—Would the public that you are discussing buy well made books as willingly as trashy books?
—Oh, absolutely. It's the books they are interested in—what they contain, not how they are made. They wouldn't know the difference.
VI. MR. G.
A: What's the use of talking about standards in connection with things like these? These are not books. They aren't fit to wad a gun with. I wouldn't have them in the house. Nobody pays any attention to stuff like that.
There isn't what you would call a book on the table, except this one, perhaps. That's printed in England and sent over in sheets and bound on this side. But that one is set in a bastard Caslon. It isn't the original Caslon but a revision with the descenders cut off. See how he's got his O upside down!
Those others—what's the use of talking about them at all? It reminds me of the story about the Chinaman—
—But, Mr. ——, do you not think it possible to get up this class of books in a manner that would suit you better?
—You can't hope to get anything like a decent book until you do away with the damnable cheap paper and the vile types. And then you will have to start in and teach the printer how to print. There aren't more than a half a dozen presses in the country that know how to print. Most printing looks like it had been done with apple-butter on a hay-press—
—What you say is unhappily true. What we are trying to find out are the causes of this state of things.