Page:A history of booksellers, the old and the new.djvu/354

314 3H THE RIVING TONS, THE PARKERS, and was an annual expense to the University, but Parker saw the feasibility of making it a profitable concern, and, by dint of strenuous persuasion, was, in 1805, allowed to enter into partnership with the University Press, jointly with Cooke and Samuel Collingwood, the latter of whom attended to the printing, while the publishing business was left entirely in Joseph Parker's hands. Great difficulty was felt at first in borrowing money to meet that advanced by the University. In a few years, however, the debts were paid off, and large profits began to come in, and during his lifetime he was able to pay over upwards of 100,000 into the University chest, building in addition the new printing-office, at a cost of 40,000, investing large sums in " plant," and leaving a concern that was worth 10,000 a year to the partnership. For the seven years previous to 1815 the number of Bibles printed at Oxford was 460,500 ; Testaments, 386,000 ; of prayer-books, 400,000 ; of catechisms, psalters, &c., 200,000 ; and the money received as drawback for paper duty amounted to 18,658 2s. 6d. For the same period at Cambridge the Bibles numbered 392,000 ; the Testaments, 423,000 ; the Prayer-books, 194,000 ; while the drawback was only upwards of 1087 js. 6d. In addition to his interest in the Bible Press, which yielded him about 1000 a year, Joseph Parker, on the death of his regular trade partner, Han- well, became sole proprietorof the old-established book- selling business of Fletcher and Hanwell, in the Fleet, and, on the retirement of Cooke, succeeded to the office of " Warehouse-keeper," and also to the appoint- ment of agent for the sale of books published on the "Learned" side of the press ; the value of the books sold on this side amounted to from 3000 to 5000