"Memoirs." The handsome fortune which the publishers of the latter
were enabled to pay to Mrs. Grant was made possible only by the
application of the subscription method of reaching the people.

Another form of subscription book, now fortunately obsolete, was the
book in "parts." A "part" consisted of some twenty-four or forty-eight
pages, or more, in paper covers. These were delivered and paid for by
the buyer in instalments of one or two at a time until the entire
work was complete. Then the binding order was solicited. It was an
expensive and unsatisfactory makeshift, intended to reach those who
could pay only a dollar or two a month. The theory was that the people
could not be trusted, and therefore the book must be cut up and
delivered in pieces. Later the publishers learned that "most people
are honest," and the modern method is to deliver the complete
publication and collect the price in monthly instalments. This plan
has proved far more economical both to subscribers and publishers, and
the losses are few if the management is careful and conservative. One
house which carefully scrutinizes its orders has suffered losses of
less than one per cent on a business of several millions of dollars
covering a period of fifteen years.

In late years by far the greatest part of the subscription-book
business has been done with complete sets of books, usually the
writings of the leading standard authors. These books are sold
directly to the subscriber who gives a signed order, and the publisher
makes the delivery, pays the agent a cash commission, and collects the
payments as they fall due. The old, worthless, "made-up" books are
rapidly disappearing, and the subscription-book of to-day is as a rule
a vastly superior article to that of a score of years ago. In fact
some of the oldest and most reliable publishing houses in America now
offer their choicest output by subscription. A large investment of
capital in plates, illustrations, editorial work, etc., such as is
necessary in many of the extensive editions of standard works, could
not be made unless there, were an assured return. The subscription
method of selling makes such undertakings possible, and the result of
its adoption has been the issue of many superb publications which
never would or could have been undertaken, had the retail book store
been the only outlet to the market. The subscription business has in
this way proved a marked benefit to the lovers of fine ed