LETTER XXXV.. High in the world of letters, and of wit, HAYLEY. DEAR FRIEND, I Promised in my last to give you a few remarks on purchasing manufcripts; and as I feldom make fuch 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 purchafing their manuscripts. But I cannot help thinking that most of these complaints are groundless; and that were all things confidered, publishers (at least many of them) would be allowed to poffefs more liberality than any other fet of tradesmen, I mean fo far as relates to the purchafing manuscripts and copy-right. Not to trouble you with a long enumeration of inftances in confirmation of this affertion, I fhall barely mention the following: It is owing to the encouragement of bookfellers that the public is poffeffed of that valuable work Johnson's Dictionary; and the fame liberality to the doctor in refpect to that publication, his edition of Shakespeare, and the English Poets will always reflect honour on the parties. So fenfible was the doctor of this, that he afferted bookfellers were the best Macaenas's. The late Sir John Hawkins, Dr. Cullen, the prefent Dr. Robertfon, Mr. Gibbon, Dr. Knox, &c. &c. are all striking inftances of the truth of my obfervation. As I feel a pleasure in mentioning acts of liberality wherever they occur, fuffer me to quote quote the following paffage from Sir John Hawkins's Life of Dr. Johnfon. "The bookfellers with whom Mr. Chambers had contracted for his dictionary, finding that the work fucceeded beyond their expectations, made him a voluntary present of, I think, 500l. Other inftances of the like generofity have been known of a profeffion of men, who, in the debates on the queftion of literary property, have been described as fcandalous monopolizers, fattening at the expence of other men's ingenuity, and growing opulent by oppreffion." It is confidently afferted, that the late Dr. Hawkefworth received fix thousand pounds for his compilation of Voyages, if fo (and I have never heard it contradicted) I leave it to any confiderate perfon to judge, whether in paying fo enormous a price, the publishers did not run a great rifk, when it is confidered how great the expences of bringing forward fuch a work, must have been. I have alfo been informed that David Mallet, Efq, was offered two thousand pounds for Lord Bolingbroke's Philofophical Works, which he refused. It ought also to be confidered, that frequently the money which is paid for the copy, is but trifling, compared with the expence of printing, paper, advertifing, &c. and hundreds of inftances may be adduced of publishers having fuftained very great loffes, and many have been made bankrupts, through their liberality in purchasing manuscripts and publishing them; and on the other hand, it must be acknowledged that fome publishers have made great fortunes by their copy rights, but their number is comparatively small. It should also be remarked that authors in general, are apt to form too great expectainftances tions from their productions, many of which I could give you, but I will only produce one. A gen A gentleman a few years fince fhewed a manuscript to a publisher, which he refused to purchase, but offered to be the publisher if the gentleman would print it, &c. at his own expence, which he readily agreed to do, the publisher then defired to know how many copies fhould be printed, on which the gentleman began to compute how many families there were in Great Britain, and affured the publisher that every family would at least purchase one copy, but the publisher not being of the fame opinion, our author then faid that he would print fixty thousand copies only, but added, he was afraid that another edition could not be got ready as foon as it would be wanted. However, after a long debate, the publisher prevailed on him to print only twelve hundred and fifty, inftead of fixty thousand, but promised in case another edition fhould be wanted in haste, to make the printers work night and day in order not to disappoint the public. This work was soon afterwards published and advertised X 3 |