Another consequence of the thoro personal examination of the serious new literature and the exploration of all that is in print, has enabled the Wayfarers' to reveal to its audience many worthy neglected works. This facility in unearthing "finds" has given the little shop a reputation and has brought to it as regular customers men of prominence all over the globe, ambassadors and ministers of the United States. One incident will illustrate the businessbuilding possibilities of such a policy. One of the few unpleasant experiences of the Wayfarers' was the refusal of an individual, because of the price, to accept a book which he had ordered without price reservation. As the only means of selling this $6 book by an unfamiliar author, one of the partners read it from cover to cover. Result, a fund of enthusiasm that has already brought sales of three additional copies of the book, with opportunities by no means exhausted. Living within its income, the Wayfarers' has never had the benefit of any considerable advertising other than verbal good-will advertising. In the beginning, regular patrons were notified by personal card of the arrival of new books in which they would be likely to be interested. Now this notification is by telephone. At the beginning of each month a printed bulletin of recommended books is sent to the shop's mailing list. The featured books for June, 1923, indicate the scope of sales appeal. The list comprises: "Decay of Capitalist Civilization" by Sidney and Beatrice Webb. "The Lone Winter" by Anne Bosworth Greene. "When There Is No Peace" by the Author of "Pomp of Power." "Human Efforts and Human Wants" by Mc Pherson. "These United States," edited by Ernest Gruening. "The Doctor Looks at Literature" by Collins. "Robin Hood's Barn" by Bailey. "Secret of Woman" by Helen Jerome. "Dr. Johnson" by Edward Newton. "Unfinished Tales From a Russian Prison" by Harrison. "Earlham" by Percy Lubbock. "The Day's Journey" by Maxwell. "In Dark Places" by Russell. "Paint" by Craven. "Sea Hawk" by Sabatini. "Pilgrim's Rest" by Young. "At the Sigh of the Reine Pédauque" by Anatole France. The proprietors of the Wayfarers' are satisfied with the financial returns of the past and the prospects for the future. The trio are agreed that "for a person and a half,"-meaning a proprietor and a part-time assistantthere is a gratifying income to be derived from a small bookshop which service may lift above the level of competition. In the Wayfarers' case there have been three salaries to be paid, and naturally the individual portions have suffered, but that sacrifice has been discounted by the desire of the three partners to be associated and has been compensated by their sheer love of the work. Obviously, tho, the mainspring has been an intensity of service attainable only from a combined passion for books and interest in people. IN The Story of Leather an extensive general promotion campaign, the Tanners' Council of America is planning to tell the story of leather in the course of three years of display advertising. It has appropriated for this purpose $1,250,000. The campaign is to begin at once. The slogan is to be "Nothing Takes the Place of Leather," and this is to be placed on billboards as well as in newspapers, magazines and theater programs. This campaign may touch the booktrade, as here, as in other fields, there have been substitutes offered for leather. It seems doubtful, however, whether anything will put the sheepskin back on the law book. Our notion of tough luck would be to have with you on that desert island one book: "One Hundred Games of Patience and Solitaire;" and then to have to wait for a ship to come along with a pack of cards. -F. P. A. in N. Y. World. "M Modern English Bookbinding ODERN Machine Bookbinding" was the subject of a lecture delivered at University College (London University) in the spring by George A. Stephen, City Librarian of Norwich. He discussed the qualities of publishers' bindings, or “cases” as they are technically called. These bindings, he said, can be produced quite satisfactorily if the machines are worked at their maximum efficiency. Owing to the demand for cheap books by the public and the great stress of competition between publishers, the latter are practically compelled to reduce as much as possible the cost of production, and consequently the wholesale binders to secure contracts have to turn out an inferior grade of work. On the publishers rests the responsibility for the inferior physical qualities of books. They are generally more concerned with low prices than with quality and serviceability, and even when they are prepared to pay fair prices for bindings they frequently handicap the binders severely by giving them books to bind that are print d on featherweight paper, or heavily-loaded art paper, both of which are most unsatisfactory from the binding standpoint-to say nothing of other objections. The binders must not even press featherweight paper heavily because that would reduce the bulk of the book considerably, and bulk is an important factor with publishers in regard to certain classes of books, because bulky books suggest to book buyers and recipients that they are obtaining books which contain a large amount of reading matter. Publishers of high reputation frequently pay considerable attention to the typography and decoration of their books, but one has the feeling that they know that the public believe that "fine feathers make fine birds," so in addition to decorating the book-cover, the paper wrapper or "bookjacket," which was originally provided merely for protecting the book, is now oftentimes a work of art. Publishers during and since the war, have curtailed the production of favor of highly decorated book-covers in a greater use of pictorial book-jackets which can be produced more cheaply. The heavily-loaded art paper is also a serious defect of modern book production. By the usual methods of machine bookbinding it cannot be bound satisfactorily. The surface of the paper flakes off from its meagre basis of fibre after comparatively little usage; the glue on the back of the book cracks and breaks away from the paper, and this, accentuated by the weight of the paper, causes the whole book to become loose, and the sections speedily break at the folds. The defects of publishers' bindings are generally assignable to one or more of the following causes : MATERIALS 1. The use of thread, tapes, cords, and mull of inferior quality. 2. Sewing or stitching with wire that is not rust-proof. 3. The use of inferior glue, or glue of the wrong consistency. 4. The use of inferior cloth, which is neither fast to sunlight nor to water, and which soon becomes faded or discoloured and shabby. 5. The use of cheap metal foils instead of gold leaf. 6. The use of unsuitable blocking inks. 7. The use of white or colored foils which easily rub off when the books are handled a few times. 8. Paper illustrations or paper titles on the covers. METHODS 1. Sewing with thread to which insufficient tension is imparted, thereby resulting in loose sewing. 2. Sewing on the "two sheets on" principle, which considerably decreases the strength of the binding. 3. Sewing on the "all along" principle on an insufficient number of tapes or cords, and with less than the maximum number of stitches. In some cases the tapes or cords are dispensed with, and the books simply sewn on to mull of poor quality. 4. Fixing the back lining of mull to the book prior to the rounding and backing operations. 5. Tipping plates, maps, etc., or other single leaves with paste, instead of guarding them round the adjoining section. 6. Cutting the ends of the tapes or cords too short, and cutting the mull of a less width than is necessary to make a strong joint. 7. The defective execution of the casingin operation. 8. Square-backed books which generally cause the fore-edges to assume a convex shape. 9. General looseness of the book due to insufficient pressing in the standing press. In almost all publishers' bindings of the present day some of these defects are found. The Bookseller's Education OOKSELLING, it is frequently con B tended, is a profession, not a business. The contention is made largely because of the vast bulk of information which the bookseller must achieve, and which he must dispense with judgment. This vast information required makes the education of the young bookseller as much a necessity and as much a matter of professional pride as the education of the embryo doctor or lawyer. Whenever booksellers gather together, it is admitted that the education of the salesman is one of the serious problems facing the trade. At the Washington Convention a year ago, a resolution was adopted resolving that the Association urge managers in every bookstore and department store book section to plan a definite educational and training campaign for the sales force. At the Philadelphia convention, Miss Bessie Graham, was elected an Honorary Member of the Association because of her unique and valuable services to the cause of education in the bookselling field. In connection with the Public School System of Philadelphia, Miss Graham opened the first bookselling school in the United States. The work of the school attracted so much attention that the lessons were prepared for publication and printed serially in the PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY under the title, "The Home School For Booksellers." The interest in the lessons as they appeared was so great and the school in Philadelphia continued to attract such increased attention that it was decided to publish the material in book form. "The Bookman's Manual" appeared in August, 1921, and was sold out within a year. It was used as a text-book by many library schools, and greatly increased the effectiveness of Miss Graham's school in Philadelphia. It was used in the school which Miss Graham conducted in New York in 1921 under the auspices of the New York Bookseller's League. Bookstores, libraries and authors found it a valuable reference tool. It has been decided to issue the second edition in time for the opening of schools in the fall, and Miss Graham has written seven new chapters for the new volume. These chapters are to be serialized in the WEEKLY, as a continuation of the old series "The Home School For Booksellers." The chapter on "American Humorists" appears in this issue. In defining the scope of the book Miss Graham wrote at the end of the preface to the first edition: "This volume is an introduction to book knowledge with some discussion of editions and their makers. As no single course could cover all the fields of literature, this one will show many omissions of material which would have extended the book to many volumes. The contents is somewhat arbitrary in its scope, including, for the most part, those classifications on which a student bookseller is first likely to need special knowledge: refer BESSIE GRAHAM, AUTHOR OF "THE BOOKMAN'S ence books, poetry, fiction, etc. Children's way. "A bookseller's approach to literature is of necessity different from that of the general student. He wants to visualize the writings he hears about as books to be bought from the right publisher and fitted to the right reader. To him all literatures are of one body, the importance of which may be somewhat judged by the present buying interest of the public." "Travel" will be added to the new edition. S The Bookman's Manual By Bessie Graham I. AMERICAN HUMORISTS* OME of the most serious books ever written have been written on the subject of humor. Humor can be a very grave subject indeed. A review of humor from the days of Aristophanes' Birds and Frogs down to today's comic supplements cannot fail to show that humor is based on strict psychologiIcal laws and is a matter of studied effort and long practice. As Thomas Masson in "Our American Humorists" has said, humorists, are always professionals. Humor is never an accident. It is a long premeditated affair and there is nothing spontaneous about it. Mr. Masson quotes Richard Connell, the author of "Monsieur Pettipon," in an article on "Taking Humor Seriously": "Sir," said an editor of Punch, "I'll have you understand that our jokes are not to be laughed at!" That Punch editor is typical . . .From Aristophanes to Ade, humorists have desired to be taken seriously; that is to say, they have wished to be acknowledged by more than the few to be the men of intellect, penetration, weight and philosophy that in fact they are. The following books seem to bear out the humorists' claim that "Humor must be taken seriously but not solemnly." Books About Humor MEREDITH, GEORGE. 1828-1909. An Essay on Comedy. Scribner, Modern Student's Library. MARTIN, EDWARD SANDFORD. 1856 On Parody. Holt. (Essay plus anthology). BERGSON, HENRI. 1859 Laughter; an Essay on the Meaning of the Comic. Macmillan. MASSON, THOMAS L. 1866 Our American Humorists. Moffat. SIDIS, BORIS. 1867 The Psychology of Laughter. Appleton. WELLS, CAROLYN. An Outline of Humor. Announced. EASTMAN, MAX. 1833 The Sense of Humor. Scribner. Cannan, GILBERT. 1884 Satire. Doran, Art and Craft of Letters. STONE, CHRISTOPHER. Parody. Doran, Art and Craft of Letters. [* This is the first of a series of seven chapters, new material to be added to the forthcoming second edition of "The Bookman's Manual."-EDITOR.] Early American Humor American Humor began with Irving's "Knickerbocker History of New York." Other humorists of the early period were: Josh Billings, Max Adeler, Bill Nye, Hans Breitmann, and Artemus Ward. All these men wrote under pseudonyms, as was the fashion of the day. There is little demand for their work at the present time outside of anthologies. Interest in Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne) has been revived by a recent biography, "Artemus Ward and His Work" by Don Seitz (Harper). Strangely enough the only one of these early humorists remaining in print is Hans Breitmann (Charles Godfrey Leland). The Ballads of Breitmann are published by McKay, and also by Houghton Mifflin with an introduction by Elizabeth Robins Pennell, Breitmann's niece. Our early American humorists are to be read only in anthologies. The best of such collections are the following: International Humor Series. 7 vols. The work of our early American humorists has two marked characteristics: exaggeration and misspelling. Extravagant overstatement was so common to our first humorists that exaggeration has become known as the national characteristic of American humor. Cacography, or intentional misspelling, is a device for humor that was once employed widely by our writers. It has come to the fore again in such books as Edward Streeter's "Dere Mable" and Ring Lardner's "Young Immigrunts." Modern American Humorists BAKER, GEORGE AUGUSTUS, JR. 1849-1910. Point Lace and Diamonds. Stokes. Modern American humor has a good starting point in the works of this chronicler of the bad manners of good society. This clever book of society verse can never go out of date. Its illustrations are decidedly old-fashioned but its text is as modern as can be. Bangs, John KENDRICK. 1862-1922 Coffee and Repartee. Harper, 1893. The Idiot. (Now printed with Coffee and Repartee). Harper. 1895. A House Boat on the Styx. Harper. 1895. Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica. Harper. 1895. Pursuit of the House Boat. Harper. 1897. The Enchanted Typewriter. Harper. 1899. Proposal Under Difficulties (Farce). Harper. 1905. Mollie and the Unwise Man (Juvenile). Winston. 1912. The Cheery Way. Harper. 1919. Out of some sixty books written by Bangs, "The House Boat on the Styx" remains his most popular book. "Coffee and Repartee" and "The Idiot" rank next. Bangs was associate editor of Life for four years, editor of the "Drawer" in Harper's, and later editor of Puck. He did much to advance humorous journalism. He was a lecturer beloved of large audiences and was one of the few humorists who was personally well-known. short versifier Bangs is remembered best today. His rhyming optimisms were a daily ditty for many years in our newspapers. These rhymes are collected in "The Cheery Way." HERFORD, OLIVER. 1863 His best known books are: As a The Bashful Earthquake. Scribner. 1898. The Alphabet of Celebrities. Scribner. 1899. A Child's Primer of Natural History. Scribner. 1899. Overheard in a Garden. Scribner. 1900. The Rubáiyát of a Persian Kitten. Scribner. 1904. The Peter Pan Alphabet. Scribner. 1909. A Kitten's Garden of Verses. Scribner. 1911. Confessions of a Caricaturist. Scribner. 1917. The Giddy Globe. Doran. 1919. Herford is English born but lives in America. He is artist and poet both. He writes verses that are as clever and original in idea as in expression, and he illustrates them himself. He is as brilliant with his brush as with his pen. While the illustration of his own writings inclines to caricature and to cartoon, his illustration of the writings of others is done in serious vein. His drawings for "Alice in Wonderland" (Ginn) are examples of his best artistic style, and his apologetic verses to Tenniel in the same volume are in his best literary manner. Herford's wit is so epigrammatic it lends itself readily to quotation, and he is known as the most often quoted humorist in America. ADE, GEORGE. 1866 His best known books now in print are: George Ade was the first humorist to point out that Slang is continually losing its "s" and becoming "language." Instead of using bad spelling for the fun of it, as our early humorists did, he used bad grammar. He made illiteracy funny. The Esopic fable with a preposterous moral attached was a device which Ade hit upon and developed with great suc cess. Ade's first contributions appeared in the Chicago Record next to Eugene Field's "Sharps and Flats." He invented there the character of Artie Blanchard, a young office boy, "Pink" Marsh, a city negro, and old Doc' Horne. He also wrote two very successful plays "The County Chairman" (1903), and "The College Widow" (1904). BURGESS, GELETT. 1866 The Purple Cow. Elder. 1897. The Lively City o' Ligg. Stokes. 1899. Goops and How to be Them. Stokes. 1900. The Burgess Nonsense Book. Stokes. 1901. The Romance of the Commonplace. Bobbs. 1902-16. More Goops and How Not to be Them. Stokes. 1903. Goop Tales. Stokes. 1904. Are You a Bromide? Huebsch. 1906. Maxims of Methuselah. Stokes. 1907. Blue Goops and Red. Stokes. 1909. The Goop Directory. Stokes. 1913. Love in a Hurry. Bobbs. 1913. Burgess Unabridged. Stokes. 1914. The Goop Encyclopedia. Stokes. 1916. Have you an Educated Heart? Boni. 1923. Gelett Burgess is the most inventive of our humorists and the most effectual writer. "Are You a Bromide?" is a clever compilation of conversational clichés. It was as reformatory a book for adult readers as the Goop books were for juvenile readers. Certain commonplace remarks were completely eradicated from conversation after Burgess coined "bromidioms." "Burgess Unabridged" is a masterpiece of invention. It is a dictionary of words which |