Word: bookmen
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Whenever things got dull along publisher's row, bookmen could always amuse themselves with a guessing game called "How Much Is Harry's Take?" The Harry in question was Harry Scherman, 59, founder and president of the Book-of-the-Month Club. The take which interested bookmen was B.O.M.C.'s profit on the $25 million worth of books it distributed last year (over $13.5 million in actual sales, $10.5 million given away free). Scherman could keep it a secret because he and three members of his family owned almost 94% of B.O.M.C.'s stock (Vice President...
Exactly how much Scherman's club makes is his own trade secret. But the retail value of all books distributed by B.O.M.C. last year, including book dividends, was $25,000,000. Because of the dividends, bookmen guessed that B.O.M.C. did not take in more than $15,000,000. Of this, they estimated that no more than $3,000,000 was spent on advertising, promotion and mailing; another $2,000,000 for royalties; another $5,000,000 to print the books. Bookmen concluded: of the remaining $5,000,000, a substantial chunk was profit...
Thrice the board balloted on seventh-grade history. Then into the lobby where waited some 75 agents strode dark, rawboned President Sanderford and blond State School Superintendent L. A. Woods. Superintendent Woods began to make a speech. "Read us the adoptions," grimly cried the bookmen. Slowly the superintendent read them off. For seventh-grade history pupils: Row, Peterson's Building Our Nation...
...legend that all bookmen love is that of the bright-eyed New York University girl who listened to Fred Goudy lecture on lettering and then askecl: "Professor, just how do you design type?" Solemn as a preacher, Fred Goudy answered...
...word about Antiquarian Booksellers. If I may generalize, in America they are good business men rather than good bookmen. I know of about two and one half exceptions to this. High rents, high wages, high cost of living have led the American bookseller to specialize in the "high spot" items. An interesting miscellaneous stock does not pay for its keep in this country. The result is to considerably narrow the vision of the bookseller...