On this page

• Text (1)

  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.

  • 

    I March 15,1890 The Publishers' Circular...

• Transcript

  • 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.

    What, Therefore, Mr. Macmillan Proposes ...

    published price , and he would advertise it at a , discount but the _ . He ___ would mig 1 - - ht I succeed lose __ on in tha -1 t par A . j ticula r b o ok - ,

    ruse directing attention advertiseme to his shop . nt It would it would be worth brin its cus monej tomers r to as an , g

    shop to buy books upon which he really made a profit . ' * Do you think the terms proposed by Mr .

    Macmillan fair to the bookseller ?'— 'Decidedly than not . that They which would we pla occupy ce us in at present worse . position That ' s

    bad by the enoug change h . No is the , the publisher person . ' would benefit ' And you think nothing will come of the

    suggestion one been . threshe It , '' is - twenty ' Nothing d out years again . The old and question at again least . is , and not I think it a new has it

    was Bickers who first introduce ! the discount sys The tem publishers . He took tried oft' to twopence stop it , but in vain shilli . ng It .

    g threepe rew univers nce in al the , and shilling then . the discount rose to ' Nobody gives more than that , tI take it ? ' —

    'No bookseller *^ - » gives more ; but the stores underlatter sell us I , and am bound so do certain to say that linendrapers the publishers . As for have the

    no business to supply them . They are not in the trade . But they do it . Messrs . , for example , publish a series of reprints at two shillings per

    v with . olume a . discoun We t sell of 25 it at er ei c g en hteenpence t . The dra —that ers r ^ ^ et is it for Is . Q $ d . a copy , d isplay it in their windows pg

    and sell it at Is . 3 d . !' , Mr . Alkred Denny .

    Mr . Alfred Denny , of Booksellers ' -row , preferred to To express his mind no there opinion was on nothing Mr . Macmillan to express ' s letter any .

    opinion about . No definite sch eme had been put forward , but , to use his own expression , the aft ' ajr was * muddled . ' He pointed outhoweverthat a

    distinction must be made between , the large , and Mr the . smal Macmillan l bookselle ' s terms r . T fair he lat enoug ter mi h ; ght the consider former

    probabl his own terms would . not , for he can , as a rule , make Mr . F . C 6 knish .

    ' If the publishers want to put a stop to " llolborn underselling ) , * they , "' must remarked take action Mr . Cornish among ( them High

    selves . They have the remedy in their own hands . Let them all agree to give the booksellers fair terms- -10 or 15 per cent . say- and ask them to

    sell books at published prices , . This will ensure band what together they want . Half , provided of them , of course won't do , that . A they combi all

    it nation failed of that Severa sort l was of tried the some more years ¦ conservative ago , and houses objected to the 3 d . in the Is . discountand

    agreed to keep up the prices of their books , . Other houses , by publishing non-copyright works , were able to offer the bookseller better terms .

    ter the The ms works result found was published that that their the by publishers books the conservative were who pushed gave , houses while good

    gradually ceased to be in demand . After that , of course , they had to come down like the rest . ' * Do you + > think the public A would object " to net

    prices hooii give ?'— a M shilling y opinion for is that a book the as public ninepence would as — provided they could not get it for less . They

    naturally wish to buy in the cheapest marke ¦ t . ' * This ia not the first time that an attempt has been made ¦ to prevent 1 " underselling 4 ¦ l / w » f 4 Ik Wk " I V

    ^ " ^^^ ' " w *^ - «* " »*« r ^^ V' ^ , * V » * ^ M % * * v > j |^ ^^ **** ^^ n ** JK V ^ , V ^<* suppose **^ W ^ W *^ ^^ *^^ ^ ^ * h ~ * By no means . Some years ago , for examp •¦ le , the

    publishers started a ticket system . No one could get books from a publisher at the trade price

    unless he had a ticket , and every person possessing a ticket was supposed to keep the prices of books above a certain — standard _ . _ . But the ticket system ^

    wouldn ' t work . The other booksellers got hold of the tickets , and obtained their books as before . ' ' What do you think of the system proposed by

    Mr . Macmilla n ?'— ' I do not think V it will A . hav e any practical outcome , ' replied Mr , Cornish emphatically .

    Mr . David Stott . Mr . David Stott , of Oxford Street , regards

    Mr . Macmillan ' s suggestion with as much disfavour as any other bookseller , though on somewhat different grounds . What about those

    cus asks tomers . Under to whom the present you have system to give the credit purchaser ? he for ^— - ^^ - ^^ c - ^^ ^ a ^^ qr ^ sh v ^ ^ gets ^ p ¦ ^ h ^^ — ¦¦ - ^ a shilling ^ ' - ^ ^ —¦ ^™ ^ — ^ ^ ^ f ^ % book * - ** ^^ — for — — n — inepenc — — — bt — e — ; g the — — ^ " ^

    customer who expects six months' credit has to pay the fall shilling . If all books are to be retailed at the published price , this premium upon

    cash payments M . will disappear * ¦ . ¦ ¦ * * - at all * I don in ' t think ' the added proposed Mr . Stott system . ? It will work be — any * t way % / , may */

    all which very well man for y are the published superior class by Macmillan of books— and of Longmans ^ y —but it will not answer with ordinarymr

    books . Mr . Nimmo has tried the system of net pri very ces much , and if it it makes C 3 uld a be nice adopted variety all ; but round I question . Nor

    do I ' For think my the own public part would ' ( continued like it . ' Mr . Stott ) , ' I have always % } been in favour of a Booksellers '

    Institute . I think we ought , all of us , to combine grea ^ in _ _ _ order ter _ than to preven _ it now t th is e . discount The selling from \ price becomin of g a

    eve book n m a ^ ust k those not be linendrapers allowed to sink to whom lower . ' M . you I would have referred to join ius . I think every man who sells

    a getting hook is them in poi to nt work of fact with a us bookseller we should , and have by them , more or less under our control . '

    Messrs . Hatcharus . Messrs . Hatchards' manager did not think

    Mr . Macmillan ' s scheme would work . * You can't got prevent twopence " cutting in , the " '' said shilling he . , and '{ Suppose sold our we books all

    at before tlie I published should find price that . It the would man in the be ne long xt street was offering a shilling book for

    elevenpence . ' report ^ ^/ |^_ * ^» In him mL m that m m — , m to — ^ r ea the . se — ¦ - , publisher * - ~ of course -- , f who , you would would refuse have to to

    supply him with any more coj > ies of the book ?' wit * hout Tha . t success system . was The _ tried author many interfered years ago , but ¦ ,

    wanted V W A M * A X ^ ^ * ** to **** ^^^ ^ know " ¦^ ^*^ ^ - ^ —* w why the publisher refused r to \ supp was ly referred his books to arbitration when askt — ; d to for . Lord The Camp questi bell on

    a among publisher others could , I believe not — legall and y it refuse was decided to suppl that y ics of an author ' s book to any bookseller who

    oop mentioned mig ht Then app , l again y by for Mr , tlieia there . Stott . ' is . the The quest City ion of dis credit count

    would bookseller not who feel do this es . nothing But in but the a West , cash -end trad wo e the cash

    sho purchaser uld have on any no different means of footing placing to that of the ma Ml n who ly ||\ f t % ook /\ Afl six months - * - ^ *>* r- —^—— ' credit ^ - — _ - — _ . One might

    MJ ^ . ' A ^^ * ' m ^^ ™ --- -- _ ^ y n charge ot illegal inter e t st is mr , it j t *— o is say true the ; but least , even of it , that a very be

    Jk A > . / \ l M » * V- * »*^ *^ my , , --- ^ r w inconvenient course to adopt . '

    I March 15,1890 The Publishers' Circular...

    I March 15 , 1890 The Publishers' Circular 321 I

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), March 15, 1890, page 321, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15031890/page/15/