John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 15 November 1858
Title
John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 15 November 1858
Title
John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 15 November 1858
Sender
John Blackwood
Recipient
George Henry Lewes
Date(s)
- 1858-11-15
Place
Edinburgh
Letter Content
John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 15 November 1858
Text: Blackwood Letter Book, National Library of Scotland.
Edinburgh | November 15/58.
My dear Lewes
We have been making our calculations about the Physiology of Common Life, and on the supposition the work will consist of 18 numbers of about 48 pages like the 1st number, which I now send you, we beg to offer you Two Hundred and Fifty Pounds (£250.) for a first edition of Five Thousand copies. The expenses of advertising and fairly starting this first edition will be so great that supposing 5000 sold there will be only a mere trifle of any profit to us, but our hope and expectation is that the sale will go much beyond that number and the book become a steady property. We therefore propose further that for any numbers we print beyond five thousand we pay you at the rate of Three Pounds (£3) per thousand of each sixpenny number. We base the prospective payments to you on the numbers because we know that the sale in that form will be irregular and the proceeds must first be calculated in that way. Afterwards when the sale in numbers had ceased we would adjust the payments to an equivalent on the volumes.
Should it be thought advisable at any time to alter the size and price of the book, we would make you an offer on the same principle as the second part of our proposition in this letter (viz. the £3. per thousand of each number) by which we wish it to be understood that if you accept our offer we have a permanent interest in the copyright to the extent of two fifths, our calculation being that the £3. per thousand will leave about three fifths of the clear profit to you and two fifths to us or rather more if the book moves fast and the advertising is not necessarily heavy.
We propose to stereotype the book as selling in numbers; the stock would not otherwise be kept square, but when a new and revised edition was called for, we would break up the plates.
I hope this offer will be agreeable to you and independently of all monetary considerations it will give you real pleasure should the book prove, as I trust it will, a great success and a good thing for both author and publisher.
Believe me for self and brother,
Always yours truly
(signed) John Blackwood.
G. H. Lewes Esqr
I am perfectly delighted with the article on Biot and will write with proof tomorrow or next day. Your style is as bright as the Frenchman's.
Text: Blackwood Letter Book, National Library of Scotland.
Edinburgh | November 15/58.
My dear Lewes
We have been making our calculations about the Physiology of Common Life, and on the supposition the work will consist of 18 numbers of about 48 pages like the 1st number, which I now send you, we beg to offer you Two Hundred and Fifty Pounds (£250.) for a first edition of Five Thousand copies. The expenses of advertising and fairly starting this first edition will be so great that supposing 5000 sold there will be only a mere trifle of any profit to us, but our hope and expectation is that the sale will go much beyond that number and the book become a steady property. We therefore propose further that for any numbers we print beyond five thousand we pay you at the rate of Three Pounds (£3) per thousand of each sixpenny number. We base the prospective payments to you on the numbers because we know that the sale in that form will be irregular and the proceeds must first be calculated in that way. Afterwards when the sale in numbers had ceased we would adjust the payments to an equivalent on the volumes.
Should it be thought advisable at any time to alter the size and price of the book, we would make you an offer on the same principle as the second part of our proposition in this letter (viz. the £3. per thousand of each number) by which we wish it to be understood that if you accept our offer we have a permanent interest in the copyright to the extent of two fifths, our calculation being that the £3. per thousand will leave about three fifths of the clear profit to you and two fifths to us or rather more if the book moves fast and the advertising is not necessarily heavy.
We propose to stereotype the book as selling in numbers; the stock would not otherwise be kept square, but when a new and revised edition was called for, we would break up the plates.
I hope this offer will be agreeable to you and independently of all monetary considerations it will give you real pleasure should the book prove, as I trust it will, a great success and a good thing for both author and publisher.
Believe me for self and brother,
Always yours truly
(signed) John Blackwood.
G. H. Lewes Esqr
I am perfectly delighted with the article on Biot and will write with proof tomorrow or next day. Your style is as bright as the Frenchman's.
Signature
(signed) John Blackwood.
Citation
John Blackwood, John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 15 November 1858, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/95368