Life — January 21, 1897 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“GOLF HAS BECOME ALL THE RAGE HE! BUYING HAT fine scholar churchman, Mr. late rector of Lincoln, was wont to lament that he knew — actually knew —men whose incomes exceeded five hundred pounds a year, and who did not spend fifty pounds a year on books. This statement seems credible to the dispassionate mind; and had Mr. Pattison’s duties permitted him to cross the Atlantic, we might have shown him men whose incomes ex- ceed five thousand dollars a year, and who do not in five years spend five dollars on non-journalistic literature. nd unworldly k Pattison, Since the folio newspaper, sacred to Sabbath leisure, has been added to the daily press, the average man has no need and no time to go further afield for letters. When merry Christmas comes apace, however, the book-shops put on an unwonted air of activity. Books are deservedly popular as Christmas presents. They are cheaper than pictures or bric-a-brac, and they possess the inestimable advantage of traveling by mail. A moderately stout volume may be sent to Seattle or San Francisco for ten cents, to the great saving of the sender and the great loss of Uncle Sam, as proven by the lamentable returns from the United States postal service. There- fore are the shops filled with an eager and animated crowd of people, busily engaged in buying books ac- "— Dispatch from Central Africa. cording to their respective tastes in binding. Having watched this crowd with commendable patience during the past *Christmas season, I have acquired some knowledge which is at the service of the publisher. Light- * blue books, liberally stamped in gold or silver — silver preferred — are sure to find purchasers, being considered appropriate gifts for young girls. White and gold volumes are in fair demand, if they can be kept clean until sold—no easy matter, Red is the boys’ color, but fails to hold its own at Christmas time, unless heavily gilded; while xsthetic designs of yel- low fish scales or dismembered bat wings are sought for by the painstak- ing elect. Books in boxes are de- servedly popular. They carry well through the mails, and they have an