BOOK PRODUCTION IN 1903 IN THE UNITED STATES "THE books of 1903" counted up 7865, a total slightly in excess of that of 1902, which was 7833. The output of the past year differs so little from the harvests of the two previous years that it suggests nothing very new in the way of comment or criticism. The remarks applied to the quantity and quality of the books of 1901 and 1902 could easily serve again in describing the literature of the year under review. It was not a year of great achievements, although a year of many books. In scarcely any department of literature can a very large number of books be pointed out destined to a long life. The low average of the year was especially noticeable in fiction, which embraced few works that created marked enthusiasm. There must, of course, be years when the literary wave recedes, leaving the shore bare, or strewn with wrecks and lifeless forms. This seems to have been such a year. Should we be surprised that it sometimes comes, when we consider the needs of the publishers, whose mills must be kept going, and whose readers' demands may not be ignored? The natural result is overworked authors, whose inventive and working powers are necessarily limited. The year was the opportunity of the younger and least known of our authors, but they generally failed to come up to the high mark our older novelists had set for them. Aside from the flood of novels, the only noticeable feature in fiction was the almost entire absence of translations from Continental languages. American books in all departments were in the lead. The unusual number of works on sociology seems to be a reflection of the unsettled conditions of the times. Where apparently permanent additions were made was in the department of Biography and Memoirs, which included delightfully readable works. The Publishers' Weekly put on record during 1903 through its "Weekly Record of New Publications" 7865 books. Included in this total are the many new editions of standard works and issues of series. These new editions counted 2072 books. The new books counted 5793, making together the total of 7865. While we only recorded in 1903 32 more books than in 1902, when the total for the year was 7833, our tables show it was really a greater publication year than the previous one, the number of new books exceeding the new books of 1902 by 308. There were but slight changes in the various classes. Fiction still takes the lead, though not numerically so great as in several previous years. Law and Theology and Religion have gone down to the fourth and fifth places in our table, while Literature and Collected Works and Education have moved up to the second and third positions. History and Biography are classes notably fuller than in any past year. The other departments display few changes. Of these books 3549, an excess of 164 over 1902, were received at this office, and 4316 had their titles gathered from copyright entries, from publishers' notes and in various other ways. The first table which follows gives in classes the figures, approximately, of the book production in this country in 1903, with those of 1902 for comparison: The first and second classes are almost all copyright books. This table, like the former, scarcely claims to be exactly correct, as it is impossible always to trace the history of a work, from its author to its final publication. The table shows 5621 books by American authors against 5210 of 1902; 1356 books by English or other foreign authors, (made here,) against 1578 of 1902, and 888 books or sheets imported, against 1045 of 1902. reprints were, as usual, the largest in Fiction, amounting to 396 books, far less, however, than in 1902, when 818 English or other foreign novels were reprinted. The very evident fact illustrated by the figures is the greater number of books by American authors published than in 1902 in every class. The The great decrease in all the more serious departments of literature, as well as in some of the very lightest ones, such as Sports and Amusements, Humor and Satire, as exhibited by the figures in both tables, is a curious and unexplainable condition of our book production. Scientific and profoundly philosophical writings are as conspicuous through their absence as are the simply amusing books. REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS FOR 1903 THE Copyright business for the calendar year 1903, according to the report of Thorvald Solberg, Register of Copyrights, is the largest in any one year in the history of the Copyright Office. Not only is the amount of the net fees larger, but also the number of entries and the number of articles deposited. The total number of entries approached the 100,000 mark, the exact number being 99,436. In addition to these titles entered, it was necessary to carry over for entry January 2, 1904, titles received in November and December, to the number of 1307, because the articles bore notice of copyright containing the date of claim of 1904. Actually, therefore, 100.743 titles were received for registration in the year 1903. The total fees received and applied for the year 1903 amounted to $70.230.50. The new year, 1904, also promises to be large, the entries made on the first legal day, (January 2.) numbering 4031, at applied fees for this one day amounting to $2186. The number of articles deposited during the year 1903 also exceeds the number in any previous year, amounting to 180,527 articles. Certificates, 26,286 at 50 cents each. Copies of record, 2510 at 50 cents each. Search fees. Assignments. Total fees for the year.. 13,143.00 1,255.00 39.00 $70,230.50 FEES FARNED AND APPROPRIATIONS FOR SERVICE, COPY- FEES RECEIVED. July 1, 1897, to June 30, 1898.. Total for 6 years... Unfinished and pending business July 1, years. APPROPRIATIONS. July 1, 1897, to June 30, 1898. Total for 6 years... Expenditure for service. $36,440.00 36,440.00 40,400.00 51,080.00 50,115.05 57,890.00 56,714.23 66,750.00 66,708.80 $289,000.00 $282,665.06 Excess of fees over expenditure for $376,648.50 282,665.06 $93,983.44 The appropriations for 1901, 1902 and 1903 include the sum of $14,040 to be used in bringing up the arrears of work prior to July 1. 1897, which amount should therefore be deducted from the total sum for appropriations for service as not properly a charge |