AUG. 
THE RURAL 
555 
WEW-VOBKER. 
A Second Literary Revolution. 
The firat literary revolution consisted In the publication ot standard books In every department of 
literature at from one-third to one-tenth of theli former cost. 
The second literary revolution consists In a still further very great reduction (conditional) even 
from the revolution prices, while, at the same time, the average quality ot the books will continue to 
be materially improved. 
How Can These Things Be ? 
To attempt an Impossibility could of course result only In failure, and It would be useless, In our 
own Interest, or In that ot the many thousand customers who have shown us such earnest favor, and 
have given us such great patronage, to announce or promise what could not be performed. We have 
dealt frankly with our customers In giving facts concerning costs and profits In the past, and we do It 
now, by giving facts and figures Illustrating how we can afford to still further reduce prices 
Facts and Figures. 
Please note, at the start, our apology for not having done heretofore what we now propose to do, 
and consider— 
1st—We published our first, book only so long ago as January, 1879. Previous to that time we were 
entirely without experience In book publishing. What knowledge we had of the business was gained 
In newspaper publishing and tn book selling. 
2nd—We were also at that time almost entirely without capital, and until so late as February, tssi, 
we labored under The difficulty of being without capital, even approximately adequate for the magni¬ 
tude of the ent erprise we were undertaking. 
3rd—our entire scheme was In opposition to all previous methods of publishing and book selling. And 
from the beginning to the present we have bad tue combined bitter opposition or almost the entire 
book publishing and book selling classes of Lhe United States, 
4th—Starting thUH, with a mtoltmim of knowledge, and less capital, and with such Immense opposi¬ 
tion, we thougnt It beat, In the Interest of both the reading public and ourselves, that we undertake 
too little rather than too much; partial success would be better than total failure. 
Bth—In spite of our want Ot resources and of experience, and in spite ot opposition, and with the 
necessity of organizing and training our note forces, and necessarily trying many experiments, all of 
which no one could expect would be uniformly successful, we have from January l, l&so, to June so, 
1881, manufactured and sold nearly 2 , 000,000 volumes of standard books, for which we have received 
the considerable sum of U09.521.22. _ . „ 
6th—m a ctreular issued In January or the present year we made the following statement:—“The 
public have ho long been taught to believe books to be expensive luxuries and low prices Impossible, 
that incredulity haa from the first been the greatest obstacle to the progress of tne Literary Revolu¬ 
tion. it was east >-r to make good books cheap than It was to moke people believe It could be done, we 
could readily have made prices even lower than they have been, but for the terrible tax we have been 
compelled to pay to this Incredulity. 
We have during this period from January i, 1SSQ, to June 30. lssi, paid tor advertising the large sum 
of $140,878.93. This immense item, necessarily has to come out of the profits we moke oh the honks sold. 
7 th—Although cur scheme originally embodied the principle of selling direct to the consumer, and 
doing away with the exorbitant cost ot middlemen, we have not undertaken to put aside ine book 
seller and the hook agent altogether, because a large portion * the book buyers of the country have 
got into the habit of looking to them for their supplies, and If we were to supply the wants of such 
customers at all, we were compelled to do it through these ordinary channels. But we have endeav¬ 
ored to induce or compel threw middlemen to work, as we have been doing, on a more reasonably small 
percentage of profit (Hie immensely Increased sales at the reduced prices, even with the smaller com¬ 
missions, really give the book sellers larger net profits i ban they formerly had). Accordingly we have 
during this period from January i, 18 S>j, to June 30, 1881, allowed to the book sellers and book agents 
commissions averaging about 25 per cent, of our total receipts, in other words, In addition to the $709,- 
521.31 we have received from the public for our books, the public has also paid to the middlemen the 
large sum ot $177.380 73 simply for handling these books, making the total cost of the bookB to the 
consumer $386,901.65. 
8th— From these statements you can readily see that If 
From the total amount which the public has paid for our books, . . *88«,9i)l 65 
We deduct the amount we have paid for advertising these books, . $140 873 »3 
And the amount paid to middlemen for handling the books, . , . 177,880 33 
We have a total deduction of. 318,259 2« 
Our Proposition to You. 
We therefore make you this proposition; It you will send your order for the Library of Unlvesal 
Knowledge (either for yourself or for any number or friends and acquaintances), so that we shall re¬ 
ceive the same on or before the first day ot September, 1831. We will accept such orders at a discount 
of one-third from our published list prices, making net prices to you as follows. 
Library of Universal Knowledge. 
For the 15 vols In cloth, net.....$io oo 
In half Russia, sprinkled edges. 13 38 
In half Russia, gilt top. 15 00 
In full library sheen, marbled edges.. 16 66 
Orders sent to us under this offer will ne accepted and filled by us under the following terms and 
conditions; 
Conditions. 
1 st—we do not in this ease, aa has commonly been our custom, require that remittances shall accom¬ 
pany the orders. Payments may be made at any time that may suit the convenience of the pur- 
cQaser, on or before the delivery ot the books t.o htm, and not later than January l, 1882. 
2d—But In making deliveries, ot the books we shall give precedence to orders which are accompan¬ 
ied by remit tance In full payment, snipping first those for which payment is first received. 
srd—After filling all orders which have been fully paid for at time ot order, we shall in shipping give 
precedence to orders which are accompanied by a payment ot to per center more on account of said 
onier, the balance then due to be paid on or before delivery of the books. 
4th—Thereafter shlpcnrets will be made to those who have sent no payment with the order, prece¬ 
dence being given to those whose orders are first received by us, payment ot course being required on 
or before delivery of the goods. 
5th— We shall not consider orders unaccompanied by the remittance as Mndiny upon the person 
maklDg It, if from any cause he ts unable to take the books or shall not taen desire to do so ; but in 
case payment ts not made promptly when such person is notified that his hooks are ready for 
delivery, he will first forfeit his position on our delivery list, his name being transferred to the end, 
and In case payment Is nor made promptly when his name Is again reached and he is notified, lie will 
tnen forfeit the privilege of purchase at less than our full list prices, and no order will thereafter be 
accepted from him under any similar special offer which we may in the future make on other of our 
publications, unless the same Is accompanied by payment. 
About our other Publications. 
As the present stock of our miscellaneous publications Is now comparatively limited, and as our entire 
manufacturing resources will in all probability be for months to come taxed to the u (most by ihe 
manufacture of the Library of Universal Knowledge alone, we cannot undertake to make an offer 
similar to the above upon the books covered by our miscellaneous list, except to the extent of our 
stock in hand. Until our supply Is exhausted we will accept m connection wUhan order for the 
Cyelopa-dt-a, under the adore ojf r, orders for any ot our miscellaneous books at cue same rate of dis¬ 
count (one-third) from our fiat prices, out In all cases ive shall require that orders tor miscellaneous 
books shall be accompanied oy the cash, as these books can be delivered at once and cash orders will 
certainly soon exhaust our supply. 
Any remittances received for miscellaneous books, the Bupply of which may by that time have been 
exhausted, will either be returned promptly, or the amount will be applied toward the payment tor 
Ltbrary of Universal Knowledge, as may be directed. 
Verv Important. 
in connection with the special terms given above, please note particularly the following points;— 
1st—We look to you direct for your order, and we also ask you to assist in spreading the knowledge 
of the existence, character, and low prices of our publications. The larger our sales, and the more 
promptly they are made, the more rapidly can we go forward manufacturing other equally good books, 
at equally low prices. We will gladly turnlsb you any reasonable quantity ot catalogues.aud circulars 
fo-distribution. 
And a remainder or.. $568,642 59 
Thus it is evident that If the public had bought these books directly from ns, the unnecessary expense 
ot advertising and of paying middlemen for handling tnem, being avoided, the books would have cost 
them only $568,642.39: being almost 86 per cent, less than the $886,901.65 which they paid for them, and 
our net proceeds would have been none the less. 
A Better Illustration. 
The above figures show clearly the possibility of a great reduction from our prices as heretofore 
given without diminishing our net income, but they do not necessailly show that It Is possible for us to 
manufacture and sell books at such low prlees without loss to us. As we have never made pretense of 
publishing books rrom charitable or philanthropic motives, and do not wish our friends to thluk we 
are aolng business at a loss, we will give a conclusive and Interesting Illustration of how we can afford 
these low prices. 
2 nd—'The terms herewith given are limited strictly to orders which shall be received by us on or 
before September!, 1881. Orders received after that date must positively come under our usual list 
prices or terms to clubs, which latter are limited to lo per cent., or, at the utmost, 16 per cent, dis¬ 
count from our list, prices. 
3rd—We are well aware of the fact that very many book-buyers have not at a moment’s command 
even $10 which they can invest, however great the Inducements. This offer gives you the privilege of 
making payment trhen it suits ynur convenience, at any time before January 1.1882. 
4th The Library ot Universal Knowledge was completed on July is, 1881 , and we are now deliver¬ 
ing the same In the various styles of binding advertised. 
Library of Universal Knowledge. 
Large Type Edition. 
Library of Universal Knowledge. 
After a labor of nearly two years by an able corps of American editors and writers, for whose services 
we have paid nearly $ 30 ,om), we have within the brief period ot less than ten months made electrotype 
plates for the Library ot Universal Knowledge at a further coat ot nearly $30,066, making a total Invest¬ 
ment on this work ot abjut $60*060. This labor all being done and paid for. the 16 large octavo vol¬ 
umes, making the largest Cyclopaedia ever published In this country, can be manufactured at a cost 
per set of 15 volumes of— 
For paper,. 
For printing. 
For binding. 
Total .. 5596 
These electrotype plates which we have manufactured will readily print 100,000 copies, and then by 
slight repairing will print from 6U,ooo to 100,000 additional copies, but to make our estimate absolutely 
safe we will assume that it will ba necessary to manufactures new set ot ekcuoiy pe putes after oo.ono 
copies have been prluted. Thus wo must add to the above cost, of the manufacture of one set of the 
books ($5 96) an ad Jitloual $1 os the proportionate costor the plates tor etujn set of 15 volumes A fur¬ 
ther Item must also be added to cover office expenses, handling, shipping, etc., which experience Leads 
us to estimate below ci) cents per set, tun as we must do at least a safe business, we will add. instead, 
for tills item another $1, making the total cost Of manufacture and handling the 16 volumes ot the 
Library of Universal Knowledge $7.96. 
Thus vou see that, if we sell a copy of this great Encyclopaedia even at the net pi ne ot $to, we still 
have a net profit of over $2. As we have already sold about 15,000 sets In advance ot completion, we 
think It very safe to estimate (and we have heard of neither friend nor enemy who makes an estimate 
lower) that wo shall sell, as fast as we can manufacture them, at least 100,000 sets, and allowing our 
figures above given to be correct, we have the comfortable sum ot $ 2011,000 to cover contingencies, and 
dividends to our stockholders. 
As some ot our friends may question whether our estimates above given are perfectly safe, and as 
we have heard ot some instances where the accuracy of figures previously given by us have been dis¬ 
puted by our enemies, we will say that the cost of the paper is put at 8 cents per pound, the cost of 
press work at $1.20 per thousand impressions, and the cost ot binding at 16 cents per volume. 
The Practical Point. 
We now come to the practical point In waloh you are interested—how you may get the books you 
want at the lowest possible cost. 
It Is evident that It can only be done by t /our doing away, so fur as you are concerned, with our 
Immense expenses for advertising, aud with the commissions which we or you are compelled to pay 
the middlemen; If you buy through the middlemen. 
Another extremely Important point la enabllug us to afford the lowest possible price Is that we 
receive Quick returns tor the investments we have made. 
You readily see that, wo have Invested about $60, 000 , cash, before we are able to offer you a com¬ 
plete set of the Library ot Universal Knowledge at any price. We must sell a great many thousand 
sets before we can even get back the money which we have Invested, to say nothing of the reward 
which we must have, lu some measure, for our labor and the capital of the stockholders revolved. 
A large porilou of the public still persist In getting their supplies ot books through the middlemen 
(who must bap\ld for their services) Instead of from us direct; and as a large expenditure for adver¬ 
tising will also continue to ne neoessary, tn flndtug out new customers, we must continue to hold to 
our present retail prices, tu ordir that wo may be able to pay these enormous expenses tor ad*, ertlstng 
and for commissions to middlemen. 
But became wc are thus compelled to tax book buyers generally with these heavy expenses, there 
is no oo jislon why we snutd continue this heavy tax upon you individually It you choose to unite 
with us In avoiding it. 
This la & verbatim reprint of the last ussu) London edition ot Chambers's Encyclopedia, with 
copious additions (about 15,000 topics) by American editors, the whole combtned under one alphabeti¬ 
cal arrangement, with such Illustrations as are necessary to elucidate the text. It gives an amount of 
matter about 10 percent, more than Appleton's Cycloptcdla (price, re cloth, $so 00 ) and 30 per cent, 
more than Johnson's Cyclopaedia (price $ 51 . 00 , In cloth). For the general reader It Is undoubtedly the 
best Enoyclopteila ever published, whatever the price. Price for the set of 15 volumes, In exira cloth, 
$ 15.00 ; In halt Russia, sprinkled edges. $ 20 . 00 ; In halt Russia, gilt top, $22 50; lu half Turkey morocco, 
marbled edges, laced boards, raised bands, extra strong, $ 33 . 00 . Publication completed In July, 1881, 
and now being delivered to purchasers. See reduced rates, given above, during August. Specimen 
pages and full particulars will be sent free on application. 
Views of the Press. 
It Is the crown ot the cheap and solid literature movement, of the day. The original Chambers’s is 
valuable, aud for reference better than the more ponderous and diffuse urlttanlca. This edition Is 
greatly enhanced tn value by Che addition ot 15,000 articles by American editors.— Preshyterian Jour¬ 
nal, Philadelphia. Penn. 
A reference to the more important articles supplied by the American editors shows that they have 
done thetr work well. The work is a marvel ot compression and ot cheapnesss, and weu deserves the 
tale It bears,—.Yew TorV Herald. 
We recommend It upon Its own merits. We kuow that for ninety-nine out ot every hundred ot our 
readers this Is the best work ot the kind they can buy,— Church Advocate, Harrisburg, Penn. 
Tbe fullness, the variety and accuracy of the information given on American topics is at once the 
most distinctive aud the most commendatory feature of the work.— Worth American, Philadelphia. 
The *• Library ot Universal Knowledge ' seems to meet the popular need. 'The additions by the 
American editors supply Juat what was required to adapt the old standard Encyclopedia to the wants 
of American families .—The Advance, Chicago, IR- 
Contalns much matter that has never before made us appearance In any Encyclopedia, and is espe¬ 
cially full and satisfactory upon American tonics. These additions will make Chambers’s per&apa the 
moat valuable of all the cyoiopodlAH. —jjerald, Columbus, Ohio. 
it is a work of Immense value, a companion that answers every question and asks none, and It is 
au exceedingly interesting work for general reading as well as for reference.— r7i*» Courant, Hart¬ 
ford. 
Foremost among the contributions of our time to the poor man’s library.— Christ fan cynosure, Chi¬ 
cago. 
The publication of this work was a grand undertaking, which Is being carried out la a mnet cred¬ 
itable manner?— Morning Herald, Rochester, N. Y. 
The character of Chambers's Encytopaella Is too well known to need commendation and the Amer¬ 
ican ad lirlms very greatly enhance Its value. It is a marvel ot cheapness, a whole library In Itself. 
1c Is no humbug, but all that It claims to be.— Methodist Recorder, Pittsburg, Penn, 
Varied and valuable Is the material whtch the Amerloan editors have added.— Journal, Boston, At ass. 
one ot the most comprehensive Eucyolopieilas extant. The volumes make a hanosome and desir¬ 
able library lu themselves, allbrary, too, uiat comes within the reach ot a very moderate purse.— 
interior, Chicago, 111. 
Tin.')r low price and their comprehensive and scholarly value will render them widely popular.— con-' 
yregauonaUsl , Boston, Maas. 
It stands almost unique In literature, and Justifies In the Infinity of the matters treated its claim to 
reauy represent untveraat knowledge Teu years ago this work, though In a. vastly Interior form, 
coulii not have been purchased under $5(1.— Times, Brooklyn, N, A'. 
The American Book Exchange Is reuderlng the reading public au Important service.— Evening Jour¬ 
nal. 
AMERICAN BOOK EXCHANGE, 
JOHN B. ALDEN, Manager. 764 Broadway, New York, 
