TH Book Shop Succeeds Yale Bar HE mention of Ed Moriarity and Tuttle's of the days when Ed would draw a copper flagon of cream ale, then stand at his little copper-lined sink and wait for the foam-stained glasses to be passed thru the This little shop ought to have atmosphere. It was conceived in Ed's backroom by the Heads, Arthur and Wilfred, two Liverpool lads who, before they were book vendors, sailed before the mast on British clippers. After they came to America, Arthur worked for years in the university library and in his spare time wrote books on parchment of his own making, illuminated and bound them. Then he refused to sell them. Wilfred worked in a book store and saved money, just a little. Once or twice a week they would sit in Ed's backroom, smoke their pipes and drink ale. Then they would go back to their room and read books, catalogs, bibliographies, library journals, publishers' pamphlets, and more books. Arthur studied Persian and Greek, engraved on leather and illuminated parchments. Wilfred studied price lists and publishers' reports. Sometimes they cataloged and arranged some rich man's library. Al FROM TWO PACKING CASES AND A HUNDRED CIGAR BOXES HE MADE A CHESS TABLE OF WHICH ANY CABINET MAKER OR JOINER WOULD BE PROUD window to him, says a story in the New York Times. There is a big change at Tuttle's. Yale men once went there to drink and talk and sing. Now they go there to talk and read and buy books. Yes, a bookshop has encroached on Tuttle's. Yet Tuttle's endures. The bookshop has taken half of the old grocery, but it has left the back room as it always has been; big chairs, pictures of famous Yale crews and teams, the high desk, the huge safe and the old-fashioned stove. The little copper sink is still there, but the copper flagon hangs on the wall, burnished and empty. Best of all, Ed is there, ready to pour lemon sodas and brews that are just as good as the law allows. The bookshop is unique. One hears of it all over the campus. An English professor, blasé in the ways of books and bookshops, says: "Those boys have accomplished something that doesn't exist. Their shop has 'atmosphere.' Something that others have tried to build with money they have nurtured because they didn't have any. Go up and see for yourself." THE SECOND FLOOR HAD A FIREPLACE WHICH WAS SCRAPED AND REPAIRED ways when they saw a good opportunity they bought books, poor books, discarded books and some very good and rare books. Then along came prohibition. The Heads, however, still continued to sit at least one evening a week in Ed's backroom, smoke their pipes and sip at near-ale. One day, carpenters appeared at Tuttle's and a week later the Heads borrowed a Ford and transferred their books to the new white pine shelves. Everything that looked like a book went on those shelves. Old prints for the walls were obtained and the store was opened. With the store in operation on the ground floor the Heads went to work upstairs. The second floor was vacant, with a fireplace. This they scraped and repaired. Then Arthur set up a work-bench. In Greenwich Village it would be called a "studio." From two packing cases and a hundred cigar boxes he made a chess table of which any cabinetmaker or joiner would be proud. The walls of the second floor they filled with book shelves. A heavy wooden settle and five or six easy chairs were bought from seniors, repaired and placed in this workshop-library. Next a coffee urn appeared; then pipes, a dozen or more, and two or three big jars of tobacco. The Heads are there from early morning until late at night, six days a week and part H of the day on Sunday, except when one brother comes to New York or goes elsewhere to buy books and engravings. A customer is not solicited the minute he enters. He is not asked to examine this or that book. He is only allowed to brouse at will and if he wants attention he must ask for it; from Wilfred, busy over accounts and catalogs, or from Arthur, at his parchments, bookbinding or engraving. Gradually the poor books have been replaced with good ones. During the college year there is generally a chess game in progress; aromatic coffee, hot in the urn; a fire and a few readers sprawled in the big chairs. In front hangs a modest sign which reads: "Arthur and Wilfred Head, Quiet-StudyReading." And downstairs, thru a back door is Ed English Book-Trade News ERBERT JENKINS, whose publishing enterprise was widely known in England and America, has died. Mr. Churton Brady, writing in the Daily Mail, said: "He began humbly at the age of fifteen in a bookseller's shop, as he was proud to tell. He used to sit up half the night devouring books supplied by a neighbor. He and a friend, struggling to improve themselves, rose to fame; the friend's name was John Masefield. Years later Jenkins became manager of John Lane, Ltd., at the famous Bodley Head. Walking to save a penny omnibus fare, refusing an invitation to a river picnic because of a sixpenny railway fare, lunching on a bun-this is the picture of his early twenties as he many times described it to me. All the time the unquenchable ambition burned in his soul to produce books for himself. "When he was about thirty-six, his extremely able 'Life of George Borrow,' published by Murray, first brought him into the public view. He started as a publisher, with a daringly small capital, in three rooms. But the extraordinary energy and organizing genius of Jenkins surmounted everything. He never looked back; his unique advertising made him known all over the world; his business swelled into large premises; his three rooms turned into seven floors, and that in less than seven years from his start! "He found time to write many novels, including the famous 'Bindle' series." the A very successful gathering was held at Notingham recently of the Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland. Two important matters were emphasized maintenance of the net book and the real urgency of every bookseller's becoming an adherent to the Society, whether they thought they had need of it or not. It seems as tho the Society had done such good and comprehensive work as to guard effectually the interests of all booksellers, and many comments were made by speakers lamenting that more did not throw in their lot with the organization, so that more power could be given to the executive. The twenty-third annual conference of the Federation of Master Printers and Allied Trades of the United Kingdom was held last week. Mr. R. A. Austin-Leigh, the president, said: "Printers in recent years have given a good deal of attention to the question of sound costing, and the Federation has a special department, with experts, which deals with the subject. It is contended that until the adoption of a costing system was preached, careless estimating was very common in the industry and led to many bankruptcies." Over three hundred delegates were present from among other countries, United States, Australia, New Zealand and India. The representative from the United States was Mr. G. H. Carter, who was on his way to represent the American Government at the inter national conference of master printers to be held at Gothenburg. He told the congress that before he left Washington he informed the President that he had received an invitation to attend the London meetings. Mr. Harding expressed great pleasure at the fact, and asked him to convey, as from a fellowprinter, his most cordial greetings to the British printers. Mr. Carter added that the costing system was absorbing the printers of America more than anything else at the present time. The printing industry in the United States now ranked practically third of all industries in that country, the output being greater only in the steel and packing industries. Half a million men were engaged in the trade, and the annual value of their production was more than 1,500 million dollars. In some places, costs, instead of coming down, are going up. The Times, which had reduced its price at the beginning of 1922 to 11⁄2d has now put it up again to 2d. The same word applies to the Daily Telegraph. Three halfpence is not, apparently, an economic price. The general costs of newspaper production are, for the most part, still at the highest point reached after the war. Tho paper has fallen in price, it still costs far more than it cost in 1914. There has been no reduction in the war-time rate of printers' wages. Carriage and distribution are items, to mention no others, which stand at more than double the pre-war figure. Incidentally, the paper trade is not particularly brisk. As a specialist wrote the other day: "For instance, one mill making good-class papers has been running to its full capacity for the past twelve months, and yet thruout the whole of that period it has only on few occasions had more than fourteen days' work in hand." Owing to the proportions to which it has grown the old Book Department of Benn Bros., Limited, has been formed into a separate company which will be known as Ernest Benn, Limited. This development is merely a matter of internal organization and involves no change in policy, general direction, or financial control; Sir Ernest Benn, Chairman of Benn Brothers, Limited, being Chairman, also, of Ernest Benn, Limited, while Mr. Victor Gollancz is Managing Director. The "big" line this summer is the cheap edition of Mrs. Barclay's novels. "The Rosary" seems as great a favorite as ever, of which something like a million and a half copies have been sold. The published price of this cheap reprint is 2s 6d. There are three new novel competitions on the market: Messrs. John Long, Ltd., an announces £500 for a first novel, while Messrs. Andrew Melose, Ltd., and Messrs. Grant Richards have competitions. The latest London publishing house, the Nonesuch Press, made its first venture with a limited edition of the "Letters of George Meredith to Alice Meynell." Only fragments of these letters have hitherto been published. This month will be issued the "Nonesuch" edition of the love poems of John Donne, printed in the unique seventeenth century Fell type in the possession of the University of Oxford. Other early volumes from the same press will include the complete works of William Congreve, the poems of Andrew Marvell, and the Book of Ruth-all, like the Meredith and Donne books, in limited editions. Major G. H. Putnam, Mr. Brace and Mr. Doubleday are here, and Sinclair Lewis, Mr. Van Loon and E. S. Bagger are in England. John Paris, author of "Kimono," has a new novel entitled "Rice and Chop Sticks" coming out. Best selling books are: FICTION Birmingham's "Found Money." Johnston's "Admiral of the Ocean Sea." Rita's "Ungrown-ups." Webster's "Old Ebbie." Marguerite's "Bachelor Girl.” GENERAL Younghusband's "Forty Years a Soldier." The Development of the School Library T HE problems and difficulties which confront the librarian in the elementary, public and high schools in the cities and country districts were made the subject of a careful consideration at the Fourty-fifth Annual Meeting of the American Library AssoMembers ciation at Hot Springs, Arkansas. made reports on the work accomplished in the fields in which they were specially interested and addresses were made advocating certain new methods. These selections, taken from various discussions and speeches, are reprinted with the idea of indicating what has been done and what may be done further in a field which is vitally connected with both book publishing and bookselling. تو AMERICAN FIRST EDITIONS A Series of Bibliographic Check-Lists* Edited by Merle Johnson and Frederick M. Hopkins GEORGE JEAN NATHAN, 1882 THE ETERNAL MYSTERY. New York, 1913. (one-act play.) With H. L. Mencken and W. H. Wright. ANOTHER BOOK ON THE THEATRE. New York, 1916. BOTTOMS UP. New York, 1917. MR. GEORGE JEAN NATHAN PRESENTS. New York, 1917. A BOOK WITHOUT A TITLE. New York, 1918. 1st ed. published by Philip Goodman. THE POPULAR THEATRE. New York, 1918 HELIOGABALUS. New York, 1920. With H. L. Mencken. Regular edition limited to 2,000 numbered copies. Also issued in a special edition of 60 copies on Japan Imperial Vellum, autographed by the authors. THE AMERICAN CREDO. New York, 1920. With H. L. Mencken. THE THEATRE, THE DRAMA, THE GIRLS. New York, 1921. THE CRITIC AND THE DRAMA. New York, 1922. THE WORLD IN FALSEFACE. New York, 1922. SUGGESTIONS TO OUR VISITORS, pamphlet. (1922.) A PERSONAL WORD, pamphlet. 1922. THE BORZOI. 1920. Contains Essay on Mencken by Nathan. HATTERA, OWEN. PISTOLS FOR TWO. 1917. Contains Essay on Mencken and Nathan. (Authorship attributed to Mencken and Nathan.) HOPKINS, ARTHUR. HOW'S YOUR SECOND ACT? 1918. Contains foreword by Nathan. O'NEILL, EUGENE. THE MOON OF THE CARRIBEES. 1923. Contains preface by Nathan. Copyright, 1922, by the R. R. Bowker Co. T Joy Day for the Chicago Bookmen HE Chicago Bookmen's sixteenth annual Field Day was given at the Calumet Country Club on Wednesday, July 11th, and, as Toastmaster Eddie Brewster said at the banquet, "The sun always shines on Field Day." The weather was perfect, as it has been at the annual outing for sixteen years. Intimidation As usual, the most important feature of the day was the Annual Baseball Game between the East and the West, which resulted, as it always does, in the West winning by the one-sided score of 15 to 5. After the game, many of the supporters of the Eastern team were complaining to the Eastern players about their inability to win, and Manager Fred Nunan explained to them in confidence that it was not policy to do so. His explanation is that all of the players on the Eastern team are salesmen and are in Chicago for the purpose of selling goods and obtaining fall orders, and some of the players on the Western team are buyers-but, more particularly, that the rooters and supporters of the Western team are buyers for large houses, and they intimidate the Eastern players by telling them they will get reduced orders in case they win the game. Fritzy's explanation sounds very plausible, as such buyers as George Metzger, Guy Kendall, Ralph Henry, Earl Sargent, Charlie Johnson, Duke Hill and Austin Murkland, were seen interviewing the Eastern players before and during the game, and naturally the Eastern players are out there to get large orders, and they are too wise to spoil things The Western by playing too good a game. contingent were really scared that they were going to lose this year and put forth all the pressure they could to stop the East from winning, and even Mrs. Hahner sent her husband out to Field Day for the first time to represent her, and he mixed very freely with the Eastern players before the game, and you all know that Marshall Field & Co. use a lot of books. Winters, c.f. Munk, 1.f. The Score EAST Youngman, l.f. Hamer, s.s. Kohr, 2nd b. Forrest, 2nd b. Halberg, 1st b. Howard, c.f. WEST AB R 4 2 3 2 After the big ball game, everybody repaired to the club house and sat down to a most excellent luncheon, after which a group picture was taken, as that is about the only time of day it is possible to gather the entire crowd together. Immediately after that, the golfers started out for the Blind Bogey Contest, and at the same time the card experts congregated around the tables in the big Pinochle Contest; and while the ball game is conceded to be the big event of the day, there is another game held in the afternoon with an indoor ball, and there is more actual fun in this game than in the morning game, even tho it is not played so scientifically. For years the two teams have been captained by John Stanton and Sam Darst, but for the first time in the history of Field Day Sam was not present, so Duke Hill was chosen as captain to oppose John Stanton's team. The writer could not find out the score, but suffice it to say that there was much scrapping, and during the course of their game there were five different umpires, none of whom seemed to suit. After the golfers had returned, the races were started, and after that there were the other two golf events, Approaching and Putting Contest. The results of the different events were as follows: Golf: Blind Bogey-Won by Chas. A. Johnson; second prize, by Harry P. Burt. Pinochle Contest-Won by Geo. F. Bachmann; second prize, by L. B. Vaughan. Proctor, r.f. Macrae, 1st b. Krauss, c. Schlamm, s.5. J. McKay, 3rd b. A. Brentano, p.-s.s. 32100 18 5 Indoor-Outdoor Ball Game-Won by Duke Hill's team, 32 to 12. Fifty-Yard Dash-Won by Geo. J. Lea. Fat Man's Race-Won by B. F. Hitchens. Running Backward Race-Won by E. T. Sargent. 6 Relay Running Race-Won by Eastern Team. |