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The Influence of Lending Libraries on the Sale of Novels (1884)

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Now for the numbers, which were compiled in a report by a retail book trade company in Leipzig and published in the Magazin für Literatur [Magazine for Literature]. In that business, sales of novels from October (1883) to the end of January 1884 amounted to: 71 volumes by Dahn, 101 by Ebers, 111 by Eckstein*, 186 by [Gustav] Freytag, 7 by Hopfen**, 11 by Marlitt***, 28 by Keller, and 55 by Meyer. The same period saw sales of 60 copies of Scheffel’s Ekkehard, 20 of Spielhagen’s Uhlenhans,+ and 35 of Wolff’s Sülfmeister.++ If that amount were sold in a bookstore in a four-month period, one would certainly be unable to claim that the public was no longer buying novels. That buyers are restricting themselves to fewer items, but ones of good quality, and to works by known writers, should serve as a warning in our opinion, however.

This instructive report proves at the same time that lending libraries are not an obstacle to sales; for all of the novels mentioned are circulated chiefly, and in greater numbers, by lending libraries; even the smallest lending library cannot do without these works. Moreover, the fact that they are selling so well today is in no small measure due to the lending libraries.

Figures always speak most clearly; therefore, it should be mentioned here that 441 volumes were published in 1883 at a total retail value of 1,347 marks – and this number only includes [first editions of] novels and novellas; second editions and dramas, poetry, and youth journals etc., were excluded.

The production of 441 volumes far exceeds even the needs of lending libraries. This can be proven by the fact that, of this total, the Last Literary Institute in Vienna only purchased a selection of 208 volumes for its collection; 181 volumes were purchased in numbers of 7-15 copies each; 20 volumes in 20-40 copies each, two volumes in 60 copies each, another two volumes in 80 copies each, and three volumes in 110 copies each.


* Ernst Eckstein (1845–1900), novelist and feuilletonist, 1874-82 editor of the Deutsche Dichterhalle.
** Hans Hopfen (1835–1904), mainly a novelist, member of the Munich Poets’ Circle, ennobled in 1888.
*** Eugenie Marlitt (actually E. John, 1825–1887), author of socio-critical novels that were extremely successful both in preprint in the popular journal Gartenlaube and in book editions.
+ Appeared in 1884.
++ Appeared in 1883 (2 vols.).

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