custom; but I soon began to reflect that many of these books so destroyed possessed much merit, and only wanted to be better known; and that if others were not worth six shillings they were worth three, or two, and so in proportion, for higher or lower-priced books. From that time I resolved not to destroy any books that were worth saving, but to sell them off at half, or a quarter, of the publication prices. By selling them in this cheap manner I have disposed of many hundred thousand volumes, many thousands of which have been intrinsically worth their original prices. This part of my conduct, however, though evidently highly beneficial to the community, and even to booksellers, created me many enemies among the trade; some of the meaner part of whom, instead of employing their time and abilities in attending to the increase of their own business aimed at reducing mine; and by a va riety of pitiful insinuations and dark inuendoes, strained every nerve to injure the reputation I had already acquired with the public, determined (as they wisely concluded) thus to effect my ruin; which indeed they daily prognosticated, with a demon-like spirit, must inevitably very speedily follow. This conduct however was far from intimidating me, as the effect proved directly opposite to what they wished for and expected, and I found the respect and confidence of the public continually increasing, which added very considerably to the number of my customers it being an unquestionable fact that, before I adopted this plan, great numbers of persons were very desirous of possessing some particular books, for which however (from various motives) they were not inclined to pay the original price; as some availed themselves of the opportunity of borrowing from a friend, or from a circulating library, or having once read them, though they held the works in esteem, might deem them too dear to purchase; or they might have a copy by them, which from their own and family's frequent use (or lending to friends) might not be in so good a condition as they could wish, though rather than purchase them again at the full price they would keep those they had; or again, they might be desirous to purchase them to make presents of, or they might have a commission from a correspondent in the country, or abroad, and wish to gain a small profit on the articles for their trouble, not to mention the great numbers that would have been given to the poor. Thousands of others have been effectually prevented from purchasing, (though anxious so to do) whose circumstances in life would not permit them to pay the full price, and thus were totally excluded from the advantage of improving their understandings, and enjoying a rational entertainment. And f you may be assured that it affords me the most pleasing satisfaction, independent of the emoluments which have accrued to me from this plan, when I reflect what prodigious numbers in inferior or reduced situations of life have been essentially benefited in consequence of being thus enabled to indulge their natural propensity for the acquisition of knowledge on easy terms: nay, I could almost be vain enough to assert, that I have thereby been highly instrumental in diffusing that general desire for reading now so prevalent among the inferior orders of society, which most certainly, though it may not prove equally instructive to all, keeps them from employing their time and money, if not to bad, at least to less rational purposes. How happy should I have deemed myself in the earlier stage of my life, if I could have met with the opportunity which every one capable of reading may now enjoy, of obtaining books at so easy a rate: had that been the case, the catalogue of my juvenile library, with which I presented you in a former letter, would have made a more respectable appearance, and I might possibly have been enabled when I purchased Young's Night Thoughts' for a Christmas dinner, to have at the same time bought a joint of meat, and thus enjoyed both a mental and corporeal feast, as well as pleased my wife, (which I need not inform you the ladies say every good husband ought to do.) But after all, quere, whether if I had enjoyed such an advantage, should I ever have thought of commencing bookseller? If not, should I have been the great man I now feel myself, and hope you acknowledge me to be? In my next I will make a few observations on purchasing manuscripts, booksellers' liberality, authors turning publishers, &c.; in the meantime, I am, dear friend, yours. " LETTER XXXVI. High in the world of letters and of wit, Th' unfailing urns of praise and censure stand; DEAR FRIEND, I PROMISED in my last to give you a few remarks on purchasing manuscripts; and as I seldom make such purchases, and but rarely publish any new books, I think you may fairly credit me for impartiality. Nothing is more common than to hear authors complaining against publishers, for want of liberality in purchasing their manuscripts. But I cannot help thinking that most of these complaints are groundless; and that, were all things considered, publishers (at least many of them) would be allowed to possess more liberality than any other set of tradesmen; I mean so far as relates to the purchasing manuscripts and copyright. Not to trouble you with a long enumeration of instances in confirmation of this assertion, I shall barely mention the following: It is owing to the encouragement of booksellers that the public is possessed of that valuable work Johnson's Dictionary: and the same liberality to the doctor in respect to that publication, his edition of Shakspeare and the English Poets, will always reflect honour on the parties. So sensible was the doctor of this, that he asserted booksellers were the best Mæce nases. Pope, the late sir John Hawkins, Dr Cullen, Hume, Dr Hill, Dr Robertson, the present Mr Gibbon, &c. &c., are all striking instances of the truth of my observation. As I feel a pleasure in mentioning acts of liberality, wherever they occur, suffer me to quote the following passage from sir John Hawkins's Life of Dr Johnson: "The booksellers with whom Mr Chambers had contracted for his dictionary, finding that the work succeeded beyond their expectations, made him a voluntary present of, I think, five hundred pounds. Other instances of the like generosity have been known of a profession of men, who, in the debates on the question of literary property, have been described as scandalous monopolizers, fattening at the expense of other men's ingenuity, and growing opulent by oppression." He also says, that Dr Hill earned in one year one thousand five hundred pounds by his pen. The late Mr Elliot, bookseller, of Edinburgh, gave Mr Smellie a thousand pounds for his Philosophy of Natural History, when only the heads of the chapters were wrote. Hume received only two hundred pounds for one part of the History of Britain, but for the remainder of that work he had five thousand. Dr Robertson was paid for his History of Scotland but six hundred pounds, but for his Charles V he received four thousand five hundred pounds. Dr Blair obtained the highest price for Sermons that ever was given; they were purchased by Mr Cadell in the Strand, and Mr Creech of Edinburgh; and after the first two volumes of these sermons were published, Dr Blair was farther rewarded from another quarter with a pension of two hundred a-year; Sherlock's sermons had a very great sale, as had Dr White's and many others, but none ever sold so well as Dr Blair's, and the sale of them is still as great as ever. It is confidently asserted, that the late Dr Hawkesworth received six thousand pounds for his compilation of Voyages; if so (and I have never heard it contradicted) I leave it to any considerate person to judge, whether in paying so enormous a price the publishers did not run a great risk, when it is considered how great the expenses of bringing forward such a work must have been. I have also been informed that David Mallet, esq. was offered two thousand pounds for lord Bolingbroke's Philosophical Works, which he refused. A very few years since, Mr R was paid sixteen hundred pounds to do a work, which he died without performing, and the money being spent, it was not recoverable. Before Dr Rees engaged to revise and improve Chambers's Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, very large sums for that purpose had from time to time been obtained from the proprietors, by persons who never fulfilled their engagements. It ought also to be considered, that frequently the money which is paid for the copy is but trifling compared with the expense of printing, paper, advertising, &c., and hundreds of instances may be adduced of publishers having sustained very great losses, and many have been made bankrupts, through their li berality in purchasing manuscripts and publishing them; and on the other hand, it must be acknow |