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    THE DAWN OF ENGLISH BOOKSELLING.

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    ^ Ofotfuai£Y

    four sans andadaughter . His eldest son , the Rev College . S . , W Oxford . SkeflBiiigton is an assistant , iFellow -master of ; University at the

    Charterhouse and , the author of ' The Sinless the Sufferer relig , ' ious a work world which ! ^ is he hi second ghly popular son , Mr ifi .

    mus Martin ical tastes S . Skeffington went to , Piccadill well known when for he was his only fifteen yeara , old ; he became y nis father's *

    partner on the business about 187 . 1 , and will continue to carry of the G . late P . FAteSY firm of . —Herr & Georg Frick Paul of Vienna Faesy ,

    ot tne late nrm ot Jfaesy Faesv & J ? tick , . oi V lenna ., died in that city on the 18 th ult . He had not long ^^_ _ — — ^^^^ B ^^^ survived — — —— — - his — ^^ p former . . - — — — partner ^ m—* - - — , ^ p whose - — - bio — — -

    graphy in a recent number of the Bdreenblatt ' des deutschen Buchhandels was from his pen . Herr Faesy was only in his forty-third year .

    A . Gaunter . —We regret to learn the death of M . Auguste Garnier , the elder member of

    the well-known firm of Garnier Freres , of Paris . M . Auguste Garnier was born in Paris in 1813 . At the early age of 20 he establishedin

    conj store unction which with they his successfull brother Hi y ppol conducted yte , a book until

    -1873 , , when they V removed to their present

    establishment , Kue des Sa ^ nts- ± * eres .

    Ar01300

    The Dawn Of English Bookselling.

    THE DAWN OF ENGLISH BOOKSELLING .

    ( A Contribution towards a Trade History . ) By W . ROBERTS .

    Fop convenience sake it will be -well to assume that bookselling had only an abstract form of existence until the invention of printing . To Faust may

    be accorded the honour of being the first vendor of bookselling printed books expedition . In or h throug about h 1463 Italy he and started Germany on a

    eventua r ^ v -m ^ r - ^^^ ^ m ^^^ ^^^ r ^^^ ^^^ " «^ ll ^ ^ . ^^ y ^^~^ ^^ H ^^ b arr ^^ ^—^^ iving ^_^ v - ^^^ _ — at ^^ - Paris — — —^— — . ^^^^ p - His — — — stock ^^^ m — — — co - nsist - — ed — - — of g , Bibles and Psalters , and his venture was very successful . His visit to Paris gave rise to many

    stories which are more or less fictitious . The commonest of them favours the notion that his printed ¦ books w ^^ ~^^ p * ^^ p ^ V ^^^^^ F were » ^ B ^ ^^^ B ^^^ soLd ^ " ^^ ^^ " ^ " ^ " ^ ™ as - ^^~^ " ^^ manuscri — " ^—^" ~ ^^— * ~~ —^ —~ pts H ~~ — at MS . —~ prices H ~~ ¦ —^ ~~ —i —~ . » e *»— ^ .

    from 60 crowns upwards—and that the deception was not suspected until he made a reduction from 60 to 40 and then down to 20 crowns each . Even

    at the last , charge his profit must have been cona siderable Bible was . So 80 far lire bac or k about as 1279 j # 18 , the . cost of copying ,

    au M Moyen . Lieber Age , in / g * A ives ppreciation the price du of Fortune a copy of Privee the four Gospelsin 1287 h h as 4 lires 10 sousa sum _ - - ^^ - now

    equivalent — — ^^ W ~^ VW h ^ h . ^^ T ^ fc ^^ V ^^ P H ^ - ^^~ ^^ to B W ^^ , V ^^ £ " ^^^^ mm 20 . ^^^ 10 r ^ p , ^ m s . ^^""^ " ¦ Tn the — ~— thirteenth ^ - — — — - _ - , ^_ — — century - _ - - - ~ , the five price hundred of an francs illuminated , or i ? 16 ' book to £ \ was S at about our present four or

    rate ex transcribing — ~^ m ^ « p ^^ i ^ ense b p ^^^ of ^^^ ^ p |_ ^^^ f ^^ charge ^ v w ^^ p fl ^ P ^ pr as ^^ . ^ , ^ K H as ^ cau ^¦^ P . b » s ^»^ But y ^» d the ^ , ^^» i ^ " ^ not ^^ p the ~ dearn —•—^^ ¦ ^ ¦ so scarcity ~—^ - ^^^ much ess ^ ^ — ^^ of — and by parchmen ™^^ the ™ consequent ^ — — ^ cost t ^^ and — ^ - ^ of ~ —

    illust incidental rated expenses books , on . account This more of the especiall ivory and y refers sheets to of gbld .

    At the time of Faust ' s visit , there were in Paris no fewer than 6 , 000 persons whose livelihood de-¦¦ pended ¦ on either «—r ¦ i ¦ the copying 1 or illuminating ¦ of

    —v - ^ « ^^^ ^^^ ^^ P - ^^ ^ . ^^ ^^ *^ v - — ' ^ ^— ^ —~ —^ ^ ' ¦— » JJ ' J ^ — " MSS ., under the patronage or with the sanction of the University . It was an obvious impossibility to produce M ¦ ¦ manuscri ¦ ¦ ¦ II ¦ ¦ pts profitabl —T- y at —¦ the T pri ¦ ' — ces —m- "

    to -. - » ' which ^^ I ^ B *^ ^ . ^ ^^^ ^ H - ^ Faust ^^ ^ — ^ reduced -w ^ - ' ^ - ^^ ' —¦ V ^ - ^ his ^^ r ' "' bo —r — oks — « . Persecution ~ - — r naturall Fausr ' e y stock ensued appeared . This to be was inexhaustible intensified . It when was

    'i

    ¦ .. / . : n— . [¦ noted similarity , moreover , each , bei that ng his an cop exact ies possessed counterpart a striking of the

    with other . the The evil innovator one . Finding was declared the place to becoming be in league too hot , Faust _ retired — to — — ¦ - Mayence ¦ ' - m * ^^ ^^™ ^^ - ^ . ^ Here ^¦ MB * ~ W ^ ^^ ; ^ likewise » 4 k »^ ^^ •» fc ^ V ^ he ^^ ¦*»¦

    to was Strasburg not appreciated . Two , or and three again removed after his , jthis sudden time exitFaust again visited Paris years . He & bad w ^^ fe published »>^ ^

    an — — —» exposition > — - — — —* — - ^^ m ^ M of ^^ his ^^ method ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ " ^^ m * of ^ * ^ m printing ^ mm ^^ ^^ , and *^ ^^^ ^ thi ^^^^^ ^ s ^^ smoothed the way for him . He carried on business without molestationandestablished a permanent

    agency here under the , management . of Herman de was Statte a n swor , and n bookseller at the house of the of John University Guymi of er Paris , who .

    included The plagu among e of its 1466 victims , whi the ch carried goldsmith off -bookseller so many , , who - » — - ^ r onl ¦— - — ^^^ y » f pre ^ T ^^ -deceased ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ Gutenberg ^^^ ^^^ ^^ M fe ^ K by i ^^ W T a Tf coup ^^ Vi ^ * fc » B ^ le «»^^ of ^^^ b

    y printed ears . on Afte vellum r Faust , except ' s death as , curiosities very few ; books paper were was more commonly used as ¦ the ¦ art i of producing ii it b

    became — — — better - - — - und ^ m erstood — — — — — — — — . ^—^ v - ^ - ^ - ^^ ^ m h ^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^» ^^ ^ ^^ m /^ ^^ r first As vendor Faust ma of y printed be regard books ed in so the Caxto lig n ht may of the be

    looked on as the first English bibliopole , . Without wit entering - — h — — whom — on Caxton the - — — - debatable l — earned ¦— - — ground the - ^ — — - ^ art - ^^^—^ ^ v as of - ^^ ^ b to printing h *^ i ^ b ^» ^ where h # » ^ i * ^ fc ^^^^ ^ F ^ % , W or or ^^^ ^^^

    why he , apparently a successful merchant of njany years' standing , should have adopted this art in the decline of life as a profession , are questions equally

    envelopedin the mist of obscurity . And it would be a profitless task to speculate . Caxton wisely refrained from printing Bibles

    and Psalters and other religious vade-mecums . In this he-exhibited his great good sense . He knew that ¦ by loHowing ¦ hh the { examp ¦ H le set by Faust the

    result would — — be disastrous ^^ " — — . He confined ™~ — — his ^ V ^ V attention ^ h ^^ " ^^^ " ~^— — - ^^ ^—^^^ - ^ , therefore , to the production and selling of the old romances and tales 6 f chivalry which were then so

    popular Then , as now , the bookseller did not trouble so much about the intrinsic merit of a book as about its commercial value and the number of

    d cop egree ies little he was short likel of y desperate to dispose are of most . D of reary Caxfcon to ' a s books ; and i f the ' ti mes ' have a peculiar faseiaation

    for ^ _ . students ^ m of ^^— mediae « k A va l Eng ^ V ^^ . land ^ m ^ A , it is A feared that _ no amount of charity will justify a similar predilection for its literary phase . Although we know

    nearly everything connected with Caxton ' s books — thanks to the energy and thoroughness of Mr . Wiltfam Blades—there is one particular phase or

    aspect of his bookselling career of which we know nothing . We have no clear records relative to the charges made for the sixty or seventy books which

    he printed , published , and sold . We have scarcely as any to means which of sold arri best ving althoug at an approximate h several of calculation them ran

    , into second editions ; and in the instance of ' The Golden Legende ' ( 1433 ) , thxae editions were called for . But the amount of Caxton ' s funeral expenses

    justif been able i y mportance acquire the conclusion d through and wealth that channels , he which was , other of again some , than mi consider ght book have - -

    selling not so . much The due demand to the for increased books at suppl this y period as to was the great reduction in the prices This reduction , soon

    after printing was introduced , is computed at fourfifths . In the ' Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York , ' 1603 , we have the , following entry :

    ' Itm for a prymer and sanlter , xxd . ' The late Mr . Charles Knight pointed out that this sum would then have bought half a load of barley ,

    and that the amount was equal to the six days ' jvage people of became a labourer more . enlig As htened time went , the on de , mand and the for .

    books increased , than which there was no motie I effectual f » wiy of calling cheap books into existence . I ii in ¦¦ i '» i M 11 ¦ ii mii t \ i , i ——¦— -4 i *——~—— i * m ^— i i . i . i ——— i i * y i ^ www i . i pi ^ i pwwi i ^ w '' . S ^ qiift ^ f | py

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), June 1, 1887, page 619, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_01061887/page/13/