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. Harper & Brothers .................
‘ the firm made a strong
' in 1710.
TROPOLITAN HOLIDAY SUPPLEMENT
PUBLISTIIN HOU ES.
IN THE FIELD _OF BOOKMAKING TVHE
METROPOLIS HOLDS THE FORE— --
MOST PLACE.‘
NAMES WHICH STAND FOR EVERYTHING THAT
.‘lS BEST IN LITERATURE—N0 OTHER AMERI— ,
CAN CITY CAN BOAST on so LARGE .3
NUMEER OF POPULAR coNCERNs—
GOOD Books NOW ‘ WITHIN THE
REACH on ALL
“He that shall make search after knowledge,
let him seek it wheie it is," said Montaigne, in
his essay “Of Bookes." And if knoWledge is to
.be sought of books. where better can it be
found than in such a place as NeW- York, where
the making of many books goes on day after
day, industriously and zealously.
Indeed, in no other city in the land are there
to be found so many concerns engaged in the
making of books, and the making of them well.
Of the great New-York publishing— —houses that
me known the world over, the following are
representative. The names are given in the or-
der of their founding:
Methodist Book Concern . ......
William Wood & C0 ' ..
Buke1,Voorhies & Co.................
D. Appleton & Co ....... . . ..
David G. Fiancis
D. Van Nostrand
Ivison 81: Co
John \Viley & Sons
John F.
.............................
................
............
-Dodd. Mead & Co ............ 33- ....... , .....
Charles Scribner’s Sons ..... 3 .................
The Methodist Book Concern, the oldest New—
York publishing house now extant, was started
in 1789 by the Rev. John Dickens, and five year!
later the firm of William Wood & Co. was
founded by Samuel Wood, grandfather of
W. H. S. Wood, the present senior partner of the
house. Then came Harper & Brothers originally
known as J. & J. Harper, the present style of
the firm being- adopted in 18". 3. ~ James and
John Harper, the elder brothers, were sons of a
Long Island schoolmaster, and were apprenticed
to a printer in New-York. Their younger
brothers, Joseph Wesley and Fletcher, entered
theii employ when the firm was f0unded, and
later were made partners In its early history
feature of the securing
of first copies of important English and other
foreign publications and, by putting an extraor-
dinary number of plinters and compositors at
work, placing an American edition on the mar—
ket long before any of their competitors could
do so. ' .
. A LONG CAREER
The firm of D. Appleton & Co. was founded
eight years after the Harpers, by Daniel Ap-
pleton, who forsook the drygoods business to go
into. publishing.
Ivison & C.o, founded in 1831, were- among
‘the pioneers in the school- book line.
John Wiley, son of Charles Wiley, did not
Vmaintam any connection with the business of
his father. but started on his own account in
18328, as the agent of a Philadelphia house. In
19321123 formed a partnership with George Long,
and four years later George Palmer Putnam be-
came a membe1 of the fiIm. Mr. Putnam was
originally a clerk in a bookshop in Ann- st. He
entered the firm With a cash capital of $150, and
from his salary and his venture has grown the
great publishing house of G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
It was due largely to. Mr. Putnam’ s efforts that
the first American Copyright Committee was
organized, in 1837, and until his death, in 1872,
he was one of the foremost to defend the rights
_of American publishers and authors.
The firm of A. S. Barnes & CO., founded in
1838, soon gained a standing as publishers of
sChool- books.
Co. comes a year later in the chronology of the
publishing business, and lovers of fine books are
‘ well aware that they have kept pace with the
rest.
ORIGIN OF THE SCRIBNER FIRM.
Charles Scribner was the son of a Congrega-
tional clergyman, and was graduated from
Princeton, where he studied law. In 18462he
went into the publishing business withIsaao-D.
Baker. Andrew C. Armstrong, who wasatuthat
time in the firm's employ, became a partner 0f
Mr. Scribner'some‘years later. After the death
of his father, in 1871, Charles Scribner, jr., be-
came the head of the firm.
The most recent of the great publishing houses,
The Century Company, has taken an important-
place in the world of books and magazines.
It will thus be seen that the establishment of
the great publishing industry. in NeW— York is
an outcome of little over a hundred years In-
deed, old Dutch New- York seemed to. be rather -
more engrossed in. its Holland gin than in books,
and Cambridge, Mass. .,
in those early times.
. In 1863. Governor :Fletclier of the Province of
New-York induced William Bradford to come to
New-York. He was thereupon given the title
"Printer in Ordinary to Their MostV Excellent
Majesties William and Queen Mary." 'His books
would hardly prove popular to—day, whatever.
their virtue may then have been. They bore
such titles as “Truth Advanced,” ”The. New—
England Spirit of Persecution Transmitted to
Pennsylvania" and “Propositions Made by Five
Nations." These books, if they are “caviarevto
the general,” are none the less prized by col~
lectors and bibliophiles, and now bring many
times their original value when offered for sale.
VSOME EARLY PRINTERS.
John William Zenger was New—York’s second
printer, and became an apprentice to Bradford
James Parker, also an apprentice in
the same shop, set up a business of his own in
1742, and added his shaIe to the reading matter
which helped to console the good old Colonial
folk on cold winter nights.
The rapid development of the publishing busi-
ness in New-York is a cause for pride, not only
in New—York, but in every city and town of the
country, for in this and in all other. lines the
metropolis is the primary producing and distrib-
. uting centre. While it is undoubtedly true that
in other cities some excellent publishing houses
The founding of Dodd, Mead &‘
Philadelphia and Vir-'
ginia- played an important part in the business.
the editor.
may be found, it is here the thebusiness con» - "u ~
centratea.
The American author desirous of sending. his;
light across the continent is pretty likely to. con-
suit the New-York publisher first. The readers. .V-V
of the publishing houses pass judgment- upon
thousands of manuscripts every year. A large
majority of- these never shed their light beyOnd
' the narrow .cOufmes of the publisher's office;
many, indeed, are kindled, so to- speak, and sent
forth only to flicker briefly, but Still others burst
into. flame, spread their light over a broad ex—'
pause of territory and are rekindled in the glow
of their own fire.
These are the books that bring joy to the
”hearts of the publishers—these books that one
reads of as having “run through the first hun-
dred thousand—about to be issued in a. second
edition.” And when one remembers that it is
not so uncommon a thing to hear of such a
number being sold of a single book, the vast-
ness of the publishing business begins to
loom up.
TWO' CHARACTERISTICS.
The development of the modern publishing
business is distinctly along two lines, and rep-
resents two extremes. In the firSt place, there
never was a time when so many fine books
were made. In _the general development of taste
in America, the appreciation of fine books has
come to many: Persons who in former years
were c'ontVent With a volume no matter how
badly made or how poor the type work and il-
lustrations, now demand something better. ~A
book now must meet the requirements of this
advanced taste. “Plenty of gilt”Von the cor-
ners will. not seduce the buyer to-day—that is,
the intelligent buyer, and of these there are
many. He insists upon a volume that shall be
in harmony with what he feels to be good. The
designing 0f book covers is in itself by no.
means an unimportant part of the business. The
quality of the paper, the clearness of the type
and the other purely mechanical features of
book- making are all essentials in the eyes of
the thoughtful book buyer of to- day.
Then, too, there is a large public whose means
are such as to justify additional expenditure
on the part of the publishers.V Such persons
demand fine books, and the publisher puts
forth his efforts to produce sumptuous special
editions that the demand may be met. At holi—
day times the number of such editions is much
increased, and _every year sees a greater number
of lavish books offered.
This is a conclusive proof that the demand
for the better grade of books is constantly in-
creasing, and what makes it the more surpris—
ing is that while the trade in fine books is ex—
winding the demand for cheap ones likewise
grows.
“Books never were so cheap; they can ’t pos-
sibly get any cheaper’ That remark is made
year after year, and yet we see the impossible
accomplished right along, for books do get
cheaper, though the limit would seem to have
been reached long ago.
when the standard works of popular authors
Were so nearly available for everybody. He
must be a poor man, indeed, to- day who cannot
afford a few good books; to persons of extreme-
ly limited means the possession of a library 1s
possible. When the forces which are making
for our greater civilization and progress are
taken into account, the publishers should come
in for a share of appreciation. It is largely to
their energy and enterprise that our develop-
ment is due, and they are entitled to a full
meed of praise. .
______.__.__———
THE MAGAZINES OF” TO-DAY.
IN GREATER ‘NEW-YORK THERE ARE OVER,ONE
HUNDRED PUBLICATIONS, WITH A COM-
BINED CIRCULATION REACHING
INTO THE MILLIONS.
There are more than a hundred magazines
published here in New- York, and their com—
bined 3c1rculation reaches into the millions. They
are read'all over the United States, and many
of them have circulation in Europe as well.
3 V A large number are devoted to special fields of
science, art, medicine, etc., and are contributed
to by' specialists of world-wide reputation. Such
magazines as “The Century” and “Harper’s"
are marked by a tone distinctivelv American,
and to-this fact not a little of their prosperity is
due.- . _ - -
The reader of the modern New-York maga-
zine is apt to be pretty well posted on current
affairs, as a share of space is usually given to
events. of National or international significance.
Then, too, the 'modern magazine aims to pre-.
sent‘t0j3its readers the best products of therore-
most writers at home and abroad. Its endeav-
101‘s are intimately connected with the develop:
ment of American letters.
IllUStrating has reached a high plane of per-
fection- in the magazine of to— day, and the
periodicals spend large sums annually to add to
their attractiveness -by the employment of good
artists and the best reproductive processes. In
an address delivered before the Quill C-lub
Frank- H: Scott made-the folloWing Statement
about New-York magazines:
"I know there is a popular-idea that all maga—
zines are run by cliques, that the articles are all
written by a erw of the editor’s personal friends,
that‘ the manuscripts of new writers are re-
turned unread or thrown into the waste-basket.
Without asking you to take the word of a pub-
lisher, who, notwithstanding the relations which
are supposed to eXist between the business and.
editorial ends of a periodical, might yet be sup-
p‘0sed to be an interested party, let us see if
any light can be thrown upon this subject by a
careful analysis of the facts. The twelve num-
bers of ‘The Century Magazine' ending with the
issue for April, 1894, contain 394 separate signed
articles, and I find that these have been written
by 326 different authors, so that only a few.
authors could have appeared more than once,
except in the case of serials; Certainly, this
does not look like the work of a small clique,
especially as ninety-four of them. were new con—
tributors, who had never written for the maga-
zine before, and were presumably unknown to
Neither was there any exclusiveness
as to sex, as ninety-eight of them were women;
, nor as to section or locality. as these contribu-
There never was a time 3
MAXIMUM VALUE AND ‘~.- »
MINIMUM misuse .11 ..
CHARACTERIZE .1: .11
IllckcnsderVV
,Vel‘
$35.00;
SIMPLE. VJ'TDURABV LE. .11
‘ yp0wr1ters.
UNEXCELLED FOR ALL CLASSES OF WORK
A radical departure from ’ ,'
old, time worn, cumbersome
methods of construction. A
complete Revolution 31011sz
new and original lines, in.
keeping. with the advance
thought of this Progressive .
Age, yc't old enough to have” V-
bccn wci 11ch in the balance
and not ound wanting.
The
BLTBKENSDEBFEH
TYPEWTTITETTS
were placed on the market In VV
the" Spring of 1895.
V $50.00.?”
FIRST YEAR’S SALES (1895) ""308’7 M‘V
; snoonn n '”_.-. (1896). 8,189 -
THIRD ” 2’. (1897).. ”311:099 ..
ESTIM'ATED sAnEs FOR 1898. 4-500.
This is the WORLD’S RECORD WHY?
NO LIFTING OF CARRIAGE TO SEE WHAT HAS
BEEN WRITTEN
NO RIBBON TO ”FILL" THE TYPE.
NO TYPE BARS TO BEND AND BREAK.
NO RAGGED ALIGNMENT. >
NOV PORTER REQUIRED TO MOVE IT.
N0 BURDEN TO OWN ONE. EITHER FROM FIRST
COST OR SUBSEQUEN'I‘ REPAIRS.
ITS WRITING IS ALWAYS IN SIGHT. '
IT INKS FROM A ROLL LIKE A APRINTING: PRESS.
IT HAS S4 CHARACTERS ON SINGLE INTER-
CHANGEABLE TYPE WHEEL. .
SEND FOR ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE;
IT ILISEEETRFECT AND PERMANENT IN ITS ALIGN-
IT WEIGHS ONLY. SIX POUNDS—THE LIGHTEST MA-
CHINE MADE.
IS THE SIMPLEST AND STRONGEST, HAVING
IT
V ONLY 250 PARTS
IT WILL “'EAVR LONGESVT BECAUS -
3 EST PARTS E IT HAS FEW
IT ILSIR FULI Y GUARANTEED IN EVERY PARTICU-
A
\
AGENCIES IN ALL THE PRINCIPAL'CITIE-VSV.
THE3 BLICKENSDERT‘ER MFG CO.,
. . _ Executive Office and Factory,
NEW YORK. BOSTON.
"182 Broadway.
949 Broadway.
79 FlftllV Ave.
cos Washinpton 5t. -
STAMFORD, VVcoVNN.
PHILADELPHIA. CHICAGO.
10111 & Gin-smut Sis. _ __1115 Lu sum St.
tions came not only from New- York and Massa-
chusetts, but from every one of the States of
the Union, North and South, from Canada, and
also from England, France, Spain,- Italy and
Australia.
“It is not necessary for me to go into detail as
to how the nine thousand manuscripts received
at the office during the year were sifted down to
the four hundred which were finally published.
All manuscripts are examined.
“Every number of a modern magazine costs
more than $10, 000 for contributions and pictures
before it goes to press, and if we add to this the
salaries of editors and managers, the rent and
expense of maintenance of a great establish-
ment, you will see that only immense editions
can make it possible to supply the present
magazine, c0nt’ain’ing, as it does, _as mneh mat-
ter and as well printed as the average $4 or $5
book, for 35 cents. " '
Among the oldest magazines in the United.
States. may be mentioned ‘fThe North American
Review, ” begun in 1815, and "Godey s, ” in 1830
Included in a list of the principal. publications
of this kind whose circulations vary- from 2
to 500,000 are the following: .“Harper' 5, ’-’ “Cen—
tury,’ “Delineator, " "Munsey’ s,’ “Scribner s,’
“Forum," “Popular Science, ” - “Argosy,”- .-”S,t.
Nicholas," ‘fHarper’ 3 Young People," F-‘Demo-
rest’s, “Godey’ s, ” “Peterson? s,’ “Bookman, ”'
"Art Amateur, " "Art Interchange, ” ‘fFrank Les—
lie’ 5 Popular Monthly,” ”Eclectic” and “Review
of Reviews." ’
The popular—price magazine is an enterprise of
comparatively recent origin, but it has. shown.
remarkable vitality and capacity for develop—
ment Like cheap books, the cheap magazine
seems to be improving all the time, and .readers
of the. 5 and 10 cent periodicals can surely -be
said to “get plenty. for their money.’
Some of the magazines which Were formerly?
sold at 25 cents have been reduced in price- to
meet the demand for; a Ill-cent. periodical, but.
their contents are, if anything, .more attractive
to the average reader than __before' the. reduc-
tion.
Joyed by these magazines that makes the enter-
prise possible. 3
____...___.——
TRADE JOURNALS.
PERIODICALS -WI-IICH SUPPLY THE MANUFACT-
URERS OF THE COUNTRY WITH- TECHNI‘ V
CAL AND SPECIAL INFORMATION.
One of the surest signs of commercial and in-
dustrial progress is to be found in the multi-
plicity of newspapers or periodicals devoted to
particular lines of business, “The American
Railway Journal, ” started in 1830, purported to
give its attention to one commercial subject, but»
it was really not until sixteen years later that
an individual line of trade was thus represented.
“The Dry Goods Economist”. founded in 1846,
"did not meet with success until many years
later, but now enjoys a wide circulation. The
next papers to be established on similar lines.
were .“The Shoe and Leather Reporter” and
“The Iron Age,” both of which stand unrivalled
in their particular fields, and are read by thou-
sands. Thesetwo trade paper; supply a. large
amount of valuable information to their readers,
interests.
”Magazine" Occupies a prominent position, and is
0,000,
name, and has. done- so f0r many years.
Brewers’ Journal"
:high reputation;
ducted with. ability, covering the field of rail-
-_high; position,
and eXposition 'of the;
It is only the enormous circulation en-.
the modern standard ,of- excellence
and they have attained a, commanding position
in class j0urnalism. The valu‘e.0f.;.trade papers
was soon apparent, and- with‘the "general de-
velopment of our industries new papers came
into the field appealing to business men in every
line of trade.
It would be impracticable to give within the
limits of this article a list or description of the
class papers printed and published in New-
York. This city, the first in the Union, is natu-
rally the c"entre for the publication of such pa.-
pers, and it may safely be asserted that“ no
special business interest is now without its or-
ga N0t only commerce, but the arts and sci-
ences,- religion, education. sports and pastimes
of all kinds, the professions and the secret so-
cieties maintain publications devoted to their
In the field of finance “The BankerS'
regarded as an authority. “The Engineering
News” ably covers the field indicated by its
“The
is representative and long
established. ~“Locomotive Engineering” counts
its circulation by tens of thousands; “BOnfort’s
Wine and Spirit Circular” is a trade organ of
{‘Railway Equipment” is con-
road supplies, ‘fEl Cbmercio” is a. widely recog- _
nized medium for the dissemination of general 5
commercial news, and publishes an English and
a Spanish edition Among clothing trade dour-
nals “The Cloak and Suit Review”. occupies a .
“The Street Railway Journal”.
is authoritative and exhaustive in the discussion V
many-sided. subject to
Which it is devoted;- “-The United. States Finan.
cial and Mercantile Examiner,” of— New-York
City, furnishes information to a numerOus class
of patrons; “The Progressive Ag‘e” watches the ~
interests of gas and water pipe manufacturers,
dealers and consumers. The “commuter” find!
interesting and Up-to-date. points and sugges-
tions in the col-unms of “Suburbs”; the world-
famous music— publishing house of N ovello Ewer
& Co. issues “The Musical Times” as a reliable
and well— informed chronicle of the doings of
the profession, including composers, artists and
publishers. It may be added that iii—typographi-
. 3 cal appearance and general make- -up the trade
publications of the time in nowise fall. short of
The total”
number of pages contained in a single issue of
52: average trade paper ranges from 96 to
The general purpose of these journals .is to
gather all.. the neWs. and information—domestic
and foreign—which relate to or in any way at-
fect the interests of the various lines of com-
merce. They give current prices, changing con-
ditions of the markets of the world, and a V;-
riety of useful and important information which
is essential to the buyer and seller of merchan-
dise.
The trade journals command an enormous ad.-
Vertising patronage, as producers realize their
value in reaching the wholesale buyer direct.
It follows that their income is mainly derived
from the volume of advertising they cal-17,3}-
though the circulation of the greater one;
within the class to which they appeal, is large.
It is calculated that some of these journal
have an income of $100,000 a year.
Norwalk Chronicler