especially France, during the last twentyfive years, the education of woman, in which Germany is far behind her neighbours and the countries of the New World; and the popularization of learning by such methods as university extension, Chautauqua circles, etc. The work of the periodical will be carried on under two distinct heads: first, reports from all sorts of educational institutions, from the university down to the primary school; second, scientific articles by the foremost educators of the world; and in a long list of those who are announced as contributors are found the names of the following Americans: Professors Butler, of Columbia; Hall, of Clark; Mun roe, of Leland Stanford; Montresor, of City of New York; Russell, of Colorado; and Thurber, of Chicago. A large number of papers on interesting subjects are announced, and among them America seems to receive her full share of consideration. Careful attention will also be given to educational literature from all lands. The management of the new venture is to be under the care of Dr. J. Wychgram, Director of the Girls' City High School in Leipsic, who has long, been occupied with the discussion of educational questions, and who has contributed much to educational literature, especially on the education of women. AMONG THE LIBRARIES. The Aguilar Library, which is one of New York's free public libraries, circulating annually over 255,000 volumes, will conduct a table at the large Fair of the Educational Alliance, to be held from December 9th to December 21st inclusive, at the Madison Square Garden. One of the branches of the library is situated in the Alliance Building on East Broadway, and forms a component part of the work of the Alliance. This corner of the Garden will be a shrine for all book-loving pilgrims. Here will be found a cosy library, where the weary visitor may seat himself and wish he owned all the charming things about him. Here he may purchase desks and dictionaries, table lamps and desk-chairs, scrap-baskets and lampshades, all kinds of stationery, bookcases and portraits, autographs, magazines, and magazine-holders. Among the magazines which donate a year's subscription to the table are THE BOOKMAN, Scribner's, and The Forum. Also the devoted reader may cast his vote (repeating being not only permitted, but encouraged) for the most popular American author, and may have the satisfaction in assisting in placing upon the victorious desk a beautifully handpainted desk-set. Upon the shelves of this unique library will be presentation volumes that will fairly craze the ardent autograph collector, from W. D. Howells, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, John Fiske, 64 Most of these chose to sign their name, perhaps adding "yours sincerely" or faithfully," as the case might be; some others, however, added interesting and clever inscriptions. and clever inscriptions. This is from Charles Eliot Norton : "Given to the Fair for the benefit of the Aguilar Free Library, by Charles Eliot Norton, with the wish that some one may feel with Master Slender, I had rather than forty shillings I had (this) Book of Songs and Sonnets.' "Shady Hill, Cambridge, October 19, 1895." In one of his books Brander Matthews warns the purchaser, "See that the signature is blown in the bottle." Miss Louise Imogen Guiney "sets her mark here for the Aguilar Free Library of New York, on the 20th October, 1895." Edmund Clarence Stedman quotes his own definition of poetry. Frank Stockton writes, "With kind regards to the purchaser of this book." Goldwin Smith, on the fly-leaf of his United States, quotes Bacon: "These times are the ancient times when the world is ancient," etc. come to me. "I am not writing anything but letters, of which I have always a good many to attend to. How much longer I shall be able to do it I cannot say, for my eyes are getting more and more dim, and one of them is shirking its work almost entirely, so that the other is liable to be overtaxed, and I am beginning to think of a staff and little dog if I have to grope my way in this lower sphere of life much longer. "But do not shed the sympathetic tear for my poor eyesight, for you see that I can write almost legibly; and though the landscape has a mistiness about it, I can still enjoy my view of the ocean and the noble trees, which I look upon every day." This letter was presented to the table by Mrs. Alice Wellington Rollins, to whom it was addressed. It is marked Elbridge S. Brooks sends a copy of $25.00, which, considering the quality his Leisler "With the best wishes of the author, this story of a forgotten New York patriot is offered as a spur to true Americanism.' Palmer Cox trusts "the owner of this Book may take as much pleasure in perusing its pages as the author did in preparing them." There will be found also many interesting autograph letters for sale, from Austin Dobson, Max O'Rell, Stepniak, Edward Freeman, Madame Adam, Jules Claretie, Jules Verne, and others. Chief in interest is a four-page letter from of the letter, as well as the good cause it assists, is certainly a modest price. Besides Mrs. Rollins, a number of other well-known littérateurs will assist in presiding over the library and its fascinating wares-Mrs. Kate Douglass Riggs, Mrs. Ruth McEnery Stuart, Miss Marguerite Merington, Miss Hapgood, and Mrs. Margaret Sangster, as well as some ladies better known in other spheres-Miss Emma Thursby, Mrs. Charles Barnard, and Miss Ragna Boyesen. Annie Nathan Meyer. O, muse of mine, let not my lyre sound As lucid, and as free and undefiled; And give it steel, and iron, like the strength Of clashing sabres and of bayonets And black-mouthed cannon, wreathed in thunder clouds, Where earth is shaking to the tread of Mars. Ernest McGaffey. THE BOOK MART. FOR BOOKREADERS, BOOK BUYERS, AND BOOKSELLERS. EASTERN LETTER. NEW YORK, November 1, 1895. The month opened with a continuance of the sale of higher grade text-books for colleges and private schools. The expected revival in library business manifested itself, and the requests for catalogues and price lists were followed by numerous orders of recently published works by the older libraries, while the new ones generally start with the standard authors of the past. The customary number of buyers from the smaller towns, who take the opportunity between the seasons to make their purchases for autumn and holiday trade, have been noticed in the city. Their orders are mostly confined to the editions of twelvemos, sixteenmos, and sets in the cheaper bindings, together with an assortment of booklets, calendars and the various styles of juvenile publications. Many of the publishers have adopted the plan of issuing for the holiday trade fine editions of their more popular works, generally in two twelvemo volumes, and always handsomely illustrated and attractively bound. Standish of Standish, by Austin; Tales of a Traveller, by Irving; The Wandering Jew, by Sue, and Spain, by De Amicis, are among this year's publications. Poetry does not seem to be quite so popular at present as in the past, but Last Poems, by James Russell Lowell, and the Victorian Anthology, by E. C. Stedman, are having a ready sale. Books for the young form a large proportion of the season's publications, and many new ones were brought out during October. Mrs. Burnett's Two Little Pilgrims' Progress will probably lead in point of sale, closely followed by Palmer Cox's The Brownies Through the Union, and Joel Chandler Harris's Mr. Rabbit at Home. Snow Shoes and Sledges and Half Round the World are attractive for boys, while Elsie's Journey and A Flock of Girls and Boys should please girls. The Garden Behind the Moon, Little Miss Phabe Gay and The Child's Garden of Song are for the tiny ones. In noting the new books of the month one is almost alarmed by their numbers-so great, in fact, that some books worthy of a good sale must of necessity be crowded out before receiving due attention. Fiction is, as usual, in excess of all other subjects, the most prominent of which have been The Chronicles of Count Antonio, by Anthony Hope; A Daughter of the Tenements, by Edward W. Townsend; In Defiance of the King, by C. C. Hotchkiss, and A Gentleman Vagabond and Some Others, by F. Hopkinson Smith. More substan. tial reading is represented by Menticulture, by H. Fletcher; Electricity for Everybody, by Philip Atkinson, and Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch, by W. H. Green. While sales for the month have been good, and compare favourably with previous years, the boom predicted by some has not yet been felt, and it remains for the next two months to show whether there is to be any exceptional increase in this year's business. The popular books of the month, in the order of demand, have been as follows: The Prisoner of Zenda. By Anthony Hope. 75 cts. Two Little Pilgrims' Progress. By Frances Hodgson Burnett. $1.50. Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. By Ian Maclaren. $1.25. The Village Watch Towers. By Kate Douglas Wiggin. $1.00. The Men of the Moss-Hags. By S. R. Crockett. $1.50. College Girls. By Abbe Carter Goodloe. $1.25. Don. By the author of Laddie. $1.00. Chronicles of Count Antonio. By Anthony Hope. $150. A Daughter of the Tenements. By Edward W. Townsend. $I 75. The Wise Woman. By Clara Louise Burnham. $1.25. The King's Stratagem. By Stanley J. Weyman. 50 cts. A Gentleman Vagabond and Some Others. By F. Hopkinson Smith. $1.25. About Paris. By Richard Harding Davis. $1.25. My Lady Nobody. By Maarten Maartens. $1.75. cts. Princeton Stories. The Little Huguenot. By J. L. Williams. $1.00. Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica. By John Kendrick Bangs. $1.25. A Singular Life. By Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. $1.25. WESTERN LETTER. CHICAGO, November 1, 1895. The conditions of business have not changed to any material extent since our last report, and much that was said regarding September will apply to the month which has just closed. Trade, as a whole, continues steady, and although sales are fairly good, they might be, and ought to be, a great deal better. In regard to wholesale trade, the country bookseller still confines his purchases principally to current literature and such books as are always in demand, and he seems very reluctant to invest in what is technically termed holiday stock. The various cheap lines of twelvemos and sixteenmos are selling remarkably well, particularly those which are novel and attractive in binding. Juveniles are being bought largely, and are, upon the whole, selling better than any other class of books; in fact, juvenile books more than hold their own, and it would seem that hard times, either fancied or real, make no difference to the rising generation. Cheap sets of standard authors are going fairly well, but the better grades of sets seem to move more slowly every year, until just before Christmas, when there is usually quite a rush for them. Trade in Christmas booklets and calendars is fairly active, and would be better if there were not such a sameness in design and so comparatively few novelties this year. Retailers complain that autumn business is slow in opening up, and most of them would like to be busier than they have been this month. They are hopeful, however, and think that the good time is only postponed, and that this month's slowness will be made up later on. Two Little Pilgrims' Progress, a very happy title, was undoubtedly the book of the month. It will probably be the juvenile of the season. Prominent books of the month were A Village Watch Tower, by Kate Douglas Wiggin; The Wise Woman, by Clara Louise Burnham; The Men of the Moss-Hags, by S. R. Crockett; Chronicles of Count Antonio, by Anthony Hope; another Brownie book, entitled Brownies Through the Union, by Palmer Cox; The Bachelor's Christmas, by Robert Grant; Constantinople, by Mario Crawford. Other books published previous to last month which are selling largely are Carleton's Rhymes of our Planet, The Stark Munro Letters, Memoirs of a Minister of France, and Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. This last book was ahead of everything last month, and The Days of Auld Lang Syne is being very impatiently demanded by Ian Maclaren's numerous readers. The craze for the Chimmie Fadden books still continues, but Mr. Townsend's new book, A Daughter of the Tenements, is not yet meeting with as great success. A fair demand for Trilby comes from the far Western States, otherwise its sale has been ordinary, and The Manxman has also dropped off a little. Caven The whist season is now fairly started, and books on the game are in lively demand. dish leads the van, and appears to be the favourite. He is closely pressed, however, in popularity by Foster, whose Whist Manual is undoubtedly the best American book on the game, and his Whist Tactics, which has just been published, should sell well. Appended is a list of the books which were most in demand during the month, and in addition to these there was quite a good call for anything relating to the South American Republics, caused, no doubt, by the Venezuela trouble. Many people, too, wanted a history of Cuba and the present Cuban revolution, but unfortunately they could not be accommodated. South Africa also came in for its share of attention, and books of travel in that region sold well. Two Little Pilgrims' Progress. By Frances Hodgson Burnett. $1.25. Beside the Bonnie Brier Brush. By Ian Maclaren. $1.25. Rhymes of Our Planet. By Will Carleton. $1.25. LONDON, September 23 to October 19, 1895. The opinion of the competent judges referred to in the last report has so far proved to be correct, for a welcome revival has taken place in business generally, home and foreign trade sharing alike in the improvement. At the moment of writing there is a slight falling off, but this is according to the experience of previous years. The practice of issuing novels for the first time at 6s. has developed this branch of the trade into a very important one. Each month this class of publication heads the list of best-selling works, and is likely to do so. New books for the season are now being delivered in good earnest, more than one thousand having been published during the period indicated above. All branches of literature are represented, fiction claiming about two-thirds of the number stated. In all branches of literature there is considerable activity, noticeably so among the more advanced works on Natural History, especially on Birds, Insects, and Fishes. There are several very choice publications of this class. Volumes of minor verse are conspicuous by their number. All the skill of the printer and binder has been lavished upon them, but it avails not to secure the patronage of an appreciative public. In the list of works enjoying the public favour at the present moment the six-shilling novel appears in strong array. Many of the works mentioned have figured on the list for some months, and this is a gratifying occurrence in an age of ephemeral literature. Indeed, the short lives of the majority of publications is a very, very serious matter with booksellers, that is, for those who endeavour to keep a well-assorted stock, as distinguished from tradesmen who simply procure to order what is required. Chronicles of Count Antonio. By Anthony Hope. $1.50. The Village Watch Tower. By Kate Douglas Wiggin. $1.00. The Wise Woman. By Clara Louise Burnham. $1.25. Men of the Moss-Hags. By S. R. Crockett. $1.50. Bachelors' Christmas. By Robert Grant. $1.50. Trilby. By G. Du Maurier. $1.75. The Stark Munro Letters. By Conan Doyle. $1.50. Chimmie Fadden, 1st and 2d series. By E. Barabbas. By Marie Corelli. Trilby. By G. Du Maurier. 6s. (Selling as freely as ever.) The Manxman. By Hall Caine. 6s. When Valmond Came to Pontiac. Parker. 6s. By G. Gerald Eversley's Friendship. By J. E. C. Welldon. 6s. Platform, Press, etc. By T. H. S. Escott. 6s. |