In spite of the somewhat scurrilous attacks made upon the Penny Magazine by Colburn in his New Monthly it was a continuous success, and ultimately paved the way to a work infinitely more important—the “Penny Encyclopædia.”
It will be essential here to understand the position of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
This Society was founded in 1826 by Lord Brougham and other gentlemen, described by Mr. Knight as the leading statesmen, lawyers, and philanthropists of the day. “It was a blow aimed at the monopoly of literature—the opening of the flood-gates of knowledge.” At first the Society possessed no charter, but obtained one in May, 1832, not probably a very useful or essential gift, nominating Brougham as president, Lord John Russell as vice-president, and William Tooke, Esq., treasurer. No subscriptions were called for, or rather these means had been at once abandoned, and the “arrangements made with the publisher since the beginning of the Society have gone upon the principle of leaving the committee as far as possible free from risk, and unencumbered with commercial responsibility; but at the same time deriving a fair proportion of pecuniary advantage from the ultimate success of the undertaking.” The publisher in the first instance paid down a certain sum for the copyright, sufficient to cover the disbursements to the authors by the committee, who, after a limit of sale, received a royalty of so much per thousand copies. At first the Society’s publications abounded in almanacs; “The British Almanack,” “The British 4d. Almanack,” “The Penny Sheet Almanack,” and “The British Working-man’s Almanack.” Then came the Penny Magazine, the British Quarterly Journal of Education, and the “Penny Encyclopædia,” the first number of which was issued in July, 1833. It was originally projected to form a moderate-sized book of eight volumes, and every article was to be written expressly for the work. This limited size was found to be incompatible with original work by the best writers, and after a year the price and quantity were doubled; after three years more, quadrupled. In the present form, and according to the original scheme, the issue would have taken thirty-seven years. But this increase of matter, while it largely enhanced the intrinsic value of the work, was utterly fatal to its commercial success. The committee got, says Mr. Knight, the credit of the work, without incurring any of the risk; and the expenditure on literary matter alone amounted to £40,000. The sale, owing to the increase of matter and price, rapidly declined: at first consisting of 75,000 copies, it fell at the increase to twopence to 55,000, in the second year to 44,000, and at the close of the fourpenny period it was actually reduced to 20,000; and this chronic loss entailed upon Mr. Knight for the duration of eleven years absorbed every other source of profit in his extensive business. This loss was still further augmented by the enormously heavy paper duty of threepence per pound, but which was reduced in 1836 to half that price.
Mr. Knight was originally associated with Mr. Long in the editorial duties, but soon wisely gave up the management of the literary department.
Mr. George Long, who is now leaving a Professorship at Brighton College for Chichester,[19] had been bracketed with Macaulay and Professor Malden for the Craven Scholarship—a fact that says something, were it necessary, for his attainments—and was able to gather together the most able men of the day on his staff, all of whom, whether belonging to the Society or otherwise, were handsomely remunerated for their labour. Upon De Morgan rested, perhaps, after the editor, the heaviest labour, for he undertook the whole department of Mathematical Science. The Biographical portion was chiefly due to G. C. Lewis, G. Long himself, P. and W. Smith, and Donaldson. It is impossible, necessarily, to mention many out of the 200 contributors, and it will suffice for our purpose to enumerate the names of Professors Craik, Forbes, and Donaldson, and Messrs. Ellis, Lewis, and Kitto, as writers on all general subjects; and Mr. W. J. Broderip as taking the Natural History department. Quite a new feature in the composition of the staff was the introduction of foreign writers of eminence, who composed either in their own language or in ours, all the articles being revised by the editor and his assistants, and rendered into perfectly good English.
We must follow Mr. Knight’s own publications, remembering that their issue was contemporary with the “Encyclopædia.” Next to that in costliness was the “Gallery of Portraits,” issued in monthly parts at half-a-crown each, to which, among other authors, Hallam and De Quincey contributed.
The connection between Mr. Knight and Kitto was still very strong and affectionate. In January, 1834, we find him detailing pleasantly the amount of work he had to do for £16 a month—“a most comfortable sum for me”—and later on we come across him asking Mr. Knight’s advice in regard to his proposed marriage. “I have felt it prudent and proper to postpone it for awhile until I should have consulted with you.... I have hitherto been so connected in my employments with those who took a strong personal interest in my affairs, and to whom I am accustomed to talk freely about them, that I am led to trouble you more about myself and my circumstances than is warranted by my existing relations. If so, I doubt not your kindness will readily excuse the absence in a dumb man of those little proprieties with which he has not had much opportunity of becoming acquainted.” A curious subject on which to consult one’s publisher, but then Mr. Knight was something more, and immediately promised such remuneration and regular employment as would free Kitto’s entrance into wedded life from the charge of imprudence.
The “Bilder Bibel,” then publishing in Germany, suggested to Mr. Knight his “Pictorial Bible;” and Kitto, after having tested his own fitness for the work thoroughly, boldly undertook to execute the whole task, giving up, of course, all other work, and receiving £250 a year during the progress of the book, and on completion such a sum of money as seemed a small fortune. This completed—and it was one of the most remunerative works upon which Mr. Knight was ever engaged—he commenced his “Palestine,” and in such subjects Kitto found at last his true vocation.
The “Pictorial History” occupied seven years in coming out, in parts, of course. Mr. Craik wrote the social, religious, and commercial portions, and Mr. C. Macfarlane undertook the larger department of civil and military history; many other gentlemen also contributed. The same fault occurred here as in the “Penny Encyclopædia”—it was too long for serial publication. By an error of judgment on the part of the editors, four of the eight volumes were devoted to the reign of George III.; the subscribers became weary, and the project turned out to be a commercial failure.
This was followed in 1843 by the “Illustrated London,” certainly the best and most trustworthy history we yet have in extenso of the great metropolis.