John and William Blackwood to GHL, St. Andrews, 25 October 1877
Title
John and William Blackwood to GHL, St. Andrews, 25 October 1877
Title
John and William Blackwood to GHL, St. Andrews, 25 October 1877
Sender
John Blackwood and William Blackwood
Recipient
George Henry Lewes
Date(s)
- 1877-10-25
Place
St. Andrews
Letter Content
John and William Blackwood to GHL, St. Andrews, 25 October 1877
MS: National Library of Scotland. Hitherto unpublished.
Strathtyrum | St. Andrews | N.B.
October 25/77.
My Dear Lewes
The calculations of cost and produce of new edition of The Works of George Eliot have been sent over to me and I now beg to inclose formal offer for this edition.
I knew that the profits on it must be small unless the sale went beyond what we could reasonably hope for, but it was necessary to have such a standard edition round which I hope to see the more popular editions cluster and flourish.
You will see that we do not propose the lordship on each volume to commence until it has reached a sale of 500 copies and the reason for this is that it will take a sale of some 750 copies to pay the preliminary expences stereotyping etc.
With a somewhat similar edition of Lytton's works we had a painful warning to be cautious but in this case although a large sale cannot be looked for at first, my hope is that there will be a quiet but steady sale which will gradually bring in a steady little income. The book will I think be as handsome as well could be and form I hope a permanent and creditable presentment of George Eliot's Works.
Willie sent me Mrs. Lewes' charming letter to him and I rejoice to think that her stay in your country home has done you both so much good. For her sake I shall always think of that lovely place with pleasure and gratitude. The constant temptation to wander out of doors is the great thing in the Country but the dear old Priory has its pleasantnesses too and I hope this will find you comfortably established there for the winter. The Books, Friends, and other comforts not exactly such as The Bailie sighed for in "the Saut Market" will make some amends for the woods and walks of Witley. Our weather has been so sadly broken that I should have been frightened to press Mrs. Lewes to come here at this season. We had nearly continuous rain for a month at what should have been our midsummer. In the midst of it my daughter gazing gloomily out of the window exclaimed "We might as well be in Edinburgh." This disparaging allusion to the Town which contains 45 George St. and 3 Randolph Cres[cen]t rather riled me, but in the circumstances I let it pass. Since that deluge we have had broken weather but some very fine days and I hope your last days in the country have been as bright as it has been with us today.
I am very pleased that you like the translation of the Jewish Rabbi's tribute to Deronda so much. To me it reads as a very striking and original pamphlet and I hope the press will take it up.
I have been very remiss in correspondence of late but I have been constantly thinking of writing to Mrs. Lewes or you. The fact is I knew that this edition would not afford such a sum as I should like to give the author for any edition of her works and that worried and made me put off writing. You however know as much about paper and print as I do and have also I think our calculations for printing etc. and will not I hope be disappointed.
ever yours truly
John Blackwood.
G. H. Lewes Esq.
P.S. My Uncle has sent me this to forward to you and told me to add anything that he had omitted to allude to in his letter. The only point that occurs to me is as to the edition of Romola published by Smith and Elder at 2/6. I think my Uncle's understanding was that their edition was or is to be withdrawn as it would not be pleasant to have it run in opposition to our editions at 10/- and at 3/6. Their stereotype plates of it would not I suppose serve for our reissue but should they not be transferred to us? Please give my best thanks to Mrs. Lewes for writing me so charming an answer to my letter, and I hope to send her a further memo of Deronda sales beginning of next month. Mrs. Lewes is quite right in supposing that the kind of holiday I like is commencing now and I have already had two or three cheering gallops.
W. B.
MS: National Library of Scotland. Hitherto unpublished.
Strathtyrum | St. Andrews | N.B.
October 25/77.
My Dear Lewes
The calculations of cost and produce of new edition of The Works of George Eliot have been sent over to me and I now beg to inclose formal offer for this edition.
I knew that the profits on it must be small unless the sale went beyond what we could reasonably hope for, but it was necessary to have such a standard edition round which I hope to see the more popular editions cluster and flourish.
You will see that we do not propose the lordship on each volume to commence until it has reached a sale of 500 copies and the reason for this is that it will take a sale of some 750 copies to pay the preliminary expences stereotyping etc.
With a somewhat similar edition of Lytton's works we had a painful warning to be cautious but in this case although a large sale cannot be looked for at first, my hope is that there will be a quiet but steady sale which will gradually bring in a steady little income. The book will I think be as handsome as well could be and form I hope a permanent and creditable presentment of George Eliot's Works.
Willie sent me Mrs. Lewes' charming letter to him and I rejoice to think that her stay in your country home has done you both so much good. For her sake I shall always think of that lovely place with pleasure and gratitude. The constant temptation to wander out of doors is the great thing in the Country but the dear old Priory has its pleasantnesses too and I hope this will find you comfortably established there for the winter. The Books, Friends, and other comforts not exactly such as The Bailie sighed for in "the Saut Market" will make some amends for the woods and walks of Witley. Our weather has been so sadly broken that I should have been frightened to press Mrs. Lewes to come here at this season. We had nearly continuous rain for a month at what should have been our midsummer. In the midst of it my daughter gazing gloomily out of the window exclaimed "We might as well be in Edinburgh." This disparaging allusion to the Town which contains 45 George St. and 3 Randolph Cres[cen]t rather riled me, but in the circumstances I let it pass. Since that deluge we have had broken weather but some very fine days and I hope your last days in the country have been as bright as it has been with us today.
I am very pleased that you like the translation of the Jewish Rabbi's tribute to Deronda so much. To me it reads as a very striking and original pamphlet and I hope the press will take it up.
I have been very remiss in correspondence of late but I have been constantly thinking of writing to Mrs. Lewes or you. The fact is I knew that this edition would not afford such a sum as I should like to give the author for any edition of her works and that worried and made me put off writing. You however know as much about paper and print as I do and have also I think our calculations for printing etc. and will not I hope be disappointed.
ever yours truly
John Blackwood.
G. H. Lewes Esq.
P.S. My Uncle has sent me this to forward to you and told me to add anything that he had omitted to allude to in his letter. The only point that occurs to me is as to the edition of Romola published by Smith and Elder at 2/6. I think my Uncle's understanding was that their edition was or is to be withdrawn as it would not be pleasant to have it run in opposition to our editions at 10/- and at 3/6. Their stereotype plates of it would not I suppose serve for our reissue but should they not be transferred to us? Please give my best thanks to Mrs. Lewes for writing me so charming an answer to my letter, and I hope to send her a further memo of Deronda sales beginning of next month. Mrs. Lewes is quite right in supposing that the kind of holiday I like is commencing now and I have already had two or three cheering gallops.
W. B.
Signature
W. B.
Citation
John Blackwood and William Blackwood, John and William Blackwood to GHL, St. Andrews, 25 October 1877, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/95157