place them Ia rooms In hotels.
me! get their money TO pay for them
In part by speaking in churches whe,
, III cities over sunday. and I'm part from
contributions from their customers
Five firms now handle almost all of
/ the Bibles. Testaments. Prayer Rocks
ana hymrals that arc handled on a
strictly commercial basis, apart from
the publication societies OF Che rclig-
ious bodies. The largest OF these Bible
houses report the manufacture and sal
Of 100000 Bibles and Testainents this
: year. considerably larger number
! than In any previous year. The value
OF the bible and Prayer Book trade
Of the United States it is said to be
difhcult TO estimate, but one authority
puts IL at s2,S00,o0o a year for Bibles
alone: in any event. he says, the amount
steadily increases.
BIBLES ARE SOLD IN
ESQ DIFFERENT STYLES
Bibles this year arc sold in $50 din
fcrcnt styles. and they sell at from
20 cents to $50 copy. There are 2a5
different styles OF Prayer Books and
hymnals, prepared solely for the COM
inercial trade, apart from the publica-
tion societies OF the religious bodies,
and they retails at from 10 cents to
| $50 a copy. Apart from Bible sales in
regular trade channels the american
Bible Society made last year 100000
| bibles. t1s,0O0 Testaments. and some
thing like l,50o.soo portions OF scrip
ture, or more than two and IA quarter
millions In all. and these were apart
from vast numbers of both E'oles and
! Tcstaments made for the society
abroad. a very large proportion OF
the society's books are sold.
In past year the bulk Of Bibles sold
in America were made in England
chiefly at the presses Of the great uni
rersit!cs there. Some were. and still
are, made in Scotland. More and more
America is making its own BIBLES. and
selling them, not only TO Hluericans
hut all over the world. They are not
confined TO English although the trade
editions are chiefly in that language.
English Bible trade grows faster than
that in all other languages together,
and since the war began the English
Bible trade, American made aud on sale
in foreign lands has increasad in the
same rapid way that sales have in this
country.