BOOK PRODUCTION IN 1903. upon the current work of the office, leaving the excess of fees earned over appropriations used for service, $108,023.44 for the six years. No exact statement can be made of the other expenditures on behalf of the Copyright Office. They include the cost of stationery and other supplies, ($881.05,) record books, circulars, and blank forms supplied by the Government Printing Office, and the printing of the "Catalogue of Title Entries" of copyright articles, amounting to 5067 octavo pages in 1903. COPYRIGHT ENTRIES, CALENDAR YEAR 1903. Class A, Books: (a) Books (volumes) and pamphlets.... (b) Booklets, leaflets, circulars, cards. (c) Newspaper and magazine articles.... 14,069 4,568 7,641 26,278 21,401 99,436 Total entries for the year...... The largest number of entries made in any one day during the calendar year was on January 1903, when 3427 titles were regis tered. The smallest number of entries was on July 14, 1903, when 123 titles were recorded. The fees for December, 1903, were the largest in amount for any month of December in the history of the Copyright Office, amounting to $7441. This notwithstanding the fact that it was necessary, owing to claim of copyright being printed 1904, to carry over 1307 titles. ARTICLES DEPOSITED, CALENDAR YEAR 1903. Class A. Bocks: (a) Books (volumes) and 6,993 21,626 20,342 pamphlets... (b) Booklets, leaflets, circulars, cards.. 11,207 3,689 (c) Newspaper and maga. zine contributions. B. Periodicals (numbers). C. Musical compositions. D. Dramatic compositions. E. Maps and charts.. 1,654 F. Engravings, cuts, and prints. 5,361 G. Chromos and lithographs.. 2,206 H. Photographs.... 14.333 88,476 1,065 Total number of articles.. The increase in the number of articles deposited over the articles received during the calendar year 1902 is 7293. COPYRIGHT OFFICE WORK. The current work of the Copyright Office is now kept as nearly up to date as is possible in an office where the daily business is so fluctuating. The question is frequently asked how soon it is possible to obtain a certificate after an application has been filed. The great variance in the number of titles filed per day leads to considerable unavoidable corresponding variance in the time of mailing the certificate or notice. Taking, however, a fairly normal ix month for illustration; during November, 1903, a month having 24 working days, the bulk of the certificates for 2 dates were mailed within three days; for 14 dates within four days; for 6 dates within five days, and for 2 dates within six days; but in the case of 3 dates certificates for certain classes required seven days before mailing, and on November 28 the periodical entries were so numerous that nine days were required to clear the certificates of that class. It should be remembered that the month included five Sundays and one holiday, Thanksgiving Day. The average time, therefore, may be said to be about five days, although the certificates for 16 out of the 24 total days were mailed within four days. The total entries for the month were 7352; the largest number on any one day, 624, and the smallest number on any one day, 149. At this date 4 P.M. January 6, all entries for the calendar year ending December 31 have been made and recorded; certificates made, revised and mailed, and all the entries have been indexed, the index cards for the year numbering 163,226. The deposited articles have been credited to December 31 in all classes, and in some classes to later dates, while some of the January entries have been made as shown by the detailed statement following. A. APPLICATIONS ACTED UPON AND TITLES FILED AND Class A. Books, to No. 76,291, January 4, 1904. D. Dramatic compositions, to No. 4463, January From January 2 to 6, 1904, inclusive, 5632 titles have been received for registration. 4557 of these have been numbered and 1045 recorded. B. RECORDING OF TITLES, ASSIGNMENTS, ETC. All of the above titles are recorded to December 31, 1903, inclusive. Certificates for all entries to January 2, 1904, have been written and mailed. to Assignments: 970 received, January 1 December 31, 1903, and 770 recorded. From one firm 200 documents await recording. C. INDEX AND CATALOGUE. The titles are indexed, (all classes,) to December 31, 1903, and classes D, E, F, G and I are indexed to January 2, 1904. The entries are indexed on cards by names of proprietors and titles. The total catalogue cards for the calendar year 1903 number 163,226, and these are added to the general alphabetical index, now containing more than 1,020,000 cards. "CATALOGUE OF TITLE ENTRIES." Four quarterly volumes of 13 numbers each were published, containing 5067 pages of octavo print. The volumes of the "Catalogue of Title ENGLAND IN EUROPE THE total number of books recorded by the London Publishers' Circular in 1903, as shown by the analytical table reprinted below, is DIVISONS. Theology, Sermons, Biblical, etc..... Novels, Tales, and Juvenile Works Arts, Sciences, and Illustrated Works. 1902. 1903. 1902; but there is an increase in recorded miscellaneous of about five hundred, and most of these are pamphlets at a few pence each; while there were about three hundred sixpenny novels during the year, most of them, of course, "new editions," not new books. The total of fiction is about a hundred more than in the previous year. Theology, educational, politics and commerce are up in number, arts and sciences and law are down; history and 567 81 639 63 biography, voyages and travels, about the 504 68 650 same; medicine, year-books, belles-lettres, and 1743 727 1859 801 poetry and the drama slightly up. 88 46 57 30 New Books. New Editions. New Books. 463 130 509 New Editions. 98 34 420 44 413 100 search.... History, Biography, etc.. 480 57 482 91 Poetry and the Drama 272 Year Books and Serials in Volumes. 408 76 303 457 Medicine, Surgery, etc. 153 84 187 Belles Lettres, Essays, Monographs, etc Miscellaneous, including Pamphlets, 227 44 2841 352 147 687 219 5839 1542 6699 1682 7381 8381 about a hundred below 1899 and 1898, four hundred below 1897, and a thousand above FRANCE THE number of books published in France during 1903, according to the records of Bibliographie de la France, was 12,264, or 65 more than in 1902. In 1902, by the way, book production in France had reached an unusually low level, being, in fact, upwards of 800 titles less than in the ten preceding years. The number of musical compositions recorded in 1903 was 6824, or 105 more than were recorded in 1902, and the number of engravings, lithographs and photographs recorded in 1903 was 950, or 107 more than were recorded in 1902. It is so difficult to get at the statistics of literary production year by year that it stands to reason that an estimate of the entire literary production of the world to the present day can only be relative, and largely a matter of expert opinion. Paul Otlet, the Secretary of the Brussels International Bibliographic Institute, estimates the number of printed books since the invention of printing to January, 1900, at 12,163,000 separate works, and the number of periodicals at between 15 and 18 millions. The Publishers' Weekly in an article on "The Fallacy of Book Statistics" (January 11, 1902), pointed out how almost in possible it is to even gauge the entire book production of the earth. And even if the figures could be arrived at they would give us no accurate picture of the mental activity of authors and writers. Peygnot and Otlet have estimated the number of books to 1898. For the following years Otlet adopts 200,000 as a yearly average. This seems rather high, and the figures of the table, which would make 150,000 per year a good average, seem more reliable. This would give the following schedule: 1436-1536....... 1536-1636.... 1636-1736....... 1736-1822.... 1822-1887.. 1887-1898.. 1899. 1900.. 1901... Philology and Languages. Natural Sciences. Art..... Philosophy.. coun As detailed statistics are only available for single countries, this must also be looked upon as an approximate estimate. In point of number of output, Germany and German Austria collectively yearly lead the world. Then follow France, Italy, England, the United States and the Netherlands. In speaking of classification and comparative mental value of publications, Russia and the Oriental cou tries are not taken into present consideration. In creative works England leads the world, having by far the largest output of novels, romances and works of pure imagination. In Germany educational works, theological works and books for the young predominate. The largest number of historical works appear in France, and Italy leads in religious publications. The largest number of books published in the United States fall in the department of fiction, but works of fiction are generally duplicated in the English and American statistics, as novels of merit written in the English language almost invariably appear on both sides of the Atlantic. According to Professor Otlet it may be roughly estimated that at the present rate of publication the average of books produced to every million inhabitants stands as follows in the most highly civilized countries of the world: 1 German Empire. 2 France.. 3 Switzerland. 42,000 575,000 4 Belgium... 354 344 338 337 309 300 262 175 85 81 66 1902.. 1903........ 150,000 10 United States.. 150,000 11 Spain... 150,000 150,000 12,713,000 To the year 1904, therefore, upward of 121⁄2 million of separate works have appeared in the world, which figures, however, include new editions and translations. It seems safe to say that books number about two-thirds and newspapers about onethird of the entire literary production of the world. Of course, in the quantity of manufacture the periodicals far outnumber the book production. As far back as 1882 a calculation was made of the percentage of periodicals Macmillan. Feb., Mar., April, 601.) Mettle of the pasture. Allen, Ja. L. $1.50. Letters of a self-made merchant to his son. Scribner. Blue flower. Van Dyke, Henry Bobbs-M. Grey cloak, The. MacGrath, H. $1.50. Two Van Revels. Tarkington, Booth. $1.50. Nicholson, Bobbs-M. M. $1.50. Bobbs-M. McClure, P. Gordon, C: W: Revell. Dodd, M. & Co. Lothrop. Wiggin, Mrs. Glengarry school days. (Feb., 80.) Darrel of the Blessed Isles. Bacheller, I. $1.50. (July, 73.) K. D. $1.25. (Dec., 69.) Lightning conductor. $1.50. (Oct., 66.) Houghton, M. & Co. Williamson, C. N. Holt. Old sweetheart of mine. Riley, J: W. $2. Wee Macgreegor. Bell, Ja. J. $1. (July, BOOK PRODUCTION IN 1903. THE BEST-SELLING TEN The Pall Mall Gazette's popular vote as to the best-selling ten novels issued in 1903 has resulted in giving Henry Seton Merriman's "Barlasch of the Guard" a percentage of 81, Mrs. Humphry Ward's "Lady Rose's Daughter" a percentage of 65, F. Marion Crawford's "Heart of Rome," 51; Whiteing's "Yellow Van," 50; Stanley Weyman's "The Long Night," 44; Frank Danby's "Pigs in Clover," 44; Ellen Fowler's "Place and Power," 37; ENGLISH NOVELS OF 1903 xiii Quiller Couch's "Hetty Wesley," 33; Beatrice Two deductions are made from the voting: Firstly, that the public are tired of the problem novel and also the serious work dealing adequately with serious social questions. Secondly, illustrations play a prominent part in successful works. THE GOVERNMENT'S BEST-SELLING BOOKS ACCORDING to the Washington correspond- | primarily for free distribution, but which so ent of the New York Evening Post, the honor of turning out the "six best-selling books" in the government's diverse assortment remains pretty continuously with the Department of Agriculture, although some noteworthy outgiving of another branch of the government may occasionally break into the favored list. The report of L. C. Ferrell, the superintendent of documents, who conducts the great bookstore which the government has maintained since 1895, gives the following list of publications which enjoyed the largest sale: Department yearbooks, 3358; special report on diseases of the horse, 1300; special report on diseases of cattle, 1004; bulletin on ginseng, 3557; bulletin on the honey bee. 2135; chemical bulletin No. 46, 1636; bulletin on chemical composition of American food materials, 1330; bulletin on timber, 1809; primer of forestry, Part I., 1066.... many thousand people wanted so badly that they were actually willing to pay for them. As human nature is constituted, the prosperous farmer will hesitate much longer before paying fifty cents for a really valuable government book which his neighbor, by writing early to the Hon. Mr. So-and-So, secured for nothing, than overpaying seven dollars in instalments for a morocco-bound and illustrated manual of etiquette. It may be depended upon that the people who bought these publications really wanted them, and the reason for | wanting them is usually plain enough. . . . "Something like 5000 titles are for sale "at cost," but the government's method of figuring up the cost would bankrupt a commercial publisher. All these books, it is argued, would have been issued anyhow, even if sales were never thought of. Therefore the composition and making of the plates-among a publisher's largest items-are not figured in "Almost ridiculously small as these figures the cost at all. There are no royalties or are by comparison with those blazoned forth commissions, and the purchaser really pays in private publishers' announcements, they only the bare cost of paper, binding and pressare probably a very much more trustworthy work. The bulky yearbooks, for instance, are indication of popular interest. The governsold at from fifty to eighty cents; the live ment reports and bulletins are, in the first stock books already referred to-which, by a place, entirely unadvertised, and it is to no- bookseller's standards, would certainly retail body's interest to invest any one of them with at several dollars-are listed at sixty-five a fictitious importance. Furthermore, it must cents, and the bulletins usually cost from five be remembered that all these are books issued to fifteen cents each." |