Over the centuries, publishers have devised various means of trying to ascertain, in advance, consumer demand for particular types of books. One of the most common such methods has been to sell books on a subscription basis, a method which was quite popular in Europe in the 18th century, especially for titles that were abnormally expensive to produce (we have seen some of these titles in earlier posts--see, e.g., our post about stippling).
19th century American publishers also utilized this method, though in a more overt fashion, sending salesmen (and they were almost always, though not exclusively, men) out into every village and hamlet in early America with sample copies of upcoming titles to try and whet consumer appetites. Known (by folks prone to ignore the distinctions between the terms) as salesman's dummies, canvassing books or blads (acronym for Book Layout and Design), this byway of publishing makes an interesting theme around which to build a private library.
The American Antiquarian Society, which holds one of the largest institutional collections of these samples, observes that
[a] typical specimen book of the nineteenth century consists of sample sheets in a sample binding. Sometimes these sheets are in a prepublication state and thus may have bibliographic interest. A customer could choose among alternative styles of binding, and a sample book usually includes the spines of available styles mounted inside the covers. The sample book might also include a printed prospectus describing the virtues of the work or edition with recommendations from well-known persons. Most specimen books also include blank forms on which the salesman entered the names, addresses, sometimes occupations, and the number of copies his subscribers agreed to purchase.
The saleman's dummy depicted below, for instance, demonstrates in a single volume both the title's standard binding of decorated blue cloth (top cover) and its deluxe binding of gilt- and blind-stamped red morocco leather (lower cover), with the spine design for both options included as a fold-out:
These salesman's dummies often included blads for more than one title:
Because these salesman's dummies often saw hard use, collectors will have a difficult time finding pristine copies in the marketplace. The good news is, when you do find them they usually will not set you back much money, unless the sample is of a book that is collectible in its own right (such as most titles by Mark Twain).
Anyone seriously interested in pursuing this niche will want to make one of their first purchases a copy of Canvassing Books, Sample Books, and Subscription Publishers' Ephemera 1833-1951 in the Collection of Michael Zinman. Started by Robert Seymour of Colebrook Book Barn,then purchased and expanded by Michael Zinman, this collection comprises some 1800 entries and its several indexes are alone worth the price of the book. (Zinman's collection eventually wound up at the University of Pennsylvania, from whence comes the advertisement below, soliciting book canvassers....)
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