eme" to come into prominence was the so-called "raised
contract." The process was simple. The order blank read, for example,
$5 a volume, but the publisher wanted "a few influential citizens like
yourself" to write testimonials, and had a few copies for sale to such
people--only a very few--at $3, merely the cost of the paper and
binding. By paying cash you could get another reduction, and as a
special favor from the agent still another, and so on, until you found
the price whittled down to the ridiculously low sum of $2.65. When the
customer woke up and found that all his neighbors were also
"influential citizens" who had bought at the same price or possibly
less, and that the book would be dear at $2, he mentally resolved to
"buy no more from that house." The figures are given merely to
illustrate the idea and are not quoted from any particular
proposition. It is unfortunately true, however, that the plan here
illustrated is now in daily use by many concerns, although there are
indications that it is gradually dying as the result of overwork!

Another scheme is to advertise a "a few slightly damaged" copies of a
book for sale at barely the cost of the sheets--to save rebinding. A
publisher once confided to me that he was doing a "land-office
business" selling "slightly damaged stock." "How do you damage the
stock," I asked,--"throw the books across the room?" "No," he replied,
laughing, "we haven't time to do that."

Some of the schemes are so ludicrous as to cause one to wonder how
anybody can be made to believe the story. Such was the one which
soberly informed the prospective customer that he had been selected by
a committee of Congress as one of a few representative citizens to
whom the United States government would be willing to sell some of its
precious documents. He was not asked to subscribe, but merely to "let
us know" if he didn't want it, for "another gentleman" was quite
anxious to secure his copy, etc. Of course the fortunate
representative citizen made haste to secure the copy which Congress
intended him to have. I am told that the originator of this scheme
made a fortune out of it.

All these schemes, from the laughably absurd to the contemptibly mean,
should be regarded merely as an excrescence upon the legitimate
subscription-book business. They are like the "get-rich-quick" and
"wildcat" banking schemes which flourish in prosperous times, but have
nothing whatever in common with legitimate financ