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    318 The Publishers' Circular March 15, i...

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    By permission of the Editor of the Pall ...

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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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    ___-*O*.~ The Booksellers' Trade Dinner....

    degrees ; and he thought the duty imposed upon him was the pleasantest of all . For

    answer instance for , he the mi toast ght have of i Literature been called . ' upon When to - ever he had to reply for Literature his mind

    became a blank . It was the sort of blank which was known in the trade as 'Ency . Brit ., ' which seemed to him to sum up all literature .

    They might wonder what is the connection between Dr . Evans and the A Encyclopedia Britannica . ' He would tell them . He believed

    the doctor wrote it all ( laughter ) . If he did not write it , he was ready to take his oath the doctor could repeat it to them ( laughter ) . It

    seemed to him that their society might almost be called an insurance society . He was one of those who believed that amid all the

    nostrums and all the doctrines which are continually put forward for the salvation of everybody i / and the regeneration _» of everything v ^ j ¦ , the

    one nostrum and the one doctrine which in days to come will ultimately prevail and work a cure for many a human ill is the

    great principle of insurance ( hear , hear ) . He thought their chairman ' s speech that evening had been a most interesting oneas

    well as an able one , giving much good food , for reflection , and the speech , above all things , of a practical A - business man . Charity and

    philanthropy were both good things , but without business capacity were often spoiled , if they did not defeat their own e . ids . But

    the chairman had shown them how practical good could be done by such an institution as thtft to which they belonged ( cheers ) . They

    all knew how much the ancient firm of which the chairman was a member had done for their fund ; one member alone having

    contribated . t' 10 , 000 ( applause ) . In their chairman that evening they had a good friend , a good fellow , a good t sportsman , and a boon and a

    blessing ' both — -f to those who * wrote and those who sold ( cheers ) . He proposed the health of the chairman and vice-chairman .

    The toast was acknowledged by Mr . C . J . Longman and Mr . C . Awdry ; and the proceeding w / s , which had been pL leasantly

    interspersed with vocal music , then terminated with the singing of the National Anthem . We must not forget to mention that , as a

    result of the favour and support which attended the social gathering above described , there is every prospect of its becoming an

    annual affair . In addition to the plan of the tables we give our readers some ' Sketches at the

    Dinner . ' Possibly many of our country and foreign

    readers may be glad to see the following opinions of the London Press on the subject : The Telegraph . -. - . The spectacle of

    members of the two professions 1 ( authors and an publishers adumbration ) dining of amicabl the happy y together •/ time when . . . gives the

    wolf and the lamb shall lie down side by side in peace . Daily News . —The dinner . . . marked a new

    departure in the booksellers' trade . . . . The

    gathering was a representative one .

    f Daily Graphic . —The gathering , which was an I experiment , proved an unqualified success .

    \ The Observer . —The Booksellers' Banquet . A novel success trade . ... It gathering opens the proved e } es of an authors unqualified to the

    i fact that their traditional enemies are not the sented ghouls to and be ogr . es that they have been repre-;

    The Globe . —Lions and lambs , publishers , book - sellers the ausp , and ices authors of the , have Booksellers dined together ' Provident under

    Institution , and no harm has yet come of it . Ti doubtedl n-: Star y — heralds The dinner a new on departure Saturday in ni the ght bock un- \ ¦ > .

    trade , and , alike in the unanimity of sentiment jj for and the the future hi «; h tone of speaking , it promised well ! i 1 ' ,

    JLOltlH , IULUJLG . . Fall Darlin Mall e Booksellers Gazette , ' as . — M 'A . De Nig Cliaillu ht with called the ' j

    them . The hastiest glance at the guests indicated that the gathering was unique . ' j St . James ' s Gazette . —Authors , publishers , and :

    booksellers fraternised very pleasantly . Daily Chronicle . —The advantages of becoming \\ a member of the Booksellers' Provident Institu- ||

    tion were set forth in a way which should carry ; widespread conviction .

    318 The Publishers' Circular March 15, I...

    318 The Publishers' Circular March 15 , i 890

    By Permission Of The Editor Of The Pall ...

    By permission of the Editor of the Pall Mall Gazette we are able to give the following

    interesting interviews with London booksellers from the columns of our enterprising contemporary : — !

    IS THE DISCOUNT SYSTEM DOOMED ? Answers of the Leading London

    Booksellers . Is the book-buyer no longer to have his

    'threepence in the shilling' discount ? This is the question which has for some time been agitating the book trade , and which was

    brought to a head last week by Mr . Frederick Macmillan . Writing in the organ of the trade , MrMacmillan \ irged that Ulldi the time had j

    ifll . . AUCH / Hniltl U lllil ^ Vt V bllVy IjllliV / . 1 JM > VI . Vy come VJlllV for seriously taking in hand the growing evil j of ' underselling . ' The competition amongst j

    booksellers has become so keen that 'it is || rapidly becoming impossible , ' writes Mr . Mac- j

    millan , 'for a bookseller pure and simple , , j dealing in current literature , to make a living \ lsiiiess

    profit from his ) u .. ' j Two possible remedies for underselling

    suggested themselves : ( 1 ) to fix the limit of discount which should be allowed from

    published prices ; ( 2 ) to abolish discounts to the public altogether . Mr . Macmillan prefers ; the latter solution . ' If the principle of giving

    1 discounts to purchasers be admittedit is , difficult / he says , 'to fix a limit to them , and it seems to me that the best and only satis

    factory plan is a general reduction of retail prices , and the diminution of trade allowances to such a point that the full published price

    may reasonabl * y be demanded and obtained A from purchasers . I am of opinion that a trade price of XOd . in the Is . with the present

    discounts at settlementbut , without odd books would be at once sufficient , and just , and at , i

    the same time not large enough to tempt the bookseller into giving discounts to his customers , and so beginning over again the

    process of demoralisation . ' - a

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), March 15, 1890, page 318, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15031890/page/12/