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    188 Fleet Street : March 15, 1886.

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    MA CAULAY, in his essay on Montgomery, s...

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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.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

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    266 The Publishers' Circular March 15 , 1886 !

    188 Fleet Street : March 15, 1886.

    188 Fleet Street : March 15 , 1886 .

    Ma Caulay, In His Essay On Montgomery, S...

    MA CAULAY , in his essay on Montgomery , says : ' All that the rich and powerful

    bestowed on authors from the time of Maecenas to that of Harley would not , we apprehend ,

    make a sum equal to that which lias been paid by English booksellers to authors during the

    last fifty years . ' These words were written a long time before Macaulay received from

    Messrs . Longman the celebrated cheque for 2 OOO 0 £ . being the substantial ' first fruits '

    ,, of the publication of his great ' History . of England . ' English literature in modern times

    can show many examples of very high prices being paid for single books , while fair fortunes

    have rewarded the life ' s work of our leading authors . Instances of such cases will readily

    come to-the memory of diligent readers , and they form a happy contrast to the stories of

    impecuniosity and bad bargaining which marked the troubled lives of authors in the

    good old days . * Was ever poet so trusted before , V was the remark of Johnson when he

    heard of Goldsmith's debt of 2 , 000 Z . By his famous letter to Lord Chesterfield , which

    sounded the death-knell of patronage , the great moralist gave the world of letters a quick

    release from a discreditable thraldom , and , by direct appeal to the public , authors have since !

    gained that ready support which it was rarely the fortune of their predecessors to receive . !

    Unquestionably the most remarkable example of the financial results of a

    successful book is afforded by the first payment ; recently made to Mrs . Grant on account of i

    the publication of General Grant ' s ' Memoirs . ' On February 27 Mr . Webster , the pub-

    lisher , handed Mrs . Grant a cheque for the ; large sum of # 200 , 000 . Besides this , it is

    conjectured that a like sum may be paid in a few years , and that $ 400 , 000 will be the

    remuneration for the second volume . Altogether , therefore , there will be a total of

    # 800 , 000 as Mrs . Grant ' s share of the proceeds . This is certainly the greatest payment

    ever associated with a single book . Of course we have to remember that the circumstances

    of the case are unusual . The book is not the

    § } ^ y ^ Kt ^ ^^ Ljd ^ ^^ y £ k ^ gfci ^ ^ . ~^ =-\ % ^ J 1 /^^ aL w ^ AC g ^^^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ - C ^ -r ^ g ^ ^ - > l ^ ] La

    work of a literary man , although its style in

    vigorous and graphic writing has been deservedly praised . It is the record of a hero ' s

    life , bravely written , under circumstances which commanded the sympathy of the

    civilised world , and in his native country it was to be expected that appreciation of the great

    soldier ' s last work upon earth should take a substantial form . The bequest left by the

    General in the hands of his countrymen for the future maintenance of his widow has I

    been nobly accepted . I The transaction is of more than ordinary I

    interest to the literary world , although it is very unlikely that the most meritorious book ,

    from a critical point of view , would ever attain a success so extraordinary , at least in its

    initial publication . Some of our readers may be interested in perusing the letter which the I

    publishers have written in connection with I the payment , and also in seeing a facsimile of I

    the cheque which was handed to Mrs . Grant . I The latter has been reproduced from the Xew I

    York Mail and Express , I New York , Feb . 27 , 1886 . 11

    Mr . Cyrus W , Field , I Dear Sir , —The contract with General I

    Grant for the publication of the Memoirs was I signed just a year ago to-day , since which I

    tinae the book has been practically written , I published — , and the great — bulk of money for _ I

    the first volume collected . I It seems fitting to me on the anniversary I

    of the signing of that contract to pay to Mrs . m I Grant the check which you know about , and

    !! it will accordingly be handed her this morning . More is due her , and will be paid as soon

    as collected . We expect to collect as much again when

    the second volume appears , so that Mrs . Grant's profits within a year from publication

    will not fall below # 400 , 000 , and will probably reach $ 500 , 000 .

    I take the liberty of writing this to you , as you have expressed so much interest , and

    have been so kind in the matter . Yours * I

    truly . Charles L . Webstek . 1

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), March 15, 1886, page 266, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15031886/page/4/