Article July 19, 1900 Issue

How the Bible Sells

New Orleans Times Democrat

"Several of the literary magazines publish lists every month of the most popular books," said the representative of a large Northern publishing house who is in the city looking after the Southern trade. "These lists are compiled from data furnished by dealers and public librarians at different cities, and the volume that usually occupies first place is, of course, the novel that happens to be the fad of the day. As a matter of fact, however, none of them have ever printed the name of the book that is really most popular and actually the best seller, not alone for this month or last month, but for every month of the year. That book is the Bible. It may surprise you to know," continued the speaker, "that the Bible is selling better to-day than at any time since it was first printed. Last year, from January 1, 1899, to January 1, 1900, the American Bible Society alone issued nearly a million and a half copies. The exact figures are 1,426,801. Of course, the Society is an immense concern, but there are several others in the United States and a number in England and Europe, all turning out nothing but Bibles. They publish them in every conceivable shape, from the beautiful Oxford editions in flexible covers at twenty-five dollars apiece down to the little cheap volumes in fine print that retail for a nickel. Nowadays a very good, serviceable Bible is sold for fifty cents. It has all the latest and best notes, several colored maps, and a very useful index. The sale of that edition has been enormous and has run into the hundreds of thousands. The wars on both sides of the water have had a very marked effect in increasing the demand for Bibles. You can make a calculation of the total force in the field, both English and American, and then count on at least one Bible for each soldier. Some of the boys who went to the Philippines got upward of a dozen, and most of the soldiers' Bibles were handsome, substantial copies. I think, seriously, that the old stories of Bibles that have stopped bullets have influenced many a mother, sister, or sweetheart in the selection of a good, thick volume in preference to one of the thinner and lighter editions. Yes, the Bible is decidedly 'the most popular book.' Its copyright for six months would make a man rich beyond the dreams of avarice."—New Orleans Times Democrat.

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