NOTES IN SEASON.

THE Osgoods will start this week popular

new illustrated editions of several standard au

thors. The Melrose Waverley, uniform with the beautiful Kensington Thackeray, in 13 vols., at $2, is intended to be "the cheapest good edition of the Waverley novels ever produced in America." The Gadshill Dickens, in same style, will be in 15 vols. The Library Reade, uniform with the library editions of Dickens, Waverley, etc., will be in 6 vols., at $1.50. Each of these series will have two il

are warned that most of us are little removed

from the possibility of insanity. Their large Library Atlas, 102 maps, at about $14, an Academic, 32 maps, $2.50, and a Hand-Book of Scripture Geography, with questions; "Metallurgy" and "Mining" in the Elementary, and "Building Construction" and "Metallurgy" in the Advanced Science Series, are the other books for September.

DODD & MEAD promise within a month Rev. E. P. Roe's fourth novel, "From Jest to Earnest," which tells the story of a young lady converted to true love and religion when she had meant to trap a heart herself; the "Christopher Columbus" volume in Mr. Abbott's "Pioneers and Patriots" series, which has been very successful; a new book, a sequel to the popular Elsie series, by that author, describing Elsie's Womanhood," and a useful compilation of "Everyday Facts for Everyday Life."

IN addition to the books scheduled for the fortnight in last number, the Appletons have an important book by an eminent London physician, Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S., on the

Diseases of Modern Life." It covers the subject comprehensively, and presents a startling array of the consequences of our rapid living.

THE Coming volume of Mr. Alvan S. Southworth, Secretary of the Geographical Society, recounting his personal experiences as a newspaper correspondent, in "Four Thousand Miles of African Travel" (Baker, Pratt & Co.), formation concerning Africa. Among the sevwill include much valuable documentary ineral maps will be one of the slave trade as it at present exists, the trading posts, and routes to tion as to the Khedive's projected railway, and the coast, and there is very interesting informathe proposed hydraulic tramway on which ships are to be hauled up above the first cataract of the Nile.

Antiquary,' Pickwick Papers," and "Griffith Gaunt," as also Viollet-le-Duc's "Annals of a Fortress," are scheduled for to-day. The Miscellanies of Thackeray will be issued in “Library" style, five vols., with many illustrations, to complete that edition of his works.

WILLIAM F. GILL & Co. have about ready "The New Don Quixote," "by the French Dickens," who is Alph. Daudet, and "For a Woman's Sake," "by the Wilkie Collins of Germany," who is Hans Wachenhusen. The former is an extravaganza, said to be clever, of a funny French bravado, the latter a readable German novel, translated by MS." A new volume of the "Satchel Series" is also nearly ready, with contributions by Miss Braddon, the Danbury News Man," Swinburne, and others -a sufficiently wide range.

THE author of "Travels in Portugal," just ready at the Putnams, is said to be the British consul at Oporto, Mr. Oswald Cranford, who conceals his identity under the nom de plume of John Latouche. This pleasant volume is said to resemble "Eothen," A remarkable volume by Dr. Andrew Wynter, of London, called "The Borderland of Insanity," will follow. This is an interesting series of readable papers on the question of sanity, in which we

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,

812 Broadway, New-York. September 9, 1875.

ENGAGEMENTS.

By A. S. BARNES & Co.: John C. White, Cairo, Ill. (temporary).

By GEORGE SHERWOOD & Co.: E. G. Hall, Chi

cago.

By WILSON, HINKLE & Co.: E. M. Chaplin, Warsaw, Ind.; C. W. Ainsworth, Indianapolis, Ind.

By HENRY HOLT & Co.: Charles F. Cutter, New-York.

WITHDRAWALS.

By WILSON, HINKLE & Co.: J. E. Bohannan and General Smith.

CHANGES OF HEAD-QUARTERS.

By WILSON, HINKLE & Co.: Thaddeus Burkett, to Baltimore, Md., and J. R. Hodges, to Dallas, Texas.

GEORGE R. LOCKWOOD,

Secretary.

Axon.-The Mechanic's Friend. A Collection of Receipts

Ed

12°, PP. Claxton.

and Practical Suggestions relating to the Aquaria, Bronzing, Cements, Drawing, Dyes, Electricity, Gilding, Glass-Working, Glues, Horology, Lacquers, Locomotives, Magnetism, Metal-Working, Modeling, Photography, Pyrotechny, Railways, Solders, Steam-Engine, Telegraphy, Taxidermy, Varnishes, Waterproofing, and Miscellaneous Tools, Instruments, Machines, and Processes connected with the Chemical and Mechanical Arts. ited by William A. Axon, M.R.S.L. With 300 Illustr. 12°, pp. 339. $1.50.... ....Van Nostrand. Bible.-Commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations. By W. Kay, D.D., and R. Payne Smith, D.D. (Vol. 5, Speaker's,Commentary.) Roy. 8°. $5.. Scribner. Darby.-Two Thousand Years After; or, A Talk in a Cemetery. By John Darby, author of "Thinkers and Thinking," "Odd Hours of a Physician," etc. 106. $1... Faber.-Hymns. By Frederick William Faber, D.D. With a Sketch of his Life. 18°, pp. xii, 253. $2..Dutton. Foster.-The Haven Children; or, Frolics at the Funny old House on Funny Street. By Emilie Foster. Illustr. 16°, pp. 270. $1.50..... Garrett.-One Hundred Choice Selections. No. II. By Phineas Garrett. 12°. 75 c.; pap., 30 c........Garrett. Gorlach.-Prince Bismarck. A Biographical Sketch. By Wilhelm Görlach. Transl. from the German by Miss M. E. Von Glehn. With Portrait. 16°. $1.25.......Holt. Guernsey. Grandmother Brown's School-Days; or, Education as it was Seventy Years Ago. By Lucy Ellen Guernsey, author of "Irish Amy," etc. 16°, pp. 410. Am. S. S. Ün.

$1.50.....

.Dutton.

High School Music Reader for the Use of Mixed and Boys' High Schools. 8°, pp. 300. $1.50...........Ginn. Hill.-Elements of Philosophy. Comprising Logic and general Principles of Metaphysics. By Rev. W. H. Hill, S.J., Prof. of Philos. in St. Louis Univ. Third ed., rev. 16°. $1.50... .Murphy.

Hudson.-Text-Book of Poetry from Wordsworth, Coleridge, Burns, Beattie, Goldsmith, and Thompson. With Sketches of the Authors' Lives, Notes, and Glossaries. For Use in Schools and Classes. By the Rev. H. N. Hudson. 12°, pp. 704. $2.50..... Ginn.

Kay and Smith. See Bible.

Claxton.

*Lloyd.-The Age of Pericles. A History of the Arts and Politics of Greece, from the Persian to the Peloponnesian War. By W. W. Lloyd. 2 vols. 8°, pp. 800. $8. Macmillan. Mitchell.-Jonah, the Self-Willed Prophet. A practical Exposition of the Book of Jonah; together with a Translation and Exegetical Notes. By Stuart Mitchell. 12°, pp. 247. $1.50... Morgan.-The Gift of the Holy Ghost, according to the Teaching of the Scripture. By John Morgan, D.D. With an Introduction by C. G. Finney, D.D. 32°, pp. ...Goodrich. Pistol (The) as a Weapon of Defense in the House and on the Road. How to Choose it and how to Use it. 16°, pp. 50. 50 C....... .....Ind. Pub. Co. Sanford.-Frisk and his Flock. By Mrs. D. P. Sanford, author of "Pussy Tiptoes' Family," etc. Illustr. Sm. 4°, pp. 184. $2.25..... Dutton. **Strahan.-A Century After: Picturesque Glimpses of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Parts 2 and 3. Illustr. 4°, ea., pp. 24. Pap., per part, 50 c.

73. 25 C........

......

Allen, L. & S., and Lauderbach. Treasure Trove. 8°, pp. 280. $2.25... Freeman. Vaux.-Ancient History from the Monuments. Persia from the Earliest Period to the Arab Conquest. By William Vaux, M.A., author of "Sketch of Ancient Assyria and Persia," etc. Illustr. 12°. $1........ Scribner. Winslow.-Barford Mills; or, God's Answer to Woman's Prayer. By Miss M. E. Winslow. 16°, pp. 254. $1. Nat. Temp. Soc.

AUTHORS' PUB. CO., New-York.

Analytical Processes; or, The Primary Principle of Philosophy. By Rev. W. I. Gill, A.M., author of "Evolution and Progress." 12°, pp. 450. $2.

The Lineage of Language. By Rev. J. N. Fradenburgh, A.M., Ph.D., Principal of State Normal School, Mansfield, Pa. 8°, pp. 500. $2.50.

Ecclesiology. A Fresh Inquiry as to the Fundamental

ers and jobbers may do well to meditate once in a while on the past. The most enterprising" undersellers have so far wound up with the payment of nothing, or not much more, to the dollar-witness specific experiences in New-York, Philadelphia, and Boston

The question is, whether these publishers and jobbers, from the narrowest business point of view, and leaving out of consideration the request of the trade through the Niagara Convention, can afford to supply stock for such purposes. It is said that the public is biting at the bait, and that Mr. Lottery is therefore doing most of the retail trade of Boston. Consequently, when a publishing or jobbing salesman canvasses Boston, nobody else can give him orders, and in place of $500 from the regular trade, he gets say half that from our underselling friend. This is the result of this method of "stimulating business," even on cash payments. But to come, as we said, to the narrowest point of view the probability of purchases being paid for on such methods of doing business. A man who sells goods in this way does not have the advantages of the ordinary lottery system, in which an actual profit is assured by blanks, or by foisting on a considerable proportion of the investors a prize less than what they have paid. The buyers have free choice in selecting books of course they clean out the most valuable first, and unless these are replaced by fresh purchases, at rates of which such selling prices will not admit, the sale loses its attractiveness, and the dealer is left with his poor stock on his hands. In other words, he must be selling his $1.50, $2, and $3 books at 75 cents each, leaving behind a stock which will be found almost worthless when there is occasion to make the reckoning. Out of this 75 cents come the immense expenses of advertising and running such a sale-so that even if a dealer should sell a million books, we fear he would be really more out of pocket the more he sold and the longer he kept selling. How any man can do business on such principles and pay his bills, passes the human understanding. We make no prophecy, but publish

:

enterprises" have usually here the last gasp. So far as we have learned, no one has yet succeeded in selling valuable books at less than fifty per cent of the retail price, paying expenses and paying his bills. Some day there must be an accounting, and that day comes without other warning than such conditions of doing business offer all the time.

As regards the public, it is to be said that such "enterprises" are directly most damaging to their interests. The general prosperity depends, not upon speculative spasms of " cheapness," but upon the steady business of the regular trades. So much on general principles. But we may add that all lottery schemes, gift enterprises or what you will, are now seen to be detrimental and demoralizing. No pretence of "cheap goods" and "a prize to every one" makes it different. The man who doesn't earn his money, and doesn't pay a fair price for what he buys, is sooner or later the worse off for what he gets. The law recognizes this, and in many of the States prohibits all such schemes, and we trust that the law in Massachusetts may be effectively invoked in such cases. But the public will buy "cheap," by force of human nature, when and where it has the chance, and is not always cautious to inquire as to stolen, or smuggled, or otherwise questionable goods. We do not suppose the underseller means to be a vendor of stolen goods, but what is the real difference between these and goods sold at such prices that it is quite unlikely they will ultimately be paid for? Certainly no man is a public benefactor who gives away other people's property. The public is, in fact, as much interested as the trade in refusing support and closing up such schemes.

Nevertheless, the work will not be done by the public and must be done by the trade. We have already pointed out the unwisdom of any publisher letting goods go in this direction any longer, however orders may come with tempting installments of cash, and however he thinks he may need it. The only way to bring back good times is to do business on sound principles all through, and just as we are getting back to these it is infinitely unwise for any publisher to permit his being used to put things back into the old, reckless, ruinous fashion. The New-England Booksellers' Association ought not to lose a moment in at

tacking the present evil, and the trade and the public have the right to hold it to some responsibility in the matter.

THE trade will hail with satisfaction the thorough and definite understanding that has been arrived at in Philadelphia, and the action reported in this city is of scarcely less importance. A test case has been made up, and brought before the arbitration committee of the A. B. T. A., on the official authority of the Central Association. That committee will of course request the underseller to cease such demoralizing practices, and in case of his neglect or refusal to take action, will report the fact to the publishers. So far as heard from, the publishers are generally willing to protect their books, and to request jobbers to do the same, so that this case

becomes the test of the reform. We learn that the Brooklyn book trade, where there has been notable underselling, stands ready to right into the reform as soon as one or two cases of this sort in New-York are settled.

come

WE call the attention of the trade to the desirability of increasing their fall trade by circulating the Literary News with their imprint. It is generally acknowledged to be the most tasteful, attractive, and easily handled circular of its kind yet published, and its cost is sure to be repaid in increased sales. The Literary News makes a specialty, in its little editorials, of encouraging home buying, and pleading the cause of the local bookseller, while its information about books is always attractive. To publishers, we may add, it is becoming a most important medium. Its large circulation is a picked one, for every copy goes to a known buyer of books, it being, of course, to the direct interest of the bookseller to make every copy tell. It is then sure to be read by a number of persons, and the paper is so small that every line of advertising is prominent. It may be said that every hundred circulation of the Literary News is as good as a thousand of the ordinary mediums for reaching book-buyers.

OUR entire force is now employed in the preparation of the Index to the Uniform Trade List Annual, which is well advanced. Imperfect as the plan of such indexing is, its cost is very considerable, in some cases in excess of the fee charged to publishers for the insertion of their catalogues. We believe, however, that it will be found very valuable through the trade, which we trust will be thus stimulated to the sufficient encouragement of more thorough and satisfactory trade bibliography.

TRADE MEETINGS.

Philadelphia to the Front.

We print in full the agreement, signatures, and minutes of the meeting of the Philadelphia trade, as it reaches us in printed shape. When Philadelphia makes a beginning, she begins well, and the trade will receive word of this action with thorough satisfaction :

The American Book Trade Association pledges itself to maintain the publishers' advertised retail prices in all sales to buyers outside the trade, excepting that a reduction not to exceed ten (10) per cent on medical books, and twenty (20) per cent on all other classes of books (including educational), may be allowed to the following classes only:

Public libraries (including circulating and Sunday-school libraries);

Clergymen and professional teachers; Professional books to professional buyers; Large buyers-said purchasers buying solely for their own use;

Exceptions made by the Publishers' Board of Trade for Publishers only, said exceptions being

School-books for first introduction; Specimen copies of school-books for examination;

School-books for school-boards and State

normal schools created by law and authorized to purchase supplies from public funds;

School-books for schools, other than Sundayschools, supported by religious and benevolent societies, and purchasing their own supplies of school-books; and to such merchants as deal in book and school supplies.

The undersigned publishers and booksellers hereby accept the above resolution of the American Book Trade Association, to take effect on the 1st of September next, and agree that the terms therein named shall be the rates of discount hereafter allowed on all sales at our establishments.

It is further mutually agreed and understood that "large buyers" shall be subdivided and defined as follows:

less than $20, may receive a discount not exAll cash purchasers to the amount of $10, and ceeding 5 per cent.

All cash purchasers to the amount of $20, and less than $50, may receive a discount not exceeding 10 per cent.

All cash purchasers to the amount of $50, or over, may receive a discount not exceeding 20 per cent.

All accounts to be settled monthly on the above basis.

It is further mutually agreed and understood that school-books may be furnished in cases of exceptions made by the Publishers' Board of Trade without limit as to discount, and that medical books shall be subject only to a maximum discount of 10 per cent.