LITERARY GOSSIP.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18942, 5 March 1927, Page 13

LITERARY GOSSIP.

Twenty veins ago. (writes Miss Clara Hawkins in the Now York "Bookman") when Air Thomas Barrett bought "Bub!>le.«." the famous painting by Sir John .Millai?, from the Hovnl Academy, iiml inserted a cake of soap into it, it was the drawing room scandal of the season. And yet to day the fatuous painting is nothing more nor less than the most widely known advertisement in tho world. By this clever adaptation was advertising precedent established. Since that time the soap house has used many eminent artists in its advertising, and such is its reputation that the artists have not resented it. But literary genius is different.

A few years ago I edited "Pears' Annual." The list of contributors was a distinguished one —E. V. Lucas, A. A. Milne (with a delicious "Whou We Wero Vory Young" poem, illustrated by Ernest Shepartl). Heath llobinson, George Morrow. "Fougasse," and Kennedy North. All of these men wero delighted to contribute of their best to "Pears'." They were delighted also, as the guests of tho editor, to moot the directors and Mr Roliert Fears, to dine gorgeously and well in a private 100111 at the Hits in Picadillv, with a menu and decorations all done for the occasion by Kennedy North, just l«cause it pleased his humour to do them. And yet there was a boundary line over which neither the genius of Thomas Barrett, nor tho fame of his Annual and its dinners, lmd ever been able to make these genial literati step. They knevr vaguely, of course, that even a Chrittmas Annual might have ulterior motives not unrelated to advertising. These motives were well disguised, however, and you can do anything in England if you disguise u well enough. Besides, there was precedent for contributing to this particular Annual. Now Mr Pears (he is fifth in direct line from tl\e founder) had suddenly set his heart upon A. A. Milne's doing an advertisement. And l>ecauso Mr Milne had contributed so delightfully to the Annual, I was asked to go to see hint. There was some reason to believe that Milne might do it because he liked the subject matter. Wc wanted -him to write übout soap bubbles for children. I hastily consulted Mr E. V. Lucas, who was nice enough to advise me over ail matters requiring thought. He said he didn't think Milne would do it, hut wished me Godspeed . . . and it's a lone story, but I found I had as much chanco of persuading him as he lias to-day of concerting Mr Eugene Chen. It has always rather amused me that novels are sold by the .chemists in America (writes Stephen Graham in an exchange). Perhaps there is something medicinal about fiction. You go for your bromide, your tonic, your aperiont: you take a novel. All the leading druggists sell the leading novels. Booksellers would sternly frown on such traffic in thii country, as thoy do on the efforts of certain publishers to negotiate the distribution of their books through' drapers and dealers in fancy wares. But salesmanship in America is always breaking through regulations.

While in New York this autumn (Mr Graham adds) I was invited by a Pittsburg firm to come to a "Book-signing Tea," mako. a little speech to the assembled customers, and autograph a few of my books for any men and women who cared to purchase them. All my expenses were to be paid* Mr Pu Bote Heyward, tho author of two fairly successful novels, "Angel" and "Porgy," was asked also. Apparently there was n string of authors invited to smoky industrial Pittsburg to help a bookseller to sell his books, What scorned puzzling was the questiotf of profit. Even if I autographed two hundred of my books and they were sold, there seemed little margin of profit for the firm paying ton or twelve' pounds for my expenses. I asked my publisher. He replied. "That's an advertising stunt. They really hope to sell corsets." "Oh, it's a department store!" "Yes, books are a bait to get pcoplo into the sjiop. Who knows what they will buy before they go out again!" In a recent address to the Society of Authors, of which at present he is President, Mr W. D. Maxwell mad® some amusing references to the fee* earned for their masterpiece* by great writers of the past. The first waa to the case of John Milton !—• "Ho sold 'Paradise Lost' for So, and, of course, if he had been a member of the Society of Authors we should never have allowed him to ao a silly thing like that. I want to bring home to the audience that tne best authors are often the worst men of business, and that they really do require people with expert knowledge to look after -them. But, on reflection. I thought afterwards that I should have done better if I had instanced the case of Oliver Goldsmith and the 'Vicar of Wakefield. It is more recent and more flagrant. It is interesting, too. because one seoa in it the first blundering, inept efforts of a literarv agent. . . . I nilude. of course, to Dr. Samuel Johnson.

A little later Mr Maxwell turned to Goldsmith: "Goldsmith entrusted the manuscript of the novel to Johnson aa to one 'in the know,' usking him, no doubt, to do the best he could. Johnson bustled out with the copy i" his hands and sold the thing outright to a bookseller for £6O. Think of it! No attempt to reserve the copyright, to secure possession or subsidiary rights, _ dramatisation, translation, serialisation. f Films and broadcasting, of course, did not exist. Ho defended his conduct of affairs afterwards by saying that "Why, air, it was a sufficient price when it wm sold, for then the fame of Goldsmith had not been elevated. . . . Later on, to be sure, it was accidentally worth more money.' Imbecile! "We shouM have pilloried Dr. Johnson in our official organ. 'The Author;' Major R.uttor would have written r perfectly devastating article about the old fool. But please note those words about the thing becoming accidentally worth more money. The Bccident was merely subseouent success—the sort of accident that is befalling authors now just as much as then—a great deal more so. It is an accident that all businesslike authors should foresee and guard against."

Writing about the late A. B. Walkley for the Xew York "Bookman," Mr Hugh Walpole says that his adverse criticisms were celebrated. "Many years ago tbev caused Tim®®' to be excluded 'from the list of newspapers which received gratuitous first flight tickets from a well-known actor-manag-er. The retort of 'The Times' was inevitable. It purchased tickets for Walkley; and I am under the impression—though I do not guarantee the fact—that 'The Times' waa in the habit, , from that da/ forward, of win* for teata oMojiid by. its dmutfe