This part of the business was first developed by visits regularly made from London by Mr. E. R. Bartholomew, who in 1908 became manager of the Branch then established at Cathedral Buildings, Melbourne. Australia is not only many thousands of miles from the great centres of book-production, but is itself a land of great distances, as yet but sparsely populated; and this creates difficulties for both publishers and booksellers. It is remarkable how far these obstacles have been overcome; and if regard is paid to the number and character of the population, Australia, and New Zealand no less, have a right to be proud of the quantity and quality of the books they buy. The Branch has paid attention to the special needs of Australian education, and in co-operation with the universities and schools has produced a number of successful text-books. It acts as agent for some of the leading British publishers, including the houses of Murray, Heinemann, Black, Chapman and Hall, and Mowbray; and for the large publishing business of Messrs. Angus and Robertson of Sydney. [Illustration: THE MELBOURNE BRANCH] [Illustration: MARKHAM’S BUILDINGS, CAPE TOWN in which the South African Branch is situated] § 4. _The Press in South Africa_ The South African Office of the Press is at Markham’s Buildings, Adderley Street, Cape Town. Mr. C. R. Mellor, the present Representative, was appointed to that post in March 1915. From his office at Cape Town Mr. Mellor visits the principal booksellers, not only in the Cape Province, but in the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, and Natal. § 5. _The Press in China_ The Chinese Agency of the Press is at C 445 Honan Road, Shanghai, of which Mr. T. Leslie is the present Representative. The first agent in China for the Press was the Christian Literature Society of Shanghai, the agency being started in 1913. Mr. Leslie, who had been manager of that Society, took over the Press agency in 1917. Stocks of all Oxford books likely to be in demand in China are held in Shanghai. § 6. _The Press in Scandinavia_ For many years before the war a traveller from Amen Corner visited the Continent annually, but business in Scandinavia developed so rapidly after the Armistice that it was found desirable to open a Branch, and premises were accordingly secured in Copenhagen, Mr. H. Bohun Beet, the Continental traveller of the Press, being appointed manager. The Branch was opened in August 1920, at St. Kongensgade 40 H, close to the King’s Palace. The Branch represents also Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton and the Medici Society. § 7. _The Press in the United States_ The sale of Oxford books in the United States began long before the foundation of the _American Branch_. It is recorded that ‘the growth of the business was hindered by the Civil War, but after the restoration of peace it grew rapidly’; and that a landmark in its progress was the publication of editions of the American Book of Common Prayer.