ADS SUPPORT BOOK PUBLICATION COSTS

While on the subject of the effects of commerce on numismatic literature, consider the ad from BNR Press on the opposite page, promoting the new book by Carlson R. Chambliss, "U. S. Paper Money Guide and Handbook" Yours truly picked up one of these at the recent ANA show for a mere $20, a welcome low price in light of the three-digit pricetags seen on some books lately. The hardbound 480-page book's "ultra low introductory price" was "supported by our sponsors." By my count there 42 pages of ads from currency dealers and coin clubs such as the ANA and FUN.

Any comments on the practice? I guess I'm all for anything that keeps the price down while still delivering a quality product. But boosting the pagecount of every book by 10% chews up shelfspace. Where would bibliophiles prefer to draw the line?

Ads in books are nothing new. For example, they were a common feature of George Evans' History of the United States Mint. The 1891 edition features 11 pages of ads for Philadelphia businesses. Only a couple of these relate to coins, but there were only a handful of dealers at that time. Other advertisers include a business college, a dealer in "Human Hair Goods", a photographer, a jeweler, a printer, and a gas lamp manufacturer.

The final ad notes: "When you have seen the Mint you haven't seen everything worth seeing in this City. There's another establishment here over whose threshold enough men and women have passed to make a fair-sized commonwealth. The home of the COMPOUND OXYGEN TREATMENT, 1529 Arch Street. Everybody welcome. Consultation free."

"COMPOUND OXYGEN is shipped to all parts of the world. It can be used with full effect in the privacy of home."

Wayne Homren, Editor

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The E-Sylum: Volume 02, Number 41, October 10, 1999, Article 9

ADS SUPPORT BOOK PUBLICATION COSTS

Wayne Homren, Editor