WEEKLY RECORD OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. The prices in this list are for cloth lettered, unless otherwise indicated. Imported Books are marked with an asterisk: Authors' and Subscription Books, or Books published at net prices, with two asterisks; Educational Books published at " wholesale” prices, with a dagger. Bump.-Composition in Bankruptcy, with Forms. By O. Coquette (The). A Tale of Love and Pride. By the John R. Anderson. *Dobson.-Proverbs in Porcelain and other Vases. By Austin Dobson. 12°. $3 .Scribner, W. & A. Farquharson. See Finley. Field.-Private Corporations for Pecuniary Gain. By Geo. W. Field. 8°. $7.50.. ..Parsons. Finley.-Elsie's Children. A Sequel to "Elsie's Motherhood.' By Martha Finley (Farquharson). Illus. 16°. $1.50. ......Dodd, M. & Co. Fraser's Tables, for the Determination of Minerals. Based on the Tables of Weisbach. By Persifor Fraser. Jr., A.M. New and rev. ed. 12°. $2. ....Lippincott. Forrest, Edwin. See Rees. Forestier.-Echoes from Mist-Land; or, The Nibelungen Lay revealed to Lovers of Romance and Chivalry. By Auber Forestier. 16°, pp. 260. $1.50.......... Griggs. Hakluyt, Richard. See Maine. *Harvey. Paper Money the Money of Civilization. An Issue by the State and a Legal Tender in Payment of Taxes. By Jas. Harvey. 8°. $2.75. Scribner, W. & A. He and I; or, Was It He? By the author of "Annals of a Baby." 16°, pp. 198. Pap., 50 c............ Carleton. Howells.-Lives of Lord Herbert of Cherbury and Thomas Ellwood. With Essays by Wm. D. Howells. (Autobiography.) 18°, pp. 369. $1.25... Osgood. Humphrey and Bennett.-Christianity and Infidelity; or, The Humphrey-Bennett Discussion betw. Rev. G. H. Humphrey, of a N. Y. Presb. Church, and D. M. Bennett, editor of the Truth Seeker, conducted in the cols. of Truth Seeker, commencing April 7 and closing Sept. 29, 1877. 12°, PP. 533. $1...... D. M. Bennett. Johnson.-Tears for the Little Ones. A Coll. of Poems and Passages inspired by the Loss of Children. Ed. by Helen Kendrick Johnson. Sq. 16°, pp. 190. $2.Osgood. Keller.-Elementary Perspective Explained and Adapted to Familiar Objects for the Use of Schools and Beginners in the Art of Drawing. By M. J. Keller. Illus. 12°, Clarke. PP. 47. $1 Little Blind May, and Jane Hudson. Illus. 16°. $1. Lothrop. Maine, Documentary History of the State of. Second Series. Containing a Discourse on Western Planting, written in the Year 1584, by Richard Hakluyt. With a Preface and an Introd. by Leonard Woods, LL.D. Ed., with Notes in the Appendix, by Chas. Deane. 8°, pp. Ixi, 253. $4... ....Maine Hist. Soc. **Manners.-Pasco. A Cuban Tale, and other Poems. With an Essay on Music appended. By R. Rutland Manners. 16°, pp. 170. $1.50.... Hurd & H. Marsh.-The Earth as modified by Human Action. By Geo, P. Marsh. New ed. of "Man and Nature.' Cr. 8°, pp. xxvii, 674. Red. to $3.. ....Scribner, A & Co. Mathews.-The Enchanted Moccasins, and other Legends of the American Indians. Comp. from original sources. By Cornelius Mathews. Illus. Sq. 8°. $1.50. Putnam. Moore. Norman Stanly's Crusade: or, The Dunkin Act in Turnipham. By Arthur W. Moore. (Idle Evening Neville-Behind the Arras. A Novel. By Constance Maud Neville. 8°, pp. 252. Pap., $.... .Bancroft. Series.) 24°, pp. 197. Pap., 20 c. [Montreal: John Dougall & Son]. Dawson. Noethen.-A History of the Catholic Church from the Commencement of the Christian Era to the Ecumenical Council of the Vatican. With an Appendix to 1876. With Questions adapted to the Use of Schools. Comp. and tr. from the best authors. By Rev. Theodore Noethen. 4th rev. and enl. ed. 18°, pp. vii, 673. $1.25. Murphy. Ossian.-The Poems of Ossian. Translated by James Macpherson, Esq., to which are prefixed a Preliminary Discourse and Dissertation on the Era and Poems of Ossian. 16. $1.25; $1.... Crowell. Otto.-Introductory French Reader. By Dr. Emil Otto. Ed., with Notes and Vocab., by Edward S. Joynes. (The Joynes-Otto Elem. French Course.) 16°, pp. 163. $1.Holt Pansy.-Our Darlings: What they Think, Say, and Do. By Pansy. Illus. $1.50; bds., $1.. ..Lothrop. Little People, in Picture Story. By Pansy. Illus. 4°. $1.50; bds., $1.... ..Lothrop. Perry.-A Handbook of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Giving its History and Constitution, 1785-1877. By Wm. S. Perry, D.D., LL.D. Whittaker. 12°, pp. 314. $1. Rees.-The Life of Edwin Forrest. With Reminiscences and Personal Recollections. By James Rees (Colley Cibber). (Dollar Series.) 12°, pp. 504. $1....... Peterson. Roe.-A Knight of the Nineteenth Century. By Rev. E. P. Roe. 12°. $1.50 ...Dodd, M. & Co. Sainte-Beuve.-Monday Chats. By C. A. Sainte-Beuve. Sel. and trans, from the "Causeries du Lundi," with an introd. essay on the life and writings of Sainte-Beuve, by Wm. Mathews, LL.D. 16°, pp. 384. $2......... Griggs. *Seemann.-The Mythology of Greece Special Reference to its Use in Art. Classical and Art Schools. From the Ed. by G. H. Bianchi. Illus. mann. and Rome, with A Class-book for German of O. SeeCr. 8°. $1.50. Scribner, W. & A. Stearns.-Water Spouts. Edited by J. N. Stearns. 18°, pp. 256. $1..... Nat. Temp. Soc. Stephens.-A Digest of the Criminal Law. Crimes and Punishments. By Sir James Fitzjames Stephens, K. C. S.I., Q.C. 24°, pp. lxxxvi, 510. $3. Soule, Thomas & W. Stevens.-The Burgoyne Campaign. An Address delivered on the Battle-field on the rooth Celebration of the Battle of Bemis Heights, Sept. 19, 1877, by Jno. Austin Stevens. 8°, pp 43. 50 C...... ..Randolph. Sweetser, M. F. See Artist-Biographies. Thiersch.-Melanchthon. Ein Vortrag von Dr. H. W. J. Thiersch. 32°, pp. 48. Pap., 8 c... Amer. Tract Soc. Titian. See Artist-Biographies. Bachelor. Tom's Wife, and How He managed Her. By a Married 18°, pp. 172. Pap., 50 c............Carleton. Ver Mehr.-Checkered Life in the Old and the New World. By Rev. J. L. Ver Mehr. 8°, pp. 476. $3. Bancroft. Wheeler.-Daughters of Armenia. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS. RESOLVED, That this Convention recognize the PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY as the established organ of the entire trade, and recommend it to publishers as the medium through which they should make their "first announcement" of books they propose to publish, and the full title of all books immediately on publication.-AMERICAN BOOK-TRADE ASSOCIATION. ROBERT CARTER & BROS., New York. Bible Echoes. By Wells. Lettice Eden. By Holt. His Grandchild. By the author of "Nellie's Secret." CLAXTON, REMSEN & HAFFELFINGER, Phila. To the Sun; or, A Journey through Planetary Space. By Jules Verne. Tr. by Edward Roth. With 36 original illus. 12°, pp. 410. $2. JOHN WILEY & SONS, New York. St. Mark's Rest. The History of Venice. Written for The Laws of Fésole. A Familiar Treatise on the Deucalion. Studies of the Lapse of Waves and Life of additional expense. But the real pith of the thing is in the fourth condition of section sixth. What are "public news and articles relating thereto, or to other current topics or events, either general or special"? These phrases must again be construed, like our old friend the phrase "primarily for advertising purposes," and the bill is as indefinite as the one it is meant to remedy. If Mr. Marr and Mr. Bissell are to be the judges, as the bill perhaps is meant to contemplate, their previously expressed opinions make it probable that the legitimate trade journals will again be thrown out, despite the Postmaster-General decision, which would be practically annulled. In that case, higher rates will be charged upon this class of newspapers than under previous highpostage bills, and the journals must suffer accordingly. It is, however, very much to the advantage of legitimate journals, whether trade journals or otherwise, that the gratuitous advertising sheets, issued for the sole benefit of their pub THE PROPOSED POST-OFFICE REGIS- lishers, should not have the postal advantages TRATION. WE print elsewhere the text of the proposed bill, prepared by Mr. Bissell, for the registration of newspapers taking advantage of the pound rates on second-class matter. This opens a vexed question, which, as we have before said, it is most desirable to have settled in some permanent way. And Congressional legislation is of course the one permanent way, beyond the influence of changes in the administration of the department or of individual caprice. The publishers of a large class of journals, of public importance, were much harassed during the past summer, as our readers have reason to know, by some very curious decisions from Mr. Marr and others excluding them from the benefit of newspaper rates--a difficulty which was not removed till copies of and affidavits from the journals in question were brought personally before Postmaster-General Key, who promptly decided, with sound common-sense, that the publications in question were newspapers. The American Grocer, on which the attack seemed to be concentrated, was one of the journals submitted. But while the new act is intended to cover this important question, we are by no means certain that it covers it in the right way. In the first place, the bill leaves it indefinite whether the printing of the words "registered for transmission through the mails at the privileged rate," after the English fashion, on the issue and on the wrappers is obligatory or not; it is, at best, a long and awkward phrase for a title-page, and to those papers which write and do not print their wrappers, the printing would be a considerable offered to newspapers. Unfortunately, the bill may be evaded by them and actually turned in their interest against regular publications. It is easy to put on the cloak of public purpose, and Baldwin's Monthly, for instance, "consists mainly" of general literary articles such as the magazines print. On the other hand, perhaps as a general rule, the trade journals could not survive unless they had more pages of advertising than of reading matter. The fact of it is, that the only way to decide practically whether a publication is a newspaper for public purposes is to ascertain whether the public adopt it by paying for it. The whole thing should turn upon the payment of subscriptions. The old law covers this point, but it does not seem to work to the satisfaction of the department. A publisher is often very ready to take the oath, but in practice he is very apt, simply through carelessness, to let his employés violate it. Facts don't always come to his notice. A practical way to meet the difficulty might be to require the publisher, at the end of each quarter, to take oath that he had made personal investigation of the mailing of his publication, and that in his information and belief copies had been mailed at pound rates only to paying subscribers and others within the law; and to suspend the pound rates until this assurance has been given. He would be less careless in swearing to facts than in swearing to promises. We do not understand that the PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY is really concerned in this matter, bechase it was at the first attack decided that, as a literary journal, it was entitled to the privilege of pound rates. But all journals and all busi OUR friends of the Nation, in noticing the Trade-List Annual in last week's issue, did so, we fear, from a too hasty glance. Instead of fewer, the Annual for 1877 contains thirty-seven more lists than that for 1876, the fact that the index of 1876 contained, as there stated, the names of publishing firms who had contributed to previous Annuals having probably misled the writer. Wilson, Hinkle & Co.'s list is not among the omissions, the firm which succeeded to their list some months since appearing in their proper place as Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co. The most notable omission, that of J. B. Lippincott & Co., was overlooked. In its succeeding issue, for this week, the Nation notes that it "accidentally ignored the fact" of the change of firm, but it fails to note its more injurious mistake of stating that the number of lists is less instead of greater than last year-a fact which should not have been accidentally ignored, and which we learn had been called to its attention. This is a serious error in criticism, involving the loss or growth in importance of the publication. We fear that this is what, should the Evening Post do it, the Nation would call "journalism." TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir: Observing a paragraph in to-day's issue of the Sun containing a statement as to the inferiority of American publications compared with English, in the matter of paper and print, we take the liberty of sending you a few pages of "Rice's Calculus," with the request that you donate the work to the "English Book Dealer" who made the wholesale and, as we believe, erroneous statement above referred to. National pride forbids us to permit his assertion to go unchallenged, and we have no doubt other publishers can further refute it. You will excuse our sending a fragmentary book, but the balance, some 200 pages, is still in press. Respectfully, JOHN WILEY & SONS. -New York Sun, Oct. 17. A PUBLISHER WORTHY OF HONOR. SOME interesting reminiscences of Mr. William Longman are given in the last issue of the London Bookseller. Mr. Longman was the virtual founder of the London Publishers' Cir cular, and in this also a handsome tribute is paid to him, we presume from the pen of Mr. Sampson Low. The Bookseller says: "In 1837, while engaged in the publishing department, he became dissatisfied with the manner in which the then only trade journal, Bent's Literary Advertiser, brought new books before the notice of the booksellers, and he suggested some improvements; but these suggestions were ignored by the proprietor of that improvement, Mr. Longman consulted some journal. Finding that there was no chance of other members of the trade, and a committee [of fourteen publishers, of whom only three survive] was formed for the purpose of starting a new publication which should more fittingly represent the wants and requirements of the trade. "The conception of the work and the plan of it were Mr. Longman's. He selected Mr. in Lamb's Conduit Street, for the post of editor, Sampson Low, then carrying on a retail business and although retaining the nominal proprietorship in his own hands, derived no pecuniary benefit from the publication. The first number of the Publishers' Circular made its appearance on the 2d of October, 1837, and presented a great improvement upon Bent's list. In order to give the work a successful start, three thousand copies were printed for gratuitous circu lation, and all the influence of the house of Longman was brought to bear upon its numerous connections. The Circular became an established success, and has been carried on ever since under the able management of Mr. Sampson Low, who we hope will continue the work for many years." "Bibliography appears to have been a subject of special attraction to Mr. Longman, and it is a cause of some regret that he abandoned this for subjects of a more profitable character. He compiled a very useful volume, published anonymously, A Catalogue of Works in all Departments of English Literature, classified titles, sizes, prices, and dates of the last ediwith a General Alphabetical Index. The full tions given.' A second edition of this, corrected to the end of 1847, appeared in 1848. About this time he took great interest in the subject of underselling, and took the chair at a meeting trade regulations, for the purpose of repressing of the trade held at Exeter Hall. When the question was afterwards, in 1852, most improp. erly referred to Lord Campbell, Mr. Grote, and Mr. Macaulay, he formed one of the deputation. The decision was adverse to a protective system, and Mr. Longman was one of the first to withdraw from the Booksellers' Association, which immediately afterwards was dissolved. At a more recent period he stated that, although his own private opinions had undergone no change, he was not disposed to move in the matter of trade protection." 'Apparently, soon after this he turned his attention to studies of another kind. The Travellers' Library' occupied much of his time, and he also became a traveller. A privately published 'Six Weeks' Tour in Switzerland' appeared from his pen in 1857, and he took part in the proceedings of the Alpine Club, of which for a time he was president. In 1859, having taken up his residence at Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, he endeavored to enlighten the laborers of his neighborhood by giving them lectures upon the early history of England. These lectures he afterward published in shilling parts, 'for distribution among the laborers belonging to the Chorleywood Association.' The laborers were ungrateful-they preferred beer to printed lectures, and the distribution was almost entirely gratuitous. Mr. Longman, however, pursued his historical researches, completing the volume in 1862. In 1869 he published the 'Life and Times of Edward III.,' the standard history of that monarch and the stirring times in which he lived. His historical works were well received, and when his name was proposed and balloted for at the Society of Antiquaries, he had the rare honor of being elected without receiving a single black-ball. "One of Mr. Wm. Longman's sons, Mr. C. J. Longman, is in the business, which has now existed during five generations, having been founded about the year 1724." W. L.-OBIT, 1877; ÆTAT. 64. Long did he suffer pain without a sigh, O wing nor gold nor love, feared not to die; M anfully fighting until fall of night, A nd bravely conqu'ring in the life-long fight, Now in the grave he rests, waiting for perfect light. act. In the vexed question of copyright in articles originally published in periodicals, it seems that in France the title remains in the author, except in so far as he may have parted with it for a single publication in a single periodical. The editor has no right to farm out correspondence. In Spain any newspaper article can be reproduced if credit be given. The final pages of Professor de Folleville's pamphlet are taken up with comparative legislation on copyright. The United States follow England, but are a little less liberal; here copyright ceases absolutely in forty-two years. In Italy it runs eight years. In Spain and in Russia it lasts for life, with remainder to the author's heirs for fifty years. M. de Folleville remarks that no nation has adopted the theory of perpetuity of copyright. He ignores America generally, and is therefore ignorant that by our rulings a play can practically be perpetually protected. Copyright only affects published works; performance of a play is not publication; as long, therefore, as the dramatist keeps his play in MS. the common law will protect his manuscript as carefully as his hat or his handkerchief; his title is, to all intents and purposes, perpetual.-The Nation, Oct. 11th. [The fact that Great Britain, by special act of Parliament, granted perpetuity of copyright on Clarendon's "History of the Rebellion" seems also to have been overlooked.-ED. P. W.] TEXT OF THE REGISTRATION BILL. A Bill for an Act for the registration of second class matter and the sale of postage stamps thereon. Be it enacted, etc. :— SECTION 1. There shall be two rates for mailable matter of the second class-to wit, a THEORIES AND PRACTICE OF COPY. "privileged" rate and an "ordinary" rate. RIGHT. M. DANIEL DE FOLLEVILLE, Professor of Civil Law, has reprinted from La France Judiciaire an essay De la Propriété Littéraire et Artistique," in the thirty-three pages of which he lucidly examines the three views of literary property now prevalent. According to the first, the author has an inherent and perpetual right to the product of his pen. The second theory is the direct opposite of this: literary work cannot by its nature be the exclusive property of its author; therefore society has an unrestricted right to the reproduction of all literature. M. de Folleville himself takes the third view: he considers that the author and society have equal rights; the writer's title to his MS. is incontestable, but publication is an alienation for the benefit of society and should therefore be recompensed by society. By publication the author's absolute title is transformed into a claim for indemnity-a claim which most nations satisfy by assuring to the author the exclusive right to the reproduction of his own works for a certain number of years. In the examination of this theory and of the articles of the code which govern its application in France, M. de Folleville cites some curious rulings. It has been held, for instance, that the repetition of an air by a handorgan is an infringement of the composer's copyright-a principle reversed by a special Publications registered as herein provided shall be entitled to pass through the mails at the privileged rate; all others shall be subject to the "ordinary" rate. SEC. 2. From and after the passage of this act, publishers of mail matter of the second class who may desire to secure to their publication the benefit of the privileged rate of postage shall submit the same to the department under such regulations as the Postmaster-General may prescribe, who shall cause the same to be examined, and, if determined to be entitled to the benefit of the privileged rates, shall cause a license or certificate of registration to be issued to the postmaster at the place where such publication shall be published, who shall notify the publisher of the same to that effect. SEC. 3. Such license or certificate of registration shall entitle the publisher of such publication to have printed upon each issue thereof, and upon the wrapper of each package thereof, the words 'Registered for transmission through the mails at the priviledged rate," or words of like import which may be prescribed by the Postmaster General, and the payment of an annual fee of $1 to the postmaster at the office of mailing shall further entitle the publisher of such publications so registered to have the same transmitted through the mails at the following rate of postage, to wit: When published as often as once a week, two cents per pound or fraction thereof; when published |