Page 3 Advertisements Column 4

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 31, 6 February 1900, Page 3

I j OF THE ! ■ : «h« — i Is closely connected with the history of the intellectual and material progress during the past century. I|s successive imprints bear dates ranging from 1771 down to the present second 1898 reprint. ' Through all its changes the " ENCYQLOPiEpiA j BRITANNICA " lias occupied a position of peculiar authority. German and French j works of general reference are, in their lespective countries, the subject of constant j discussion and controversy, bnt the impartiality and sincerity, the scholarship and precision, of the "BRITANNICA" are unquestioned. The whole body of human knowledge has changed since the first edition of the " BRITANNICA" appeared in • 1771, and the enlargements and revisions of the work have kept pace with, the n ,,, i* n ..— A ,.,,.-iH ... ~.„ march of learning. But the fine sense O^LYONE GUIftEA !H CASH of responsibility which animal a "SoTo be followed by... ciety of Gentlemen " (as the quaint old Sixteen Monthly Payments title-page described the first editors) hag of Onk Guinea Each. proved a lasting tradition. No cqntriburn , tor has ever been asked to write upon a Phk complete 25 volumes of "The Times" ~ ~. , , , , -, '■ „ T Reprint of the " ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRI- sllb Ject which he has nofc nmtle sP ecially TANNICA"wiII bo delivered all atone his own, and no personal or corporate time upon receipt of a preliminary pay- bias has ever been suffered to interfere ment of one guinea, tho remainder of the AV i tn the broad honesty of the work. purchase money to bo paid in monthly sums of one guinea each. •■' TPI« C! Tho instalment system of selling books I fIC is by no means a new one, but the plan of sale adopted by " The Times'' is a direct which has attended the efforts of the inversion of the familiar process. Tho various editors has received generous re£t t?£7t? Bellinr larSe bool^ par<? cognition from the most intelligent and was that the purchaser received the volr b ; ° umes in driblets, and paid for them in critical classes. To professional men the driblets. This plan apparently gave the work is almost as necessary as the textpurchaser a great advantage—tho conve- books of their respective callings, and it nionee of gradual payments-but, on tho is cer tainly not too much to say that no other hand, he got no real value for hia , , , . .•. . ■, \, ~ money until he had completed his pay- ' one book haS contrlbuted so. nmch to fche ments, for the incomplete parts gave him cause of informal education in this no more than a mockery of possession. country as has the "BRITANNICA," The plan in accordance with which " The In America, where the slipshod condition Times" offersthe ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRI- of the ]aw of cop y r jght permitted the IAN NIC A presents the convenience and i c ■ . i ±-i j. i ji i „,. lmf f / . . ~,. " sale of pirated, mutilated, and cheaply eliminates the inconvenience of this old L . ' l ■ process. The complete work is delivered printed counterfeits or the work, more as soon as the purchaser begins to mako than four hundred thousand sets have hia serial payments; the only postpone- been sold, and, reprehensible as is the ment in the transaction is for the puroha- condition of public, sentiment which persei s benefit —he enters into immediate .. , . . .. ~ ,• , and complete possession of the work, and nute such an im^ltJ> the proverbial pays for it at leisure. intelligence of all classes in the United ' I States is in great measure due to.the """"""" eagerness with which they have seized the opportunity of supplanting hasty and careless schooling by the study of the great British classic ; and the knowledge of foreign countries and foreign markets, the eager ambition and the versatile ingenuity, which are shown by the Americans, may in some measure be ascribed to the widespread use of the " ENCYCLOPEDIA 13IUTANNI0A." The "ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA" is essentially the production of men who wrote out of the fullness of knowledge. The wonderful story of the nineteenth century is told by the men who made its greatness ; the history of modern progress in the arts, sciences, and industries has the glow that only a soldier can give to a tale of campaign ; for the men who lought against ignorance, and brought enlightenment to their generation, themselves tell how the light was spread. The Ninth Edition of the "ENCYCLOP/EDIA BRITANNIOA," which "The Times" (London) has reprinted, and which it now offers to residents of Nesv Zealand upon such favourable terms, is the most complete and perfect form qf the " Encyclopedia Britannica," and js universally recognised'as the most complete and perfect of works of reference. "The Times" Reprint is ir every respect tho same as the copies already sold at tho higher price ; it is what booksellers call a new impression, not a changed edition. There has been no condensation, no abridgment, no omission. Every. Map Every Word. v Every Illustration Every, Element of Value is preserved intact; there is not the most minute cheapening of the produci to offset against the remarkable diminution of the price. It was not until 1889 that it was completed, although the first volume was published in 1875, and the twelfth volume—half-way on the road—appeared in 1881. The elaboration with which the articles were written, the scrupulous ,care with which they were revised, the minute labour expended in bringing the typography and the illustration of the volumes to the highest point of accuracy, all combined to make haste impossible. No steps have yet been taken towards preparing a tenth edition, and there is no reason to suppose that, if such a work should be put in hand, it could be completed in less than IS or 20 Years from Now It is not, indeed, certain, that there will ever be a tenth edition. When so remarkable a success lias been aohieved, it is certainly not advisable that tho result should be disturbed until the publishers are sure that the change would be for thebetter, One may even doubt whether such an article as Lord Macaulay's "Life of Pitt " does not gain rather than lose value with the lapse of time. If a new edition should ever be undertaken there is every reason to suppose that the literary, historical, and biographical treatises, which occupy most of the space in the volumes, would be reprinted without modification. Even if such men as Matthew Arnold, John Addincjton Symonds, William Morris, Robert Louis Stephenson, Professor Freeman, Professor Seeley, Sir Travels Twiss, Principal Tulloch, Professor Sellar, Professor Groom Kobertson, John Lowell, Professor Thorold Rogers, and Professor Blackie, were recalled to life, they could add little more than a footnote to any one of their articles. When it is remembered that more than 1,000 of the world's greatest scholars have been employed, and over £00,000 expended to produce the " ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA," it is not surprising that its publishers should have fixed a high price for it. There is no intelligent person who will not admit that the great library was cheap even at £37, the price at which the publishers sold the set in cloth binding. It is now to be had of " The Times " (London), New Zealand Offices, as under, at halfprice, and on easy terms of payment if desired. A WORD TO THE WISE! Those who anticipate availing themselves of "The Times" offer should do so without delay. There is no time to be lost. The sets allotted for, distribution in New Zealand are nearly subscribed for. If you defer sinding in your order any longer you may lose the opportunity which now presents itself for your acceptance, TEiPOHARY PRICES FOR THE 25 VOLOMS. rt_OTH fl7 Monthly Payments of One Guinea each, or. Sufficient provision has been r.JVK irtn { if Cash" in full accompanies the order .. .. £17 made for the filling, of orders on1"-""" I Publishers' Price for this style of binding, £37. promptly poeted, but applicants HALF [22 Monthly Payments of One Guinea each, or, who hesitate may flnd that -lie MOROCCO I jf Cash in full accompanies ttie order .. £22 number of Sets reserved for New (which we 1 Publishers' Price for this style of binding, £45. Zealand has been exhausted, and recommend) / 7**** that tho offer has beon with- full ("29 Monthly Payments of One Guinea each, or, drawn, Without further notice. unonrnn lif Cash1 in full accompanies the order .. .. £29 wiukuuou Publishers' Price for this style of binding, £G5. The Sets will be Delivered to Subscribers Carefully Sealed in Tin-lined Cases. The first 500 Subscribers in New Zealand will receive their Sets Delivered Free of Cost as far as Wellington. ORDER FORM.-CASH PAYMENT. aSMTwS^JS have the advantage of an additional saving of one shilling in tho guinea, as shown above, and no order form is required. Cheques should bo drawn to the order of the Bank of New South Wales. Wellington, and sent to The Times (London), New Zealand Office, at Government Life Insurance Buildings, Wellipg. tOD>N>Z' ORDER FORM-BVIOWTHLY PAYIVIESMT. (Date) „ To the MaWaqeb, " T?e Times (London)," New Zealand Office, Government Life Insurance Buildings, Wellington. I enclose One Guinea. Please send me The Times Hf.print of tub Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th Ed.) 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Please also send a revolving Bookcase, for which I agree to make three} Strike out if Bookfurther monthly payments of one guinea each, after the payments for t case is no£ desired. the books are complete. ' Signed ..„ [F.W. 18 Auck. Star.] AJJ •••••••. .Address US' If books are to be delivered elsewhere than in Wellington, the purobaßer shall add here the name of tbe carrier in Wellington to ■whom delivery is to be made.