Part 4

The main function of the Branch has always been that of keeping the American public acquainted with Oxford books, both sacred and secular, and of supplying the books without avoidable delay. To this end it has been necessary to hold large stocks in New York, and to maintain an expert staff which is in touch with the book-stores and with the universities, the schools, and the book-buying public at large. The Branch has its own catalogues and its own advertisements, and it has been able to make Oxford Bibles and Clarendon Press books known and valued throughout the United States. The Branch, however, is not merely an importer; it has long recognized that many Oxford products are capable of useful adaptation to special American requirements, and that such adaptation is consistent with the preservation of what Americans have themselves called ‘the Oxford stamp’. This aspect of the activities of the Press in America is shown by the large number of Bibles which are manufactured (‘made’ is the American idiom) in the United States—among these the now famous _Scofield_ Reference Bible is conspicuous—and also by books written—or at least rewritten—for American requirements. The Branch, in co-operation with American scholars, has produced valuable series of text-books for schools and universities—the _Oxford English Series_, the _Oxford French Series_, and the _Oxford German Series_. Even more important, perhaps, are adaptations of Oxford books of tried merit. Thus the _Oxford Loose-Leaf Surgery_ derives from a (British) Oxford original (one of the _Oxford Medical Publications_), but has important differences in substance as well as in its novel form. This very successful work is now being followed by the _Oxford Loose-Leaf Medicine_, edited by Dr. Henry Christian and Sir James Mackenzie with the help of leading physicians on both sides of the Atlantic. To promote co-operation of this kind in medical science was a great part of the life-work of William Osler, who, as Regius Professor at Oxford, and a leading promoter of the Oxford Medical Publications, may be described as the founder of the medical activities of the Oxford Press as they are now carried on in Oxford, in London, in New York, and in Toronto.

Another work of adaptation, now in progress, illustrates further the possibilities of Anglo-American co-operation. The _Concise Oxford Dictionary_ of current English, adapted from the great Oxford Dictionary, has been and is very widely used throughout the British Empire and by students of English in foreign countries. But its spelling, and certain other features, were found to disqualify the book for general use in the United States; and a special American edition is now in preparation, the adapter of which is Mr. G. Van Santvoord, of Oriel College, Oxford, and Yale University.

The Press is publisher, on both sides of the Atlantic, to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, many of whose books have been printed at Oxford. Special mention may be made of the first volumes, printed at the Press and recently published, of the British Section of the great _Economic and Social History of the World War_ undertaken by the Endowment. These volumes are by Professors Keith and Bowley and Mr. J. A. Salter.

IV

OXFORD BOOKS

§ 1. _Oxford Series_

At one time Oxford books were produced almost always at the instance of an author; and many Oxford books are still so produced. A scholar having devoted, it may be, many years of his life to a subject which he has made his own, applies to the University Press for publication of his researches; and such a claim is often admitted as irresistible. In modern times, however, the need for organization by the publisher has become increasingly apparent. Many books which if published in isolation would reach only a small public are found capable of a wider usefulness when issued as part of a larger plan; and thus the initiative in publishing passes more and more into the hands of the professional commanding the advice of a body of experts. School-books, reprints of the Classics, text-books of the applied sciences, and books of the nature of Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias are now almost always conducted in this way by co-operative enterprise.

The number of such homogeneous series promoted by the Press during the last twenty years is large, even if all school-books are excluded. The _Oxford English Dictionary_ (which is of earlier origin) bulks so large in the public eye as somewhat to obscure all humbler enterprises; but it does not stand alone. In English literature the Press has built up in a quarter of a century a whole library of uniform series, all of respectable dimensions. The _Oxford English Texts_ are library editions of famous authors edited after exhaustive examination of the materials, in print and in manuscript, and handsomely printed from type; the _Tudor and Stuart Library_ consists of first editions and exact reprints of famous books of that period, printed in the types of the period on paper calculated to last for many centuries more; these books are now finding their way into the second-hand catalogues and the collections of connoisseurs; the _Oxford Library of Prose and Poetry_ is a series of little books for fanciers, offering especially the classics of the Romantic Revival in a form approximating to that of the originals; the _Oxford Poets_ claim to be the last word for accuracy of text, condensed yet fine printing, and the lowest price compatible with these qualities; the _Oxford Standard Authors_ offer the same texts as the Oxford Poets, together with many prose classics, in a cheaper form; the average volume containing nearly 600 pages of close yet legible print. Finally, the _World’s Classics_ furnish a collection of over two hundred of the most famous English books in a very handy form, still maintained in print as far as possible in spite of the costs of production, which make it increasingly difficult to keep any but the most popular books on sale in a cheap series.

None of these series has been created by the simple expedient of taking an existing edition and sending it to the printer—a plan too commonly followed, as is well known to every one who has ever investigated the text of a well-known author, and has found that each edition contains almost all the errors of its predecessors and adds fresh errors of its own. The Oxford texts are the result of the laborious co-operation of editor, publisher, and printer, involving the choice of the most authoritative original—very often the collation of a number of printed originals and sometimes of manuscripts as well—expert attention to the problems both editorial and typographical of which the successful solution produces a well-designed book, and finally scrupulous diligence in the elimination of error. The substantial accuracy of Oxford texts is widely recognized, and is known to be due to the united vigilance of the editors, the publishers (themselves scholars and sometimes editors), and the printers. It is less well known how complex and difficult are the problems which the modern editor has to solve. The scientific editing of English texts is indeed a relatively recent growth, and depends upon the application of principles which in the field of Greek and Latin textual criticism have been elaborated in the course of centuries. It is thus no accident that the work done in English editing in the last five-and-twenty years has been largely in the hands of scholars trained in the Oxford school of _Literae Humaniores_, and has synchronized with the production of the _Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis_.

This series, now popularly known as the _Oxford Classical Texts_, is the only large series of critical texts of Greek and Latin authors produced in recent times outside Germany and able to hold its own in competition with its great German rivals. The texts, which now fill nearly eighty volumes and include the most important writers of the ‘classical’ periods of Greek and Roman literature, have been based upon much fresh examination of the manuscript originals. Some of the editors, indeed, have devoted years to this kind of investigation; the labours of Mr. Allen on the manuscripts of Homer and of Professor Clark and Sir William Peterson on those of Cicero have secured for their authors a permanent place in the long history of classical scholarship.

The aim of the series is to give the best text which the examination of the manuscripts in their relation to each other affords, and to provide in a brief _apparatus criticus_ sufficient information to show the evidence on which the editor has based his decision. Conjectural emendations are mentioned in the notes when they are considered plausible, but are not admitted to the text except where they reach a high degree of probability. This principle, which is mainly due to the authority of the late Ingram Bywater, has commended itself in the course of years even to those who were at first disposed to think it too austere, and has greatly enhanced the permanent value of the series, which before the war was finding its way into Germany itself. A famous German publisher went so far indeed as to address to Oxford (on the eve of the war) a letter of remonstrance on the price of the series, which was described as too low for its value.

The _Oxford Library of Translations_ consists mainly of prose versions of Greek and Latin authors. These have not been made to order or in accordance with any single principle of translation, but have been produced at the instance of scholars unable to deny themselves the satisfaction of translating a favourite author. This, which is perhaps the best guarantee of excellence, accounts for the miscellaneous constitution of the series, which has been enlarged by degrees as a happy conjunction of author and translator chanced to present itself, and from the same cause admits some interesting authors seldom or never included in series of translations made upon a less elastic plan.

Another series of translations is the great collection of the _Sacred Books of the East_, which was begun many years ago by the late Max Müller and reached its fiftieth and concluding volume in 1910. The value of these translations to Orientalists is shown by the steady sale, which after forty years is still increasing, and by the high prices asked for the few volumes which are now unfortunately out of print.

History, and the subjects akin thereto, afford less scope for homogeneous series than does the editing of ancient and modern classical literature; and it has been the policy of the Press rather to secure monographs of unique authority in special fields than to compile works of encyclopaedic information. A few examples will serve to illustrate the range and importance of the Oxford books produced in this way which have become classics in their subject: in the History of Antiquity, Sir Arthur Evans’s _Scripta Minoa_, Sir Edward Maunde Thompson’s _Palaeography_, Vincent Smith’s _Early History of India_; in the Fine Arts, Barclay Head’s _Historia Numorum_, Vincent Smith’s _Fine Art in India_, Dalton’s _Byzantine Art_; in Constitutional History and Law, Anson’s _Law and Custom of the Constitution_ and _Law of Contract_, Sir Courtenay Ilbert’s _Government of India_, Lord Bryce’s _Studies in History and Jurisprudence_, Hall’s _International Law_, Prof. Keith’s _Responsible Government_, Sir Erskine Holland’s _Jurisprudence_; in British History, Stubbs’s _Constitutional History of England_, Freeman’s _Norman Conquest_, Sir Paul Vinogradoff’s _Villainage in England_ and _English Society in the Eleventh Century_, Sir Charles Oman’s _Peninsular War_; in European History, Finlay’s _Greece_, Hodgkin’s _Italy and Her Invaders_; in Geography, Prof. Beazley’s _Dawn of Modern Geography_ and Mr. R. L. Poole’s great _Historical Atlas_.

Books of this kind best represent the type at which Oxford has aimed in the historical and human sciences, and it is to the promotion of such works that the resources of the Press have in this field been most advantageously applied. When, however, the progress of a subject and the enthusiasm of an editor have combined to suggest another way, the opportunity has been taken of organizing research upon a common plan. Notable results of such combined endeavour are the _Oxford Survey of the British Empire_ and the _Historical Geography of the Dominions_ promoted by the late Prof. Herbertson and by Sir Charles Lucas of the Colonial Office respectively. The former work, containing in six volumes a general and a particular survey of the geographical, economic, and administrative aspects of the Empire and its constituent parts, was completed within a short time and published within a few weeks of the outbreak of the war. In an important sense therefore it cannot become out of date, since it affords a conspectus of conditions as they existed at the culmination of the former age, to which it will always be necessary to refer as a standard of comparison. The other series, which is in seven volumes (comprising twice as many separate parts), has had a longer and more chequered history, the march of events since the early years of the century, when publication began, having made necessary frequent revision and reconstitution. The work is still in progress, and India has recently been added to its scope.

A more recent collection arose out of the demand during the war for a compendious survey of the history of the belligerent powers. To satisfy the demand was one of the pieces of war work undertaken by the Press, and the evident usefulness of the volumes having survived the war has led to the establishment of a series on a permanent and wider plan, including Histories of the Nations and treatises of similar scope on leading questions of International politics. The series now covers France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, the Balkans, Serbia, Russia, Prussia, China, and Japan, with books on the Eastern Question, Diplomacy, Nineteenth-Century Treaties, and other topics. Many of the volumes have been frequently reprinted, and additions are in preparation.

Not the least interesting of Oxford books written by a number of contributors on a uniform plan is _Shakespeare’s England, an Account of the Life and Manners of his Age_, published in two volumes in the centenary year 1916. The book contains an Ode by the Poet Laureate, a long essay on the Age of Elizabeth by Sir Walter Raleigh, and some forty special articles by the first authorities.

Another co-operative enterprise is the _Oxford History of Music_, which in six volumes surveys the whole subject from the beginning to the time of Wagner; it is not a collection of biographies, but a history of music as such—of origins, tendencies, and evolution. The authors include the late H. E. Wooldridge, the late Sir Hubert Parry, and Sir Henry Hadow, whose enlightened enthusiasm has done so much for the study of music in England.

§ 2. _Oxford Books on the Empire_

Oxford is proud to consider itself as _par excellence_ the Imperial University. The administration of the Empire owes much to Oxford men, as the University in its turn owes much to her sons from overseas. Imperial subjects are an important and growing branch of study at Oxford; and the Press, true to its tradition of building upon the foundations of experience, has in time put together an imposing collection as well of the classics of colonization and administration as of new and original treatises by scholars versed in its theory and practice. These books being very diverse have not been confined within the limits of a series uniform in size or appearance; but they have a real unity, and deserve it is believed to be acquired as a whole by every library with any pretensions to an imperial character. Among the most important volumes may be enumerated Wakefield’s _View of the Art of Colonization_, first published in 1849, Lord Durham’s _Report on British North America_, Cornewall Lewis’s _Government of Dependencies_; and (among modern treatises) Prof. Keith’s _Responsible Government_ (in its present form published as recently as 1912, yet already an established classic), and the same author’s _Imperial Unity_, Prof Egerton’s _Federations and Unions_, Sir Courtenay Ilbert’s _Government of India_.

The Press is so strong in books on _India_ that it has seemed well to issue a special catalogue bringing together a mass of books which in the General Catalogue are listed under a variety of subject-headings. These include a large and important section published by the Press under the patronage of the Secretary of State—notably the _Imperial Gazetteer of India_ in twenty-six volumes, the noble series of documents on the early history of ‘John Company’ compiled at the India Office, and the sumptuous publication of Sir Aurel Stein’s discoveries in Turkestan; but they include also a whole library of books produced by the Press at its sole charges and dealing with the history of India from the Empire of Asoka to the formulation of Dyarchy, with the geography, politics, and economics of modern India, and with the religion and literature, the fine art, and the music of Hindostan. The production by the Press in India itself of vernacular and other educational books has recently made great progress. (See also p. 65 for some notice of the series of _Classics of Indian History_.)

§ 3. _The Oxford Standard_

The standard of scholarship, accuracy, and literary excellence which the Delegates maintain in the books published under their authority is believed to be as high as that attempted by any other publisher in the world. Its maintenance imposes upon the Delegates much labour and expense; but the effort is repaid in the reputation which Oxford books enjoy in the public estimation. The supervision exercised by the Delegates, both personally and through their advisers, is not limited to the initial judgement passed upon a book offered to them for publication; it extends through the whole process of revision in manuscript and in proof. When a book is favourably considered, an expert’s detailed report is very often laid before the author, who is asked to consider the suggestions made and to confer with the Delegates’ advisers; and this process of scrutiny is frequently far-reaching, the criticism being invited at one stage or another of a number of specialists in various fields. In this way many, perhaps most, of the books produced by the Press have received substantial improvement; and not a few have undergone something like transformation. To these benefits abundant testimony is borne in the prefaces of authors; more, perhaps, reposes in the archives in Walton Street.

The technical services rendered to scholarship by the Clarendon Press proof-readers are likewise commemorated in many a preface. The late Mr. J. C. Pembrey, who in 1847 read Wilson’s _Sanskrit Grammar_, and in 1916 read Prof. Macdonell’s _Vedic Grammar_ for press, was well known to three generations of Oriental scholars; the late Mr. W. F. R. Shilleto did much to secure accuracy and uniformity in the series of _Oxford Classical Texts_; and Mr. George Ostler has left the marks of his vigilance upon many editions of the English classics. Long training in a severe school develops unusual powers; and authors are sometimes startled by instances of what seems beyond natural acumen. An author who had misquoted _Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis_ in the usual form, was naturally astonished when the reader inquired in the margin ‘Should it not be _et nos_?’, which is of course unmetrical. The reader was right, nevertheless; but the source of his information remained obscure. In fields less recondite than this the authority of the readers is generally recognized; many editors have confessed that in the matter of Greek accents they should not think of disputing it.

The attention thus paid to the claims of scholarship and accuracy brings doubtless unmixed benefits to learning and education. To the Press as a business concern the blessing is less unequivocal. The Delegates’ resources are not without limits; and they are sometimes embarrassed by the ambitions of learned authors from all parts of the world, to whom nothing but the imprint of the Clarendon Press seems an adequate reward. They are obliged to pick and choose, and sometimes to decline a proposal which would attract them if it had fewer rivals. Another imputation is less deserved. A distinguished American who had been invited to dine in an Oxford College confessed afterwards that as he entered the room his knees knocked at the thought that ‘all these Fellows talked Latin’; and the public is sometimes frightened away from an Oxford book by the apprehension that it will be found full of Greek quotations. There is in fact no necessary connexion between accuracy and pedantry; and even Dons are often men of the world, well acquainted with the limitations of the average intelligence. No one need be afraid that an Oxford book on any ordinary subject will be any more abstruse than another book, though its facts will perhaps be better authenticated and its arguments more closely reasoned. The booksellers know this; and in reply to a customer’s inquiry ‘Is this a good book?’ have been heard to reply ‘Why it’s an Oxford book’.

Another fallacy which dies hard is that Oxford books are dear. This is perhaps no more than a hasty inference from the fact that Oxford produces an exceptionally large proportion of books which from their nature cannot be cheap. No one would expect to buy Liddell and Scott’s Greek Lexicon, or the _Index Kewensis_, for a few shillings; but these books and many like them are really inexpensive, if regard is paid to the number of words they contain. The Oxford Dictionary itself is sold at an almost nominal price. Many of the books, however, which appeal to a narrow public are properly priced higher than if they could be sold in large numbers; for the price of a book depends mainly upon two things—the number of words it contains and the number of people who will buy it. The art of publishing lies in nothing so much as in estimating whether a book is more likely to sell say, 750 copies at 15_s._ or 5,000 at 5_s._ The policy of the Press has always been elastic in this respect; and very many of its books are among the cheapest in their kind.

§ 4. _Illustrated Books_

The publication by the Press of beautifully illustrated books is mainly a development of comparatively recent years, and it has been furthered by the progress of collotype printing at Oxford. The catalogue now includes a large number of sumptuous monographs on artistic subjects. In its facsimiles of manuscripts and rare printed books, published on its own account or for the British Museum, the Press has done much to make accessible to scholars the treasures of the great collections. Well-known examples are the magnificent collotype reproduction of the New Testament part of the _Codex Sinaiticus_ (from negatives made at St. Petersburg under the old régime; negatives were fortunately made of the Old Testament part as well, and the reproduction of the whole of this most famous of all manuscripts will before long be completed); and the complete collotype reproduction of the Shakespearian corpus, consisting of the Folio of 1623, which went out of print on publication in 1912, and the _Poems and Pericles_ from the first editions, still on sale.