Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-07-20
America Improves Its Mind
ON the InstoIIment Plan -. i. i
by Som Dawson

By Sam
There's q boom In Americas
dustry. =.
Publishers whose products rang
year-books with "the latest" on gut
Is to supply enough to meet the sws
One. however, reported his sub
prospective customers inquiring NOR
war savings subsidized and as 1t beca
with the new electrical gadgets ir
encyclopedias In the parlor.
But he agreed with his fellow
books continued to run. ahead Of
capacity. Customers, acting on the
great American conviction that one
ought to be able to stump the ex-
perts, were reported still queueing
up and awaiting delivery.
First Books For Some.
Several companies publishing aids
to home education reported the
liveliest demand was for children's
reference books.
They explained that schools were
requiring more and more home
work that taxed the parents close
store Of ready knowledge, and that
as incomes increased In the lower
brackets there were more parents
able to indulge the traditional
American urge to see that their
children had more Of everything,
including knowledge, than they had
had
One publisher said his statesmen
reported high percentage of their
customers revealed they never be-
fore had owned a book.
These companies reported 1916
the best year in their histories IN
sales volume and profits.
The Grolier Society, Inc, which
publishers among others the En-
cyclopedia Americana and the Book
of knowledge, reported that COM
bined sales in 1916 were SIS, 1853, 035,
compared with 5000, 1886 in 1910.
They added that combined sales
in the first % weeks of 1947 were
81, 035,8 11, or Is per cent ahead OF
the same period in 1916.
Translated into books, sales were:
95,218 sets of the Book of Knowl-
edge, for children in 1915, COM
pared with 29522 in 1910, and 27.763
in 1896 and 48,017 sets of the En-
cyclopedia Americana in 1916. COM
pared with 1900 In 1910 and 1885
in 1886 and 2l4,500 ANIMALS in
1916, compared with l4,672 in 1910
and 4,213 in 1885.
Comparative sales figures for the
granddaddy of the reference books
the Encyclopedias Britannica
were unavailable. but spokesman
for the University of Chicago pub
LEGATION said sales in 1916 were up
so per cent from 1945, and that last
year they had $500 statesmen in the
field, compared with PSI in 1899.
Paper and Press Problem.
Crowell- Collier Publishing Co. re-
ported that in 1910 1t shipped 231,-
1T sets of the National Encyclo-
pedia, Harvard Classics and Junior
Classics, or total of 757,-
446 volumes. In 1916 this had in
creased to 153,95s orders of the
above books, plus the Collier year.
books, which had been added to the
p,,hlishinr list for n total of 1885,
231 volumes.
Total sales dollar volume for all
books published by the firm in
creased from $5,437, 800 In 1910 to
So, 087, 62s In 1916.
The World Hooh . childrens
encyclopedias, reported 1916 sales
were 80 per cent above 1915. Comp
tons Pictured Encyclopedia for
Children said 1916 sales were 100
per cent higher than 1945. The
Unicorn Press, which sells Funk q
Wagnalls new Standard Encyclo-
pedia by mail order, said 100000
copies were sold in 1916.
While some publishers in other
lines reported business declining
from its postwar peak, reference
book publishers said their problem
was to get paper and presses enough
to I'LL orders.
J. c. Graham, jr.. executive vice
president of the Grolier Society
said its sales were now running at
the rate of $21 100000 a year, COM
pared with the less than $4,000, ZOO
in 1910.
Hard TO Keep in Print.
r. G.. Smith, president of P. F.
Collier & Son Corp, wholly owned
subsidiary of Crowell-C Collier, said
his company expects 1s47 to be bet
ter than the record year OF 1916
since they were now getting more
paper. Demand was keenest for
children's reference books and the
company was having trouble keep
ing the Junior Classics in print"
The company's problem with the
Harvard Classics conferred around
paper scarcities, he said. 1t takes II
carloads of paper to print ar
economical edition Of the five-foo'
shelf, and any publisher can tel
you how hard 1t is these days te
get Is carloads Of paper at one time
Perennial headache Of all refer.
ence book publishers is the problem
of revision. Facts, or at least thu
worlds - understanding of them
won't stay put. Publishers use 6
research and revision staff, con-
tinually sampling key newspapers
periodicals and Government reports
Rockets, for example, were dis
cussed in full In the Americana sew.
eral years ago, then dropped from
revised editions as interest waned
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