[270] Pittsburgh Gazette, August 28, 1801; ibid., August 5, 1803.
CHAPTER VIII
ZADOK CRAMER
Into this environment Zadok Cramer had come in the early spring of 1800. He was a young man of twenty-six, and was lured by the promise of fortune and perhaps fame. In the short span of years that he lived and flourished in Pittsburgh, he did more to advance the literary culture of his adopted town, than perhaps all the other educational agencies combined, which came before or after his time. It is customary to glorify statesmen and soldiers; monuments are erected to their memory, eulogies are pronounced in their praise, and memoirs are written setting forth the deeds they have done. But one scarcely ever thinks of the men who made possible the statesmen and soldiers: the teachers, the men who conduct the newspapers, the writers of books, and above all, the men who publish and sell books. The publishers and sellers of books not only supply the wants of the reading public, but they lead it into new channels. They place temptingly before it the latest and best productions in every branch of human activity of the brightest minds in the world.
Cramer was born in New Jersey, in 1773, but spent most of his life since boyhood in Washington, Pennsylvania, where he learned the humble trade of bookbinding. He was of Quaker origin, but had fallen away from the tenets of that faith, although he still affected the drab coat and straight high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat of the sect.[271] He possessed withal the worldly shrewdness that is often an accompaniment of Quaker devoutness.
On March 30, 1800, he advertised in the Pittsburgh Gazette that he was about to open a bookbindery. His announcement was couched in somewhat stilted language. “Under a conviction that an establishment of the above business will meet the approbation and encouragement of the inhabitants of Pittsburgh and its vicinity, the undersigned is determined to prosecute it as soon as he can make the necessary arrangements. His hopes of the success of this undertaking are flattering; he hopes likewise, that the public on whom he is depending for encouragement will not be disappointed in placing in him that confidence merited only by industry and attention to their favors.”
Cramer’s ambition extended beyond the limits of his bookbindery. John C. Gilkison died on March 21, 1800, after having held the office of prothonotary less than two months. The little bookstore which he had established was for sale. Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge seems to have advanced the money invested by Gilkison in the business, and it devolved on him to settle Gilkison’s affairs. This was Cramer’s opportunity, and he purchased Gilkison’s business, obtaining favorable terms from Brackenridge. In June he took possession. All his life he believed in the efficacy of advertising, and his entry upon this larger field was heralded by a long public notice.[272] It was addressed to the people of the “Western Country.” He declared that he did not mean to be limited to the confines of the borough, and intended to carry on his business extensively. He emphasized his ability to make blankbooks and do bookbinding “nearly if not quite as cheap” as could be done east of the Alleghany Mountains. He enlarged on the bookstore which he had just opened, and claimed to have a selection of nearly eight hundred volumes.
His choice of location was fortunate. The business center was changing. Merchants whose establishments had been on Water Street, on Front Street, and on Second Street, were congregating on Market Street. Gilkison’s store was on the east side of this street. Here Cramer established himself, and after the Tree of Liberty was founded, advertised as being located “between the two printing offices.”[273] To indicate his place of business he hung out the “Sign of the Franklin Head”; Benjamin Franklin was the patron saint of everyone who had any connection, however remote, with printing. Cramer designated himself, “Bookbinder and Publisher,” and the word “publisher” did not long remain a misnomer. It was the day of small publishers. Even in the larger cities in the East, books emanated from the printing presses of men whose establishments were of minor importance. Large publishing houses are creatures of the complex civilization of a much later period. Probably from the beginning Cramer contemplated undertaking the publication of books and pamphlets as soon as his means permitted, although it was some months before he actually began publishing. But he was already making preparations to that end, and on October 17, 1800, he announced that in a few weeks almanacs for the year 1801 might be had at Philadelphia prices.[274]
At the national election of 1800, the Republicans were successful for the first time, John Adams, the Federal candidate, receiving less electoral votes than either Thomas Jefferson of Virginia or Aaron Burr of New York, the two Republican candidates. The returns of the electoral vote as counted by the Senate, indicated that Jefferson and Burr had each received the same number of votes. The decision thereupon devolved under the Constitution upon the House of Representatives, voting by States. The Federalists had a decided majority in the House of Representatives, but could not for the purposes of this election, control a majority of the States; neither could the Republicans. In the course of the summer the capital had been removed from Philadelphia to the new town of Washington. Only the north wing of the capitol was completed, and this was fitted up for the accommodation of both houses of the Sixth Congress. The House of Representatives then became the battle-ground for the presidency and vice-presidency. Jefferson and Burr were both voted for, the Constitution providing that two candidates should be voted for, the one receiving the highest number of votes to be president, and the other vice-president.
The struggle grew in intensity, and the excitement became acute. The sick members were brought into the House on beds. Ballot after ballot was taken. The Federalists were mostly voting for Burr. The first day’s session was extended into the next day. The House remained in session seven days, a recess being taken at night after the first day’s session. The Federalists were uneasy about several matters, but particularly about the continuance in office of their friends. Finally they secured from Jefferson an expression indicating that meritorious subordinate officers would not be removed merely on account of their political opinion. This settled the question. At noon on February 17th, the thirty-fifth ballot was taken with no result as before, but on the thirty-sixth ballot, Jefferson was elected. The vice-presidency thereupon devolved upon Burr. The joy over the election has hardly been equalled in the annals of American political history. This was especially true in the vicinity of Pittsburgh. On the day of the inauguration of Jefferson and Burr, the inhabitants of the neighboring town Beaver gave vent to their exuberance by dancing Indian dances, and singing the Ça Ira, and the Carmagnole of the French Revolution.[275] Cramer saw another business opportunity and determined on his second publication. It was to be an account of the struggle in the House of Representatives. On March 21, 1801, seventeen days after Jefferson’s inauguration, Cramer announced the book.
Cramer’s energies were not to be confined to the business of publishing, of selling books and stationery, and doing bookbinding. Like John C. Gilkison, he determined to possess a circulating library[276]; perhaps the nucleus was to be the books received from Gilkison’s library. He called it the “Pittsburgh Circulating Library” and it prospered, and six months after its establishment, the circulation had nearly doubled.[277] A catalogue was promised for an early date[278] and was no doubt issued. The list of the original books in the library appears to have been lost. From notices of the reception of later books[279] some opinion may be formed of the general character of the reading-matter in the library. The books were mainly romances, and they may have lacked the merit of later-day novels, but there is something about them that touches the heart. Also they recall from the shadows visions of readers long since dead. The books were realistic; they presented the life of a distant past in vivid colors; there is the lingering scent of lavender and bergamot. Delightfully described in their voluminous pages were languishing eyes, tender accents, quaint dances, dreamy music, and startling and sometimes unreal adventures. Ladies were the principal readers; they loved long tales, and the authors supplied them. Novels in three and four volumes were common, and some were divided into as many as six volumes.