Schools, by W. London. A bad time immediately fol lowed. The Restoration also restored the office of Licenser
of the Press, which continued till 1694.In the first Copyright Act (8 Anne, c. 19), which speci ally relates to booksellers, it is enacted that, if any per son shall think the published price of a book unreason ably high, he may thereupon make complaint to the arch bishop of Canterbury, and to certain other persons named, who shall thereupon examine into his complaint, and if well founded reduce the price ; and any bookseller charging more than the price so fixed shall be fined 5 for every copy sold. Apparently this enactment remained a dead letter.
Tli3 modern bookselling trade divides itself into the seve ral branches of publishing and wholesale bookselling, and the retail, the old or second-hand, and the periodical trades. Publishing is confined to a few of the larger cities, London naturally taking the lead, followed by Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, Manchester, Liverpool, Cambridge, Dublin, and a, few other places ; while purely wholesale dealers are to be found in the large towns only. In Great Britain, and especially in Scotland, booksellers are located in every small town ; but in Ireland there are very few, except in the chief cities. Formerly the retail booksellers were ex pected to demand the full retail price of a book, and make no greater reduction than discount for ready money ; but this restriction has been discontinued as contrary to the spirit of free trade. The trade in old or (they are some times called) second-handbooks is in a sense a higher class of business, requiring a knowledge of bibliography, while the transactions are with individual books rather than with numbers of copies. Occasionally dealers in this class of books replenish their stocks by purchasing remainders of books, which, having ceased from one cause or another to sell with the publisher, they offer to the public as bargains. The periodical trade is entirely the growth of the present century, and was in its infancy when the Penny Magazine, Chambers s Journal, and similar publications first appeared. The growth of this important part of the business has been greatly promoted by the abolition of the newspaper stamp and of the duty upon paper, the introduction of attractive illustrations, and the facilities offered for purchasing books by instalments.
The history of bookselling in the New World ha-, yet to be written. The Spanish settlements in America drew away from the old country much of its enterprise and best talent, and the presses of Mexico and other cities teemed with publications mostly of a religious character, but many others, especially linguistic and historical, were also published. Bookselling in the United States was of a somewhat later growth, although printing was introduced into New York as early as 1673, Boston in 1674, and Philadelphia in 1683. Franklin had served to make the trade illustrious, yet few persons were engaged in it at the commencement of the present century. "Books chiefly for scholars and libraries were imported from Europe ; but after the second war printing-presses multiplied rapidly, and with the spread of newspapers and education there also arose a demand for books, and publishers set to work to secure the advantages offered by the wide field of English literature, the whole of which they had the liberty of reaping free of all cost beyond that of production. The works of Scott, Byron, Moore, Southey, Wordsworth, and indeed of every author of note, were reprinted without the smallest payment to author or proprietor. Half the names of the authors in the so called "American" catalo^ UP of books printed between 1820 and 1852 are British. By this means the works of the best authors have been brought to the doors of all classes in the cheapest variety of forms la consequence of the war with the Southern States, the high price of labour, and tha restrictive duties laid on in order to protect native industry, coupled with the frequent intercourse between the two countries, a great change has taken place during the last few years. Books printed and bound in Britain are greatly appreciated, and American publishers, in the absence of an international copyright, make liberal offers for early sheets of new publications. Boston, New York, and Philadelphia still retain their old supremacy as bookselling centres.
In Australia the sale of books is not large at present ; there are, however, indications of a great increase. The booksellers there as in Canada, although supposed to be bound by the copyright law restricting the sale of any but genuine editions, avail themselves of American and other reprints, in which the authors have little or no interest.
In the course of the 16th and 17th centuries the Low Countries for a time became the chief centre of the bookselling world, and many of the finest folios and quartos in our libraries bear the names of Jansen, Blauw, or Plantin, with the imprint of Amsterdam, Utrecht; Leyden, or Antwerp, while the Elzevirs besides other works produced their charming little pocket classics. The .southern towns of Douai and St Omer at the sam3 time furnished polemical works in English.
Germany, the birthplace of the art of printing, is still the first bookselling country in the world. There, dis tributed over 786 towns, are 3473 publishers and book sellers, Leipsic being the centre to which they all look, all of any consequence having an agency there, where their books are collected, and their own publications distributed. In Leipsic there are 105 commission-agents for 4202 booksellers, of whom 1143 carry on business in Austria, France, Russia, Holland, America, and England. The book exchange lias 115 members who transact business there. The other centres of the German book trade are Stutt gart, with 16 agents for 542 booksellers; Vienna, with 31 agents for 475; Berlin, with 29 agents for 305; and Prague, v. ith 18 agents for 98. The great book fair at Leipsic is held every year immediately after Easter, and is attended by booksellers from every part of the world.
In France the pi-ess is still shackled, and every book and pamphlet must be registered before publication ; but not withstanding this booksellers flourish, especially in all the large towns, and some of the finest illustrated works of the day are issued from the French press. In Italy book sellers are few, and in Spain they can hardly be said to have any existence at all.
From the English Catalogue of Books fur 1874 it appears that there were about 4500 books published in Great Britain and Ireland during that year. This number in cludes new editions of works previously issued, as well as the principal books published in the United States. The values of books exported and imported during 1874 are given in the official returns as follows:—
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Imports. From France 57, 680 ,, Germany 36,494 Holland 31,837 ,, United States 17,807 ,. Belgium 16,254 ,, Spain 4,177 ,, Italy 1,328 ,, Other conn tries... 13,359 Exports. To United States 274,373 Australia 267,658 British ] ndia and Ceylon 83,259 I British N. America.. 69,127 France 41,622 South Africa 35,980 i Holland 21,912 Germany 19,894 Belgium 16,953 British West Indies and Guiana 14,469 Other countries 59,539 Total 904,792 Total 178,956
