london catalogue, 1816-1851—annual catalogues, 1828-1853—classes of books, 1816-1861—periodicals, 1831, 1853—aggregate amount of book-trade—collections and libraries—international copyright—readers in the united states—irish national school-books.
'the london catalogue of books published in great britain, 1816 to 1851,' furnishes, in its alphabetical list, with "sizes, prices, and publishers' names," that insight into the character and extent of the literature of a generation which we cannot derive from any other source. we have already given some of the calculations of past periods. let us endeavour to trace what the commerce of books has been in our own time.
every book in this 'london catalogue' occupies a single line. there are 72 lines in a page; there are 626 pages. it follows that the catalogue contains the titles of 45,072 books. in these 36 years, then, there was an average annual publication of 1252 books. this number is more than double the average of the period from 1800 to 1827. there is also published, by the proprietor of 'the london catalogue,' an annual catalogue of new books. from two of these catalogues we derive the following comparative results for the beginning and the end of a quarter of a century:—
{261}
1828. new publications 842
1853. " 2530
1828. total number of volumes 1105
1853. " 2934
1828. total cost of one set of the new publications ￡668 10 0
1853. " ￡1058 17 9
1828. average price of each new work 0 16 0
1853. " 0 8 4?
1828. average price per volume of the new publications 0 12 1
1853. " 0 7 2?
such calculations are not arrived at without the labour of many hours; but the labour is not ill-bestowed by us, for they afford better data for opinion than loose talk about the number, quality, and price of books. hence we learn, that, in 1853, there were three times as many books published as in 1828; that the comparative increase in the number of volumes was not so great, showing that of the new books more single volumes were published; that the total cost of one set of the new publications had increased by more than one-half of the former cost; that the average price of each new work had been reduced nearly one-half; and that the average price per volume had fallen about 5s. below the price of 1828. a further analysis of this annual list shows that, of the 2530 books published in 1853, only 287 were published at a guinea and upwards; and that of these only 206 were books of general information; while 28 were law-books, and 53 of the well-accustomed dear class of guinea-and-a-half novels. decidedly the quarto dynasty had died out.
as a supplement to the 'london catalogue, {262} 1816-1851,' there is published a 'classified index.' through this we are enabled to estimate in round numbers the sort of books which the people were buying, or reading, or neglecting, in these 36 years.[32] we find that they were invited to purchase in the following proportion of classes:—
works on divinity 10,300
history and geography 4,900
fiction 3,500
foreign languages and school-books 4,000
drama and poetry 3,400
juvenile books 2,900
medical 2,500
biography 1,850
law 1,850
science.— zoology 550
" botany 700
" chemistry 170
" geology 280
" mathematics 350
" astronomy 150
" natural philosophy 300 2,450
arts,&c.— antiquities 350
" architecture 500
" fine arts 450
" games and sports 300
" illustrated works 500
" music 220
" genealogy and heraldry 140 2,460
industry.— mechanics, &c. 500
" agriculture 250
" trade and commerce 600
" political economy, statistics 700
" military 300 2,350
moral sciences.— philology, &c. 350
" education 300
" moral philosophy 300
" morals 450
" domestic economy 200 1,400
miscellaneous (so classed) 1,400
45,260
{263}
but the catalogues of new books fall very short of affording a complete view of the state of popular literature at any given period. we must apply to other sources of information.
the publication of 'the penny magazine,' and of 'chambers' journal,' in 1832, was concurrent with a general increase in the demand for periodical works. at the end of 1831 there were issued 177 monthly publications, a single copy of which cost 17l. 12s. 6d. at the end of 1833 there were 236 monthly periodicals, a single copy of which cost 23l. 3s. 6d. at the end of 1853 there were 362 of the same monthly class, a single copy of which cost 14l. 17s. 6d. in 1831 the average price of the monthly periodicals was 2s.; in 1833, 1s. 11?d.; and in 1853, 9?d. can there be any doubt of the adaptation of periodical literature, during these years, to the wondrous extension of readers?
it appears from 'the london catalogue of periodicals,' published by messrs. longman and co., from which we derive the calculations we have now made, that there are 56 weekly periodicals. there were 21 in 1833. but this list, which is adapted for what is known as 'the trade,' is far {264} from including all the cheap sheets that are issued weekly from the london press. there is a very large class of such publications that are very rarely found in the shops of regular booksellers, either in town or country. many of these periodicals have the taint upon them of the names of their publishers; and some of them a few years ago were infamous. we do not find in the 'london catalogue of periodicals' the names of several works, and of one especially, which present the most remarkable example in our times of the extent to which cheap literature is offered to the people in marts which are comparatively unknown to the upper and middle classes. the facilities of communication have sent an unparalleled quantity of weekly sheets through the land, at a rate of cheapness which defies all competition of literary quality against weight of paper and crowding of print. in every shop of every back-street of london and the larger towns, where a tradesman in tobacco or lollipops or lucifer-matches formerly grew thin upon his small amount of daily halfpence, there now rush in the schoolboy, the apprentice, the milliner, the factory-girl, the clerk, and the small shopkeeper, for their 'london journal,' 'family herald,' 'reynolds' miscellany,' and 'cassell's paper.' we have ascertained, from sources upon which we can rely, that of these four sheets a million copies are sold weekly. of the contents of these, and other cheap works, we shall have presently to speak.
when we look back at the various periods of {265} english publication, and consider how amazingly the aggregate number of books published in any one period has increased, we must also regard the size and price of the works published to form any adequate notion of the progress of cheap literature. with a general reduction of price during the last twenty years—with the substitution of duodecimos for quartos—and with single volumes beyond all former precedent—there is little doubt that the annual returns of the publishing trade, in all its departments (we include newspapers), are double what they were in 1833. they were estimated then at 2,500,000l. we should not be wide of the mark in considering them at present to have reached to 5,000,000l. as the silk-trade is now to be estimated, not by the number of ladies of fashion who wear brocade on court-days, but of the millions who buy a silk dress for ordinary use; so is the book-trade to be estimated, not by the number of the learned who once bought folios, and of the rich who rejoiced in exclusive quartos, but of the many to whom a small volume of a living author has become a necessity for instruction or for amusement, and who desire to read our established literature in editions well printed and carefully edited, though essentially cheap. this number of readers is constantly increasing, and as constantly pressing for a reduction of price upon modern books of high reputation. mr. macaulay's 'essays' were originally published at 1l. 16s.; they then appeared in one large volume at 1l. 1s. messrs. longman now {266} advertise a "people's edition," in 7 monthly parts at 1s., and in numbers at 1?d. they do so, they say, "on the recommendation of correspondents who have expressed their desire to possess them, but who have found the existing editions beyond their means."
in turning over the leaves of the london catalogue from 1816 to 1851, we rejoice to see how much has been done in this direction, whatever may be the greater amount yet to be done. of the poets—byron, campbell, crabbe, coleridge, moore, scott, southey, wordsworth, are obtainable at the most reasonable prices, in collected editions. the elder poets may be had in the aldine series, and in new collections, now in course of publication. the most popular of the recent novelists—scott, dickens, d'israeli, lytton, thackeray—are in volumes whose cheapness introduces them to many a fireside where the original editions would find no place. wilkinson's 'egypt,' alison's 'history of europe,' the works of chalmers, and many extensive theological books, have been reproduced at cheap rates. the various 'libraries' which have been published and are still publishing—bohn's antiquarian, classics, classical, ecclesiastical, illustrated, scientific, and standard; the library of entertaining knowledge; the family library; the edinburgh cabinet library; lardner's cyclop?dia; family classical library; knight's weekly volumes; jardine's naturalist's library; murray's home and colonial library; sacred {267} classics; christian family library; smith's standard library; tegg's standard library; national illustrated library; reading for the rail; traveller's library; standard novels; chambers' miscellany of facts; papers for the people; instructive library; weale's rudimentary series: these, the more important of the various collections that can be called cheap, comprise no fewer than 1400 volumes. it would require an enumeration which is the province of the future bibliographer, to show how many separate books, in every department of knowledge, have been issued during the last twenty years, with a distinct reference to the means of the greatest number of readers. but the process here, as in other cases, has necessarily been gradual. the general cheapening of books must be gradual to be safe. the soundings of the perilous sea of publishing must be constantly taken. there is no chart for this navigation which exhibits all the sunken rocks and quicksands.
in addition to the collections just enumerated, we have the new libraries, whether known as cheap series, parlour library, pocket library, railway library, or readable books. these are, for the most part, devoted to novels, old and new, and to american reprints. in this form 'uncle tom's cabin' rushed into a circulation which no book—with the exception of the bible and prayer-book, and perhaps some spelling-book—ever before attained. here sir edward bulwer lytton is {268} to reach a popularity which no novelist ever before reached; and to be paid "the extravagant sum of 20,000l. for the exclusive sale of his works for the next ten years," as we are assured in 'the times.' we hear of enormous profits made, and fortunes realised, by these books. they meet the eye on every railway stall and in every stationer's window, glittering in green and crimson. but we also sometimes hear of large stocks of unsaleable ventures, and of consequent evil-fortune, in spite of one or two profitable undertakings. we have great confidence in the largest sale of the cheapest edition of an attractive book by an author of reputation; but we have no confidence in the large individual sale of a great number of such distinct books, each jostling the other in the race for popularity. we believe that the sale of many such works has been much exaggerated. we hear that the margin of profit, as commercial men say, is very narrow, and leaves little surplus to cover risk. of one thing we are clear. whatever sum may be paid for a great name, the natural sale of books of this class can afford very little for the payment of copyright in ordinary cases. the paper, machine-work, and binding, we are informed, of one of the shilling volumes will cost, for an impression of 10,000, about 220l., and the trade expenses and advertising will raise that cost to 250l. this is 6d. per copy. they are sold wholesale at 8s. for 13 copies, which leaves a surplus of about 60l. but the setting up the types and the stereotyping will {269} cost about 40l. there is 20l. then left for the publisher upon 10,000l. if he sells 20,000l. there is 80l. where is the fund for the payment of authorship? is it to be assumed that a sale of 40,000 or 50,000 copies may at present be attained for such works under ordinary conditions? if not, is the cheapest supply of reading for these kingdoms to be kept up by piracies from america or republications of expired copyrights? we doubt if this trade generally is in a healthy position: at any rate, we fear that we must scarcely look to this class of books for making "cheap literature" what it might be made by judicious management—an instrument of great public good. piracy from american authors has been, within these few years, chiefly confined to the shilling railway volumes; and it had a great success while all the elements that combine to produce an anti-slavery enthusiasm were in operation. but it has lost the charm of novelty, and the fashion of american novels is now somewhat stale. in the mean while the united states never relax in their course. in mr. carey's 'letters on international copyright,' published at philadelphia in 1853, we have some details of the advantage of the fraudulent cheapness to the american public. he says, mr. dickens sells 'bleak house' in england for 21s. (5 dollars); comparing the book with copyright books in america, of which the sale is large, he would expect 3 dollars under the international system. the number of 'bleak house' supplied to american readers in {270} newspapers and magazines, as well as in the book form, is not less than 250,000, at half a dollar, giving for the whole 125,000 dollars. mr. dickens would charge 750,000 dollars:—
dollars.
difference to the american public upon 'bleak house' 625,000.
reckoning in the same way, the following differences are estimated:—
dollars.
upon sir e. bulwer lytton's last work, 166,000 copies 350,000
upon mr. macaulay's history 125,000 " 400,000
upon sir a. alison's history 25,000 " 500,000
upon jane eyre 80,000 " 75,000
total difference on five books 1,950,000
this is a difference of 409,500l. sterling. mr. carey deduces from these figures this logical consequence: "under the system of international copyright, one of two things must be done: either the people must be taxed in the whole of this amount for the benefit of the various persons, abroad and at home, who are now to be invested with the monopoly power, or they must largely diminish their purchases of literary food." he would not have a healthy cheapness, produced in both countries by an open commerce and a fair competition. he would not have a cheapness produced by the publishers of both countries reckoning upon an extended market, and a consequent division of the first expenses of a book. he would have a piratical cheapness—the cheapness of the smuggler and the illicit distiller—"for the general interests {271} of the american people." this ingenious gentleman has a ready defence. there is no copyright in the facts of a book. copyright is given for the clothing in which the body is produced to the world. mr. macaulay has contributed nothing to positive knowledge. mr. dickens has gone into a large garden, and made a bouquet of the flowers, although he paid no wages to the man who raised them. he who makes a book uses the common property of mankind, and all he furnishes is the workmanship. mankind has, therefore, a right to say to the authors, whenever they seek an extension of their privileges, "be content, my friends; do not risk the loss of a part of what you have, in the effort to obtain more." mr. carey is further obliging enough to tell us that in england authors, with a few brilliant exceptions, are condemned to almost hopeless poverty, which he attributes to our system of centralization. why do not the wealthy people of england give a shilling a head towards paying for the copyright of books, instead of bringing the poverty of authors before the world, and demanding from other countries an extension of the monopoly they have at home? the people of england, through centralization, have become so poor and wretched that there is no demand for books, and no power to compensate the people who make them. authors there are badly paid and insolently treated. science is in no request in england, and hence the diminution of supply. in contrast with the limited sale of english books at home is the great extent of {272} sale here. argal, let the authors starve at home; why should we, the great american people, tax ourselves for their aid? we give them fame, and that is enough. let not our writers, adds this candid and modest gentleman, desire to barter our great market for literature for one in which hood was permitted to starve, and tennyson and others submit to the degradation of receiving public charity in the shape of pensions. the wretched english authors may come and live amongst us, and participate in our advantages. american authorship is belgrave square; let it not make a treaty with the grub street of england, to have a dinner from our well-furnished tables. we think mr. carey, "author of principles of political economy," has done service by this astounding effrontery. if he reflected the mind of the government or the people, we should be hopeless of any attempt to unite england and america in the protection of a common literature founded upon a common language. but mr. carey does not reflect this mind. he does not even speak for the great body of american authors or publishers. he speaks for the proprietors of the newspapers, which, all over the union, are filled, week by week, by the piracy of modern english literature, and especially of english fiction. to keep up this robbery, writers and orators will alike prostitute themselves to defend, unblushingly, what they know to be a disgrace.
but in one point mr. carey is right. he shows {273} us, upon representations which we cannot doubt, that the works of popular authors, citizens of the united states, and so protected as copyright, are sold in much larger numbers than similar works in our own country, however cheap. how is this? the american people are much more universally readers than the english people. they are better educated. they have a government that considers it a duty to educate the young without distinction, and to afford the adult every means of intellectual improvement. the american government has created a reading nation. our government has created a people that rush to low casinos in the towns, and to sottish beer-shops in the country. the american government accords all honour to them who have laboured in the enlightenment of the masses. our government wholly passes over every such claim to recognition. it is of little consequence, in the end, what cabinets or parliaments do for the advance of education, or the encouragement of men of letters. but it is somewhat unwise, to say the least of it, to provoke, by neglect and by injury, comparison with a nation that cultivates the same language under different institutions, and that can proclaim, in its energetic youth, that it has raised up an intelligent people out of the great mental inheritance to which our rulers have been faithless.
by injury? it will be said. the british government may ignore letters, undervalue writers, barter away its patronage upon ignorance and incapacity—but {274} assuredly it cannot attempt to inflict direct injury upon literature and learning? and yet it does all this. the sale of school-books in the united states has reached an almost fabulous extent. families have been raised to affluence by the enormous circulation of a spelling-book or a dictionary. a successful grammar is a fortune. he who can produce sensible and amusing reading-lessons is better paid than a secretary of state. does the government bestow any gratuities upon such services? certainly not. but it does not discourage and annihilate them. it does not, as our government does, interfere with competition by attempting to regulate prices. it does not do the silly thing which m. louis blanc wished to do in france for "the organization of literary labour." it has established no manufactory of school-books, produced cheaply, by the tax-payers helping the production. it has no board of commissioners, as we have, "to supply the national schools in ireland, and the public generally, with works in harmony with an improved system of education, cheap in price and superior in execution."[33] we ask, what possible right has the state to produce such books, and {275} sell them in the open literary markets of this country, to the injury of all who produce similar books by the fair workings of capital and labour? school-books were formerly too dear; but as schools multiplied, cheaper books than the old standard works came into the market, and many took root and flourished. much of this property has been destroyed by the government operation; which is not confined to 'reading lessons,' but embraces 'biographical sketches of poets'—'selections from the poets'—'epitome of geographical knowledge'—'grammar,' 'arithmetic,' 'geometry,' 'mensuration,' 'agriculture,' 'maps.' the compilers of these books and maps are salaried state-servants; the books are printed at the lowest contract; the usual trade allowances are withheld; profit does not enter into price. a book of 17? sheets demy, or 420 pages, bound in cloth, is sold for sevenpence, as we learn from the commissioners' catalogue. this is exactly the cost price for the paper, machine-work, and binding, in the very cheapest market. there is nothing for trade-management, and not one fraction for copyright. commercial competition is impossible. we say, this is a fraudulent cheapness. all cheapness in books is fraudulent which sets aside a payment for literary labour. this is the cheapness of piracies, whether here or in the united states. it is a cheapness that, if carried out, as it might be by a government, would degrade literature to the lowest condition, annihilating all invention and improvement. once concede {276} the principle that the state has a right to produce educational books, except for the supply of schools paid by the state—and even then the policy is very doubtful—and there is no individual literary enterprise that may not be paralyzed and destroyed by this new agency. in england, the only commercial undertaking of the state is that of the post office. it is conducted with a profit; it is conducted with a precision and cheapness which really leave few things to be amended. there are especial reasons why the conveyance of letters through the whole civilized world should be the work of the state. no company, no individual, could grapple with such a gigantic task. but is there any other branch of commercial enterprise which the state could undertake with the slightest benefit—without most serious injury? if the end sought is to employ labour to a profit, individual enterprise will accomplish that end far better than the state. if the object is to employ labour that shall be unprofitable, who is to supply the deficiency in the funds that have called into activity the profitable labour? there would indeed be the equality of employments, but it would be the equality of universal poverty. the skilled and the unskilled would be reduced to the same level. there would be no prizes in the social wheel;—the blanks would be something worse than the mere absence of superfluities.
[32] the 'classified index' contains only about 40,000 references; while the number of books in the 'catalogue' is 45,000. the book referred to in the index is only once mentioned, in whatever form it has appeared. to equalize the number, we have added 10 per cent. to each division of the index, in our calculation.
[33] these are the words of an official puff, in 16 pages, called 'an analysis of the irish national school-books.' a more impudent document was never put forth by the curlls of a past or present age. the manufacturers of the irish reading lessons pirated a copyright belonging to the writer of this volume (occupying 47 pages, in 10 of their lessons), 'the mineral kingdom,' which was written by mr. leonard horner. their 'analysis' says, that these "most interesting facts and reasonings relating to organised remains are extracted from the writings of buckland and other celebrated geologists."