Thirdly, the question of competition and underselling is still of the utmost importance, and I fear will never be settled until there is united action by a joint committee consisting of representatives of both the Publishers' and Booksellers' Associations, and all books are published at a fixed net price. The great objection to this arrangement is mainly the issue of juvenile and school-books. A margin frequently is demanded, so that a considerable discount can be given to the schoolmasters and mistresses or the governing bodies of our various educational authorities. It is, however, a fair question to ask, "Why should part of the legitimate profit of the bookseller be taken by the school representatives?" It is to be hoped that by association and unity these unsatisfactory anomalies will be swept away. One of the first subjects these joint associations would have to consider would be the minimum amount of profit which should be given to the retail bookseller. This should be, at least, 25 per cent. off the net selling price, and a further discount to _bona fide_ wholesale and export booksellers. If all books were made net, and some such discounts as those mentioned were given, much of the present discontent would be removed, and, with a living profit assured, there would be a great inducement for many of the smaller men in the country to interest themselves in the trade, and thus bring about a renewal of an industry which should be beneficial both to the industrious bookseller as well as the intellectual community. CHAPTER VII Term and Sale Catalogues In the early seventies, while living at Holloway, it was my good fortune to meet Mr. Edward Arber, who also dwelt in that district. At that time he was making the transcript of the Registers at Stationers' Hall, and also publishing many reprints from Old English literature. It is to the many interesting conversations which I had with him while walking to Stationers' Hall Court, as we both at that time did, that I became more interested in some of the ways of the booksellers of previous generations, and in the introduction and use of the Booksellers' Catalogues. From the origin of printing in England in 1472 until 1526, it is quite a question whether any books which can be considered English literature were produced and printed in this country. The books sold here were mostly foreign productions, and, as numbers of them had an ultra-Romish tendency, it was a sure passport to a cruel death to possess a copy of many of the books of the period. Even these were produced in small octavo size, so that they could be carried in the owner's pocket without discovery.