Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/82

 76 BOOK lishers or booksellers ; and all booksellers are not printers. The distinction is this : A printer is one who prints a book, either for himself or for another; a bookseller is one who vends books, either at retail or by wholesale, whether printed by himself or another ; a publisher is one who prepares a book for the market, and issues it to the public. A few publishers con- fine themselves exclusively to the sale of the books issued by themselves, but most of them also buy and sell the books of others; so that while all booksellers are not publishers, all pub- lishers are booksellers. Few authors have the facilities requisite for getting up their works and placing them before the public. For this they must avail themselves of the agency of the publisher, who usually undertakes all the expense, and so demands a share in the profits. The author's pecuniary right in his book is termed a copyright, that is, the exclusive right to produce a copy of it, for a certain period, and under certain conditions prescribed by the law, which creates this exclusive right. (See COPYBIGHT.) Usually the author disposes of his copyright to a publisher ; sometimes he sells it outright for a stipulated sum ; generally he prefers to receive a certain portion of the profits. This varies greatly, but the most com- mon rate is 10 per cent, on the retail price of each copy sold. Some authors obtain much more ; and in the case of school books, which are usually sold at a small advance upon the cost of production, the author's percentage is often smaller. In Great Britain a frequent arrangement is that the author and publisher shall divide the net profits equally ; but this is liable to the objection that it is not easy to fix the expenses belonging to each separate book, and there is always a contingent risk that a part of the copies may remain unsold, or that bad debts may be incurred. By the American method the publisher usually assumes all risks, and. the amount due the author can be at any moment ascertained. The first regular book- seller in the United States appears to have been Hezekiah Usher, who was in business in Boston as early as 1652. He was succeeded by his son, John Usher, who in 1686 was described as a "trader who makes the best figure in Boston ; he's very rich, adventures at sea, but has got his estate by bookselling." Books were mainly imported, and were kept in shops with other wares; thus Benedict Arnold sold drugs and books ; usually, however, the occu- pations of printer, bookbinder, and bookseller were combined. In 1732 Richard Fry, a Bos- ton bookseller, advertised that he had printed " the most beautiful poems of Mr. Stephen Duck, the famous Wiltshire poet," and con- sidered the fact that he had sold 1,200 of these poems " a full demonstration that the people of New England have a fine taste for good sense and polite learning." Toward the close of the last century bookselling began to assume a prominent place among commercial pursuits. About 1820 it began to increase rapidly, and it has since more than kept pace with the in- crease of population. In the 12 years from 1830 to 1842, the entire number of books printed in the United States was about 1,300, an average of over 100 a year, about equally divided between original works and reprints. The number of publications steadily increased from year to year. In 1853 there were 879 new books and new editions, of which 298 were reprints of English works, and 37 trans- lations from other languages. In 1855 the new books and new editions were 1,092, of which 250 were reprints of English books, and 38 translations. During the years 1859-'60 the number of books averaged about 1,350 a year. The civil war somewhat checked the book trade, but it revived after its close. In 1871 the number of books published in the United States was about 3,000 ; of which 50 may be designated as works of reference, 350 theology, 30 mental and moral philosophy, 200 political and social science, 200 education, 300 history, geography, and travels, 450 sciences and arts, 200 fine arts and recreation, 350 general lit- erature, 570 juvenile, and 300 fiction. Many of these works comprise several volumes, so that the number of volumes is about 3,500. The value of the books manufactured in the United States in 1820 is estimated at $2,500,000 ; in 1830, $3,500,000; in 1840, $5,500,000; in 1850, $12,500,000; in 1856, $16,000,000; in 1871 it can hardly be less than $40,000,000. The cost of producing each copy of a book depends greatly upon the number printed, for there is a certain expense for setting the type, &c., which must be incurt-ed, no matter whe- ther the number be great or small. This in the case of an ordinary 12mo may be set down at $750. If 1,000 copies be printed, it will be 75 cents a copy; if 5,000 copies, 15 cents a copy; if 10,000 copies, 7i cents a copy. The paper, printing, and binding of each copy of such a work cost about 40 cents, or somewhat less for very large numbers. If, now, 1,000 copies are printed, the cost of the mere manu- facture of each will be $1 15 ; if 5,000 are printed, 55 cents; if 10,000, 47 ee-nts. The usual retail price of such a book is $1 50 ; and deducting the discount to the trade, and cer- tain inevitable minor expenses, the publisher receives $1 a copy. His account would stand thus: For 1,000 copies cost $1,150, receipts $1,000, loss $150 ; for 5,000 copies cost $2,750, receipts $5,000, profits $2,250; for 10,000 copies cost $4,750, receipts $10,000, profits $5,250. From these must be deducted, in the case of an original work, the author's copyright of .15 cents a volume. This on 5,000 copies is $750 ; on 10,000, .$1,500. The apparent profits of the publisher are twice those of the author on 5,000 copies, and two and a half times on 10,000 ; but out of this must come the expenses of conducting business, cost of advertising, losses by bad debts, and the cost of unsold copies. In a fairly success- ful book, the net profits of the publisher are