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    April i, 1890 The Publishers' Circular 3...

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    THE DISCOUNT SYSTEM IN THE BOOK TRADE.

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Boofij^Cne^ Of To-Day,. !

    I issue . But it is the interior of the shop floor that has gained most attentionand strikes

    , the visitor as being rather a nobleman ' s library than — a shop ; in fact , many noblemen have

    instructed their architects to found their lans upon the principle of arrangement here

    disp p layed . In 1880 the goodwill and highly valuable

    stock of Mr . Thomas Hayes , who from ill health was anxious to quit X active life (\ 49 Cross Street ,

    Manchester ) , was purchased , and has been continued by the firm since with the same energy that characterised — - the _ _ _ proprietary of

    n «/ _ j- XT % / Mr . Hayes . ' Then that brings us fairly up to date ?'

    — — — - ^^^^ v ^^ ¦ ^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ — ^ M " — — — ^^ remarked our representative . ' Yes , ' replied Mr . Sotheran , * and you may

    say that during the Prince of Wales ' s visit to IndiaI had the honour of suppling his

    Royal Highness with all the magnificent y volumes which he gave the rajahs during his

    tour . Since then I have been appointed bookseller to his Royal Highness . The house in the

    Strand is , as you know , more particularly devoted to the second-hand stock , and

    librarians , ' added Mr . S ., with an amusing smile , 'find no difficulty I here in obtaining

    any class of work they may require . Our Price Current of Literaturenow in its 492 nd

    m h A k A m h , ma k monthl ^^ y part , is published ^^ ^^ in the . * Strand ^^> . It ^^^ has appeared x x uninterruptedl x y •/ for forty «/ -one

    years . Each new part contains the latest purchases of the firm from various sales and private libraries . ' * What about Mr . Gould ' s great workMr .

    Sotheran ?' , ' Well , it was this way •/ . When Mr . John

    Gould , the great naturalist , died , his wellknown valuable property was offered to two or three leading nouses for tenderand I

    pur-• chased the comp O lete plant , copyri , ght , stock X , and all the valuable lithograp CJ X hic stones , for

    upwards of £ 5 , 000 . At the same time I secured the services of Mr . Gould ' s staff of

    <* colourists olourists _ , and and was was m ih that that way wav enabled enabled to to complete the works left unpublished , viz . : " The - Birds - - of Asia / " "The Humming »— Birds /"

    and " The Birds of , New Guinea . " > I have , been congratulated by many upon having

    turned these out equal in finish and beauty to the previous X works that Mr . Gould pro X-¦ a i » 1 i * f * m % t ill ¦*

    duced himself . The complete set altogether forms forty-three volumes , imperial folio . ' ' Have 1-1 rh it /\ irrvii # t % - » ir a / myi y \ lete I at a sets anra for T / " * w » sale anln ? '

    you any comp ' With great difficulty we have made up one or two sets , which have been elegantly bound

    and fitted into carved cabinetsYou will see by our catalogue that we are offering * these at £ 1 , 000 per set . Two or three of the earlier works have realised at sales double their

    pub-¦ lUhed price . The stock is rapidly diminishing , and their value will doubtless increase

    accordingly . ' Questioned as to his views upon Mr . Macmillan ¦¦ - ¦ ¦ ——• " ^ ' — ¦ ' s proposalsMr . Sotheran smilingly

    held " ^ v *^ up his hands ^ M in , apparent fear of being M m ^ J again dragged into that subject . 'That

    miserable discount business / said he ; * why , I could not get a bare living out of the sale of

    new books . By the way , you may say that ninrtA ill a niihiination of ( loum ' H workn wo Iiava

    fe , , ' ' ' ' -

    Boofij^Cne^ Of To-Day,. !

    greatly extended the natural history branch of our business . '

    It may well be assumed , considering the many years of arduous labour Mr . Sotheran

    has passed through , he will soon be seeking the repose which he has so well earned , though

    there is no reason why his guiding hand should not even then continue to sway the affairs — — — of the

    tf ~ house . Concerning this matter we may mention that Mr . Sotheran ' s only . , son , Mr - . Henry — ^ Cecil

    Sotheran , has for some years past been an active worker in the business . He could not do more wiselywhen his turn comes to take

    the helm , than , to r follow directly in the course — which his father , as a young man , laid down

    for himself , and from which he never deviated . - .... » O «

    April I, 1890 The Publishers' Circular 3...

    April i , 1890 The Publishers' Circular 379

    The Discount System In The Book Trade.

    THE DISCOUNT SYSTEM IN THE BOOK TRADE .

    Mr . Frederick Macmillan ' s proposal is exciting a good deal of attention throughout

    the country . We submit to-day the views of some booksellers and publishers which will be

    read with interest . This we are enabled to do throug / h the courtesy of the Pali Mall OGazette ,

    whose representative conducted interviews with those engaged in the business . The questionof coursehas a special aspect

    for the country bookseller , . , On this point , Mr . Marshall , of Messrs . Marshall Bros ., says : ' The position h of the country bookseller is h bad

    — — m — — — - ^— - —~ ^^ -- ^ ^^ - ^— ¦ - ^^ ^^ ^ m ^» ^^ r ^^ w —very bad . It is simply impossible for a man in the provinces to make a living by bookselling

    alone . Mr . Marshallin replto a

    questionad-, y , mitted that Mr . Macmillan ' s proposal might raise the country bookseller ' s profit from 10

    to 10 per cent . The contention of Messrs . Marshall Bros . that Mr . Macmillan ' s scheme — ,

    would improve the country trade , received confirmation at the hands of Mr . Slatter , of

    will Booksellers come of ' Row the . agitation * 1 don , ' ' t said think he anything ; 4 but if

    some such system were adopted it would undoutedly have the effect of distributing the

    trade . ' The initial difficultyaccording to Mr .

    , Vickers , of the Hansard Publishing Union , lies in the fact that there was and - - is no m -m union in — — —— ™ ¦ —^ ^^ ^ p' ^ ^ ^ ^ b ^ m ^ fc ^ " ^ m . V «¦ H ^ B

    holds the trade that . Mr Mr . . Henry Macmillan Glaisher ' s proposal , of the Strand is an ,

    absurd one . What they must do , seeing the present condition of things cannot be altered ,

    is to keep the discount nystem where it is . Colonel R . W . Routledge , of Messrs . Routledge ledffo tVc & , bons Sons , says savn : : * The Thfi scheme flnhftnnft would wmilri never nAVfir

    , work , for the simple reason that you could not possibl - y get your booksellers to combine - .

    m » - - — — - ~ -r - ~ r ^ ^^ —~ bb -. ^ m ^ m mm * mr mp Somebody ^^ ^ would ^ refuse to join the Union ^ , or would break the rules — - after — joining ^ g - — . — . — - ^ — - ^ v . ^ " it ~ ^ , and ¦* m > mw ^ m ^* mm

    then , in a moment , you would have the whole difficulty over again . ' Colonel Routledge — recommends — ... _„ . that __ . __ ^^^ r some viav

    _—^ _^ , . _ ^ ^_ .. ^^ . ^ y ^^^ s ^^ ^ r booksellers should join the London Chamber of Commerce , and then they could discuss

    this or any other question connected with the trade . All that would be necessary would be

    to Cha make rles L application ongman , of to Mes the , srs Council . Longmans . Mr . ,

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), April 1, 1890, page 379, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_01041890/page/15/