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    562 The Publishers' Circular May 15,18 9...

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    Boo&j&Ilei£$ of To-Da^.

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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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    562 The Publishers' Circular May 15,18 9...

    562 The Publishers' Circular May 15 , 18 90

    Boo&J&Ilei£$ Of To-Da^.

    Boo & j & Ilei £$ of To-Da ^ .

    IV . —MR . SAMUEL MULLEN , J . P . Those who interest themselves in colonial

    trading will need no detailed information upon the sudden growth of many now famous houses existing in British dependencies . The tale

    has been o recently told by an able pen in the columns of the Publishers' Circular _ 7 and our

    readers are acquainted with the wonderful , record of certain Australasian bookselling

    firms . The subject of this notice , however , is one whose name is equally well known in

    London as in Australia ; and , as Mr . Mullen is now residing in Englandour representative

    was able to obtain C ? from < J him , some interesting particulars X concerning CJthe business he has

    created . The firm as it at present exists is known as Messrs . MelvilleMullen &

    Sladebooksellersstationersand , librariansof 262 , and 264 Collins , Street , Melbourne . The , London

    office is in Ludgate , Square , and the business carried on here is simp . X ly «/ that of exporting t O

    books to the house in Melbourne . A spacious , well-lig hted ground O floor in Ludgat C ? e Square X

    has been converted into a convenient suite of officesand here Mr . Mullen was found calmly

    busying , himself with such work as devolves upon L the London agent O of the house . Appa

    LArently in good health , and quite equal to business care , although he has seen threescore

    year 3 slip by , Mr . Mullen welcomed the caller with a quiet unemotional air peculiar to those who have spent long years in the colonies .

    He referred to the incidents O «/ of his life in brief sentencesfrom which the listener was left to

    select as , he pleased , Mr . Mullen evidently attaching O little or no importance X to any one

    particular item . He said : — & Co ' I . served of Dublin my time —that with was Messrs about . McGlashan ? 46 . I

    was manager , to Mr . George Robertson in Melbournebut we were apprentices together

    in Dublin . , We went out together in 52 , it was the first trip Xof the '' Great Britain . "

    The three leading booksellers in Melbourne were Mr . RobertsonMr . E . W . Coleand

    myself . We three landed , there on the , same day . It was a coincidence , because Mr . Cole

    went out earlier in another ship , but his ship was delayed . On November 12 , ' 52 , we

    arrived . As you know , Cole ' s . is an extraordinary 4 1 commence place in d Melbourne business for . mself ia 1859 y

    in Collins Street , Melbourne , with a circulating library a la Mudie . That style of thing

    was unknown there at the time , and I soon took the lead as a retail bookseller . Robertson was the wholesale man . The business

    progressed until last year , when I sold out to Messrs . MelvilleMullen & Slade . I am the

    London 4 fc You xou agent were were for a a , popular Donular them . ' man man in in Melbourne Melbourne . 1 I

    believe ?' , * WellI was connected with several of the

    charitable , institutionsand held the office of honorary treasurer of , the Melbourne Orphan

    1 X Asylum . 1 was also an active member of the

    Melbourne Shakspeare Society , a flourishing

    little me with literary an address coterie when . The I left members also a handsome presented

    , — — — — ' ^ ^* - » rw >^ ^ 44 m j album ^ ^ . The ^ P ^ V ^ B Ik Government ^^^ J d appointed A ^ K me Returning Officer of the electoral district in

    trate which - — I a lived J . P . , and I was they a strong also made supporter me a magis of ¦» w the A . 4 A -

    Conservative Government in Australia , but as a matter of fact it would have been called a

    Liberal Government in England . 1 did all I could — — -r to ~ - prevent __ .- the . Americans from intro mwl ^ __ ^_ V . ^ ^_^

    -ducing pirated editions into the colonies , and was always on the watch for them like an

    excise officer . ' ' How does trade out there compare with

    that t ) f England ?' There is a great deal of business done

    there ' by the "book fiend . " Then there is a postal X regulation <—> in Victoria by v which all

    periodicals published within a specified time are allowed to be posted as newspapers . I was instrumental in getting the Act passed

    and the booksellers acknowledged my offices , in that direction . '

    ' What is the " book fiend ' s" particular line ?'

    The Americans are very active in putting together old booksand they do a large

    business c ? in the colonies , . They t / get out Bibles with dictionaries and concordances attached

    books on household medicine and historical , works . They are merely compiled from old

    sources and put together in a mechanical way . These are circulated by the '' book fiends "

    who travel all over the colonies . As a rule , these ' fiends " will not leave a house without

    an order , and occasionally frighten women who are left Which alone class into subscribing of work meets . ' with the

    readiest sale in Australia ? ' The chief thing there _ _ is — — lig ht literature .

    There are very few of the leisured classes , and fiction is the great staple . They are fond of

    books of adventure and travel . We have arranged ^^^ F * K « 0 fe ^^^ tr ^ k ^ K M |^ h ^ ^ ^^ r ^ m with 9 w *^ ^ F * V 4 * Messrs ^¦^ * ^ . ^^ ~ i ~ ^>^ ^^^ ^ p ^ ^ % ^ . ^ Sampson r ^^^ v ^^ p * m ^ m ** k _^ p ^^ ^^ r ^ m ¦ ^ K ^ Low ^^ b ^^ ^^ w w & ^ fc' ^ fa ' ' Co ^ . ^ ^ - * . to

    supply us with a colonial edition of Stanley's ' In Darkest Africa' there . Old books on

    Australian travel also sell well , and are becoming 1 very scarce . ' 7

    What about school books ' ? ' The school system is free and compulsory , and the Government — g-ives - a _ largjje quan - tity of

    o .-- - x books away . Nearly all the State schools are supp j £ , J . lied b .- y the Government __ . , and wherever

    the parents plead poverty the books are given . are By a N parliamentary elsons ' and the regulation tender the for books l used is suppy

    opened every , twelve months . Messrs . Nelson have been obliged to alter their series to suit

    the colonies Is underselling . ' known out there , Mi

    Mullen % ' i * New books are uniformly sold at published

    teachers pr WLWVAJLVA ices , with . * Of V ^ ' * certain . cours X- 'V ^ « - « , A K ** e - ' deductions there «/ AA ^/« - ~ KS * is ^* underselling * . m AA to ^ v ^ . V ^ A libraries » 9 - * -r « . m * . * - *^\ , and but rw

    it is qualified by the expense of carrying on business , rent and wages of assistants being

    higher Mr . than Mullen in Great then broug Britain ht . out a copy of the firm ' s monthly circular of literature , which was ftHt . n . KIiflhfM ] about six vfiara aco . and which

    consists of about twenty-four pages .

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), May 15, 1890, page 562, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15051890/page/10/