re;port of the president, 1907. 



35 



An examination of these items shows that for the limited edition (1,000 

 copies) of our works the costs of paper, press-work, and binding are quite 

 unimportant in comparison with the costs of composition and illustrations. 

 The supposed extravagance of high-class paper and wide margins, so often 

 referred to, is irrelevant, therefore, in the face of the facts. A formidable 

 item of cost which ought to be eliminated in large part is that for authors' 

 corrections and changes made in the proof sheets. This amounts to 22 per 

 cent of the cost of composition, on the average, in the case of the works for 

 which information on this point has been secured. 



Altho the cost per page of the works referred to varies widely by reason 

 of the great variety of subject-matter for composition and illustration, the 

 following average and extreme costs per page are instructive. They in- 

 clude the cost of composition, paper, press-work, binding, and illustrations, 

 if any. In case of works with full-page plates these latter are counted in 

 making up the number of pages whence the averages are computed. 



Table showing costs per page of printed books issued. 



Character of work. 



Octavo : 



Plain matter 



With text illustrations only 



"With text and half-tone illustrations 



With text and plate illustrations other than 

 half-tones 



Mathematical work 



Quarto : 



Plain matter 



With text and half-tone illustrations 



With text and plate illustrations other than 

 half-tones 



Mathematical work 



Average 



cost per 



page. 



B-29 

 5-44 

 6.18 



5-46 

 10.85 



13-36 

 6.31 



Least 



cost per 



page. 



852. 16 

 2.69 

 4 32 



4 03 

 5.43 



3.62 

 8.28 



6.45 

 3-40 



Greatest 



cost per 



page. 



»5.32 



11.03 



7.70 



.75 

 .76 



,86 

 ■39 



17.83 

 10.84 



Number 



of 

 works. 



17 

 16 



7 



12 

 2 



3 



4 



Distribution of 

 Publications. 



To complete the exhibit of the work of publication it remains to explain 

 how and to what extent the volumes of reports, memoirs, and treatises issued 

 by the Institution have been distributed and to state the 

 number and value of these volumes on hand. 



Since January, 1905, these miscellaneous publications 

 have been distributed in accordance with provisional rules adopted at that 

 time and published in the President's report for that year. Summarily 

 stated, the rules referred to permitted gratuitous distribution to a limited 

 list (called omnia list) of about 300 of the greater libraries of the world, 

 to a limited list of addresses furnished by authors of books published by the 

 Institution, and to a limited extent within the discretion of the President. 



