John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 19 October 1876
Title
John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 19 October 1876
Title
John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 19 October 1876
Sender
John Blackwood
Recipient
George Henry Lewes
Date(s)
- 1876-10-19
Place
Edinburgh
Letter Content
John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 19 October 1876
MS: National Library of Scotland. The memorandum is in Mrs. Carrington Ouvry's collection. Hitherto unpublished.
George Street, | Edinburgh.
October 19/76.
My Dear Lewes
Our ten years' lease of Mrs. Lewes' Works, Adam Bede, Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Scenes of Clerical Life and Felix Holt is now nearly run out, and both from personal and professional feeling my anxious wish is that we should always continue to be her publishers.
I have been thinking and talking over with my nephew and Mr. Simpson what we can offer for another lease of ten years, and I hope the following may meet her views and yours, or if not I shall be ready to consider any suggestions for alterations in terms that you may think of to meet contingencies.
I now beg to offer the sum of Four Thousand Pounds (£4000) payable over a term of three years for another lease of ten years of the above mentioned works with the addition of Middlemarch, Romola, and Daniel Deronda. I am not sure from my own letters when the present lease strictly terminates but it does not matter and I would propose to make the new arrangement date from the first of January next with the exception in your favour that the 21/- edition of Deronda should be paid to you by a lordship as in the case of Middlemarch.
From the outward aspect of opinion I do not think we can calculate upon such a sale of Deronda at 7/6 as for Middlemarch. The inclosed Memoranda will show you what the first named five books have done in the past nine years and we have made our estimate of sales on a sort of medium between the sales during the past three years and the whole nine. In the event of your accepting the above offer it is understood that the size and price of the works are to be as before at our discretion. Trusting that we may in some form or other at all events be able to meet each other's views I am ever
yours truly
John Blackwood.
G. H. Lewes Esq.
GEORGE ELIOT'S WORKS
Paid Author £1000.
Interest on Do until recouped by Sales 268.
When Cheap Edition was commenced in May 1867 our right over Felix Holt was given to it and there was a loss on it at that date of £1168.
The Profit on Sales of Cheap Editions to July 1876 amounts to exclusive of Author £1772.
The First Part of Cheap Edition was published in May 1867.
MS: National Library of Scotland. The memorandum is in Mrs. Carrington Ouvry's collection. Hitherto unpublished.
George Street, | Edinburgh.
October 19/76.
My Dear Lewes
Our ten years' lease of Mrs. Lewes' Works, Adam Bede, Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Scenes of Clerical Life and Felix Holt is now nearly run out, and both from personal and professional feeling my anxious wish is that we should always continue to be her publishers.
I have been thinking and talking over with my nephew and Mr. Simpson what we can offer for another lease of ten years, and I hope the following may meet her views and yours, or if not I shall be ready to consider any suggestions for alterations in terms that you may think of to meet contingencies.
I now beg to offer the sum of Four Thousand Pounds (£4000) payable over a term of three years for another lease of ten years of the above mentioned works with the addition of Middlemarch, Romola, and Daniel Deronda. I am not sure from my own letters when the present lease strictly terminates but it does not matter and I would propose to make the new arrangement date from the first of January next with the exception in your favour that the 21/- edition of Deronda should be paid to you by a lordship as in the case of Middlemarch.
From the outward aspect of opinion I do not think we can calculate upon such a sale of Deronda at 7/6 as for Middlemarch. The inclosed Memoranda will show you what the first named five books have done in the past nine years and we have made our estimate of sales on a sort of medium between the sales during the past three years and the whole nine. In the event of your accepting the above offer it is understood that the size and price of the works are to be as before at our discretion. Trusting that we may in some form or other at all events be able to meet each other's views I am ever
yours truly
John Blackwood.
G. H. Lewes Esq.
GEORGE ELIOT'S WORKS
Paid Author £1000.
Interest on Do until recouped by Sales 268.
When Cheap Edition was commenced in May 1867 our right over Felix Holt was given to it and there was a loss on it at that date of £1168.
The Profit on Sales of Cheap Editions to July 1876 amounts to exclusive of Author £1772.
The First Part of Cheap Edition was published in May 1867.
Signature
John Blackwood.
Citation
John Blackwood, John Blackwood to GHL, Edinburgh, 19 October 1876, 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/95379