The Washington times., 1922-05-10
HEAVY STUFF IN
BOOKS ON APEX
|. Of MARKET NOW
Dealers Say Economics and
History Are What the
Public Wants"

passedE
Has the flapper age, with its all.
knowing young, taken the spice out
OF spicy literature?
Harken to Frederick Melcher, edl.
tor OF the Publishers Weekly. the
leading publishers trade journal in
the country.
II don't think the sex novel. as
we have known II so far has an i'm
portant appeal today. 1t may in
terest the very young but it's a
frank age and II is frankly lived
through"
But there's the opinion also Of
Mr.. Gittens-Claude ii. Citizens rep.
resenting Harper & Brothers, who,
like Mr.. Melcher, Is here attending
the twenty.second annual convention
OF the booksellers OF the country.
The sex novel passe? II is never
passe," said Mr.. Citizens. The men
don't read It but the women do and
they love It,"
The remarkable demand for 10.
called "high.brow" books like The
Outline of History and works on
economies has made the publishers
marvel.
Economics Is Selling.
What seems to me to be the out
standing feature OF the last few
years in the bookselling business Is
the differentiation of interest In the
trade" said Mr. Melcher.
-Four or five years ago the hook
buyer was interested in only one or
two things, and II there were no
books covering what he was interested
in, he would shoot craps or play
poker. Today he will finl the book
satisfies his interest.
No publisher five years & go would
have believed that he could sell sew.
enty thousand copies of n book on
economies. Maynard Keynes book
Economic Consequences Cf Peace"
has sold that and more.
Five years ago II a publisher had
brought out An Outline of History.
by II. c. Wells or anybody else. he
would have been glad 70 sell 10000
copies TO an iudolent public. But
last fall when Wells hook was pub.
ishCd II sold 80 many thousands ] IN
afraid to put name TO the figure
Other members OF the convention
decIa red the book had sold over Sc.
600 copies and that the sale con
tinues-a sale riValling that OF n
popular novel
Again. take the case of Henrik
Willem Van Looms book. The Story
Of Mankind Mr.. Melcher con.
tinucd "a very profitable novel
sells twenty-five thousand and more.
Five years ago no publisher would
have believed that anything but fic.
tion Of the salaCious kind would
reach that sale and yet Van Loon s
book has sold over thirty thousand
copies"
Books of Main street continue
popular. according to the booksellers.
THE Sheik'" has been talked
about great deal. as will be. per,
haps. Simon Called Peter" said
Mr.. Citizens OF Harpers
But after all the sale OF the
former has not reached that OF Sin.
clair Lewis book. Main Street and
perhaps not that OF If Winter
Comes The two latter books deal
with the psychology OF every one Of
us, and both are marvcls to the book
publishers.
"1t is difficult to tell. publishers
say. why such slow-moving books
sell-slow moving. mean, in the
way Of action. In neither does any.
thing particular happen. Everything
that does happen is in the mind of
some one or other-not outside of
them.
I'm my opinion. II may hc OK.
planned by the fact that we are in.
tcrested in ourselves and in how we
work and why-in the CommonplaC Ce
things that touch our everyday life.
Prices Have Increased.
Take new book by James Har,
vey Robinson. The Mind In the
Making II has been one OF the
big sellers Of the season and is the
only one OF the several surprises
Its sale means that people are in.
terested in something more than
their own emotions-that they see
that their emotions are made by
things outside themselves; and they
not only see the fact that this is so
but they want a share in making the
things that produce their emotions. -
The book publishers business is
prosperous, according to every book.
seller attending the convention.
"lt is true that with pre-war fig.
ures the price OF the book In the
factory has increased so per cent
and the retail price 40 per cent, but
the hook buying public has in.
u tdStu 30 lTt DHSl
five years that the publisher who
understands what the public really
wants can make as much money to.
day as ever before" said Mr..
MelCher. ...
Between four and five hundred
book sellers are attending the con.
vention, representing the owners of
book stores and the publishers of
the country, such as Harper &
Brothers, Little-BrUwn. J. p. Lip
pinCott's. the Macmillan Company
doubleday. Page & Co. and Boni &
Liveright.
President Harding will receive the
delegates to the annual convention
OF the American booksellers As.
sociation at the White House this
afternoon, and tonight they will
take a moonlight ride down the
Potomac river.
An executive session of the sasso.
citation will be held this afternoon