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Wilson's Books and Letters

THE sixty-ninth birthday of Woodrow

Wilson was celebrated on December 28th in cities thruout the country, and the press gave wide attention to this. Booksellers are feeling a steady increase in the demand for the books of Wilson both from first edition collectors and readers on historical matters, and specimens of Wilson letters and Wilson documents are steadily increasing in price,

The Jones Library of Amherst made this birthday occasion the time for presenting a very unusual exhibit of Wilson material, an exhibit which was enriched by many things from the fine collection of Ray Stannard Baker, who lives in Amherst. Specimens for the exhibit were also loaned by New York dealers: Brick Row Book Shop, Dr. Rosenbach, Gabriel Wells and R. Fridenberg. In the exhibit was a copy of the International Review for August, 1879, in which was found the first printed contribution of Thomas W. Wilson.

Prize Winners in "The Fourth Norwood" Display Contest

IN

N July The Reilly & Lee Company offered several cash prizes for window displays of Robert E. Pinkerton's "The Fourth Norwood." Under the rules of the contest each contestant was required to submit a gloss print photograph, together with a brief description of the display.

All of the displays were interesting and showed imagination and good taste in window dressing. The prize winners were as follows:

First Prize, $75.00, John T. Mackey,
Display Mgr. The Herpolsheimer
Co., Grand Rapids.

Second Prize, $35.00, Harold A. Grin-
den, Display Mgr. Glass Block Store,
Duluth.

Third Prize, $25.00, June Cleveland, Dept Mgr. Bullock's, Los Angeles. Fourth Prize, $10.00, Harriett Myers, Ass't Librarian, Ottumwa, Iowa. The judges of the contest were: Frederic G. Melcher, Editor Publishers' Weekly; L. A. Rogers, Editor Merchants Record and Show Window; and Frank K. Reilly, President Reilly & Lee Co.

Maps and Their Makers

HE wave of interest in old maps is THE

All

continuing unabated and renders particularly appropriate the publishing by Charles E. Goodspeed & Company of Boston of a brochure entitled "Old Maps and Their Makers" by Louis A. Holman, head of the print department of that firm. dealers in maps, old and new, will find this of great interest in increasing their information about the history and making of maps, and the sale of this pamphlet, which is published at $1, to customers will stimulate the interest in this fascinating field. It is illustrated with several reproductions of typical maps, some of which are in color. That the maps of a modern period are receiving the benefit of this stimulation is shown by the fact that a second edition of 2,000 has been printed of "The Map of Adventures," published by the office of the Publishers' Weekly, and a new map which is entitled "The Map of America's Making" is already well under

way.

As Mr. Holman says in his preface to "Old Maps and their Makers":

"History is, so intertwined with the geography of the world which grew out of Columbus's discovery that it would seem as if the only way to teach it intelligently would be by cartography, as Winsor has so well done in his "Narrative and Critical History of America." The die, however, seems to be cast in the direction of the humdrum modern map which literally takes the joy out of life. Tho our children must bow to the requirements of present day education for tame, commonplace exactness, we adults, at least are not so handicapped. With Ptolemy, Ortelius, Hondius, Speed, Mercator, and Blaeu, we can have beauty and romance. We can sail with the galleons along the track recorded by Moll; we can suspect that his specifications may have served to furnish precious information to the pirates who would lie in wait for the treasure ships, and we can shiver in anticipation of the outcome of the battle. We can dream of St. Brendan's Isle and the fabled Atlantis, of the gold of the Sargasso sea and the umbilicus of the world off the coast of Norway. There is still something left to live for!"

Clean Books from Contented

LAST

Authors

William J. Flynn, Brentano's, Chicago

the skilled workman, for whom Mr. Brisbane possesses an unquestioned affection.

AST evening I left for home in a of books went to augment the income of reasonably mellow mood, feeling quite convinced that the great American Public was well embarked upon its annual pilgrimage to the bookstores of the nation. As I reached for my favorite street car a boy thrust a paper in front of me. Stunned by the impact of a Hearst head line I parted with some pennies and achieved both a newspaper and a seat in the car.

With a delightful sense of relaxation I opened the paper, thrilled by the prospect of a quiet half hour with the prominent divorcees, thugs, gunmen and bombers, who impart such restful pastel tones to our deservedly popular family newspapers. Unfortunately, my glance strayed first to the sidelines. To my horror I discovered there those keen young blades, Winston Churchill and Arthur Brisbane, cutting up in the editorial pasture, and rudely thumbing their noses at my revered profession. Winston says books are too dear and he just isn't going to write them any more. Arthur says we need a Henry Ford

(Arthur, be patient, we have a Haldeman Julius).

For a moment I was mad and began to attribute unworthy motives to these reverend gentlemen. Then it occurred to me that if my surmises were correct they might become really annoyed and utter still more unpleasant remarks about books and publishers. I thought readily of the comprehensive but apparently unread statistics that Marion Humble and Frederic Melcher had gone to so much trouble to provide, of the clear evidence they have produced to offset the unwarranted charge of profiteering in the book business. It occurred to me that I was defraying a much larger increase on everything that I ate, wore, or used, than the public had been asked to accept on books. That, furthermore, the major por tion of such increase as existed in the case

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Then, as I reflected, I commenced to see lightning in the thunder from Mt. Hearst. Perhaps, after all, these men were right. Perhaps the business did need a Henry Ford. Visions of a bright clean factory rose before me. All glass and light, no dirty corners in which realism might lurk and rear its foul brood. The conductor rang his bell and it sounded in my ears as the closing signal for the publishing house of Mr. Brisbane's dreams. A flood of laughing, happy authors poured from its doors, their innocent faces shining and their brief cases reflecting the glow of the setting sun.

"Clean Books From Contented

Authors" What a wonderful slogan for this magnificent enterprise.

My thoughts strayed to the possible inside of such an organization, and I reverently lifted my mental hat to the gentlemen who had provided me with such a vista. In the luxurious editorial rooms photographers were taking flash lights of the Advisory Councillors as they put their official seal upon the plans for a nation-wide campaign to put over a new sport model detective story, with enclosed plot and nickel finished happy ending. The faces of the councillors were not distinct but among others I seemed to recognize Brander Matthews, H. L. Mencken, Professor Phelps, Eugene O'Neill, Billy Sunday and the Duncan Sisters. My mind wandered out into the factory itself to discover Coles Phillips and Leydendecker turning out jacket designs at the rate of sixty an hour, assorted. The idea being that many people who passionately adore one particular book will purchase it in hundred lots for their libraries if every jacket is different.

Then the assembling of the books them-
selves, what a marvelous process! A nar-
row platform, on the order of a moving
staircase rolls continuously before the
highly skilled authors who sit in a long
row in front of it. Book covers are dropped
on this at six inch intervals by a boy who
feeds it continuously. As the covers pass
along each author deftly inserts his or her
particular specialty, until a complete book
emerges at the end to be swiftly stitched
and jacketed by another miraculous opera-
tion.

Christopher Morley is there, slipping a
neat preface into each cover as it passes
him, Booth Tarkington stuffs in a snappy
opening chapter, Michael Arlen shoots in
reams of witty dialog, Elinor Glyn pours
in the love interest, Curwood the outdoor
scenes, Temple Bailey the happy ending,

etc., etc.

The idea has limitless possibilities. Take.
the matter of distribution alone. Before
a book is issued, the country will be can-
vassed by experts. To each square mile
of territory a certain number of copies can
be allotted based on local culture and the
number of inhabitants. Booksellers will be
assigned a certain number of copies on this
report of their sectional needs. All books
will be shipped C. O. D. to dealers because
of this exact foreknowledge. Naturally,
the question of overstock will vanish com-
pletely, and no rebate requests for unsold
copies need be considered.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the booktrade
owes to Messrs. Brisbane and Churchill a
unanimous vote of gratitude for an idea
that is positively and unreservedly unique
in its field.

P. S.-Please Mr. Editor, if anyone
should enquire as to how booksellers can
take time to write articles at this time of
the year inform them that it was written
at a frightfully early hour on Sunday
morning.

Minister of Letters

"Aptly has it been said by one of the
most brilliant writers of our day, that the
great publisher is a sort of Minister of
Letters, and is not to be without the quali-
ties of a statesman."-From John Morley's
Recollections.

An Uncorrected Galley

POST-CHRISTMAS MADNESS

"Say, Mame, she says they don't take
back books."

"Aw, sure they take back books. Why
wouldn't they take back books? Ask her
that."

"I did and she says she dunno, but they
don't."

"Well, for goodness sake, waddle we
do? I got a pile of 'em and they all come
from here."

"Me, too. Say, I'm goin' to ask the
floorwalker if they don't take back books.
Say, Mister! No, he says they don't take
back books."

"Well, I never heard of such a thing.
'Magine not taking back books in a reputa-

ble store."

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SNAPPY Comment on Standard Classics
DICTIONARY (Funk and Wag-
nalls)-a bit plotless, but splendid vocabu-
lary.

NURSERY RHYMES (Mother
Goose)-Clever characterization. Plenty
of action.

CENSUS REPORTS (Government >
-Decided realism. Perhaps a trifle too
"racy." Sex element predominant.

TELEPHONE BOOK (Bell)—Char-
acters tend to obscure the action. Setting
is local.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD (U.
S. Legislators)-Speeches too long. Much
superfluous verbiage.-Columns (Univer–
sity of Washington).

In the Book Market

NE feature of the manufacture of
Joseph Pennell's "Adventures of an
Illustrator" will lead to its careful
study by makers of books. That is the use
of the half-tone on an uncoated text paper.
There were so many illustrations in the
book and they were so scattered thru the
text that, unless half-tones were well re-
produced on text paper, the coated stock
would have had to be used thruout. Care
in making the plates and care in the press-
work at the W. E. Rudge Press brought
about a very happy result.

STANLEY MORISON, the famous
writer on printing, and designer of
books, will reach America this month
on the invitation of Doubleday, Page &
Company, with whom he is in consultation
on certain new publication projects. Mr.
Morison is one of the outstanding figures
today in the field of fine printing, and his
various books, including "A Brief Survey
of Printing," "The Art of the Printer"
and "Four Centuries of Fine Printing"
have madehis name well known to all col-
lectors of beautiful books as well as print-

ers.

His most recent work has been in
connection with the planning of the series
of Julian Editions which is coming from
the publishing house of Ernest Benn, Ltd.
in London, the same firm that issued his
large folio books on "Four Centuries of
Fine Printing." It seems likely that this
series of books will take on the same col-
lector interest as have the books of the
Nonesuch Press. Among the first enter-
prises will be:

"Complete Works of Shelley," newly
edited by Roger Ingpen and Walter E.
Peck, 7 volumes, 3 guineas per volume, 800
copies, of which 285 are reserved for
America. The book will be set in Basker-
ville type, in demy octavo size.

Milton's "Comus," edited by Darrell
Figgis, with illustrations by Blake. These
illustrations are a series owned by the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and it is
the first time they have been reproduced in
connection with the text. The size will be
in octavo, in a recut eighteenth century

type employed for the first time. There
will be 450 copies, and the price is 3
guineas.

The poems of Arthur Clutton-Brock,
octavo size, in unique old face type, 450
copies, 3 guineas.

"Sidonia the Sorceress," the famous
pseudo-mediaeval romance, translated from
the German, illustrated Garamond type,
225 copies, price 12 guineas.

THE Cokesbury Press
Cokesbury Press has selected

February 16th as the date of publica-
tion for John Trotwood Moore's novel of
the life and times of Andrew Jackson to be
entitled "Hearts of Hickory." It is espe-
cially appropriate that this should be issued
by a Nashville publisher as the author is
state librarian of Tennessee and the story,
of course, is largely in a Tennessee setting.

THE

HE success of "Iron Men and Wood-
en Ships," both as a collection of chan-
ties and as an example of good book-
making has encouraged Doubleday to plan
a collection of drinking songs with similar
decorations by Edw. A. Wilson. This new
volume "Full & By" is an even more com-
plete success typographically and the
Bodoni Bold in which it is set harmonizes
perfectly with the bold color of Wilson's
drawings. It is rather unexpected, yet
pleasing to find the first half of the vol-
ume in 18 pt. type and the remainder in
14 pt.

AN
N interesting piece of house advertising,
because of its particular effectiveness
and appropriateness, is a brochure sent out
by Charles E. Lauriat Company, which
has specialized in the past few years in the
publishing of books on the sea, entitled
"Donald McKay and the Ships He Built,"
edited by Richard C. McKay. Fifteen
hundred copies of the brochure were
printed and sent out gratis by Lauriat's,
McKay was the outstanding figure in the
great clipper ship era, and the volume con-
tains a fine portrait of him and photo-
graphs of a dozen models of his famous
ships with detailed descriptions.

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