Booklovers' Library
| Booklovers Library | |
|---|---|
 Booklovers Library Bookplate | |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Type | Circulating library |
| Established | March 1900 |
| Dissolved | c.1910 |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, periodicals |
| Size | 100,000+ volumes |
| Access and use | |
| Members | 1,000,000+ at peak |
| Other information | |
| Director | Seymour Eaton |
Booklover's Library was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It published a monthly magazine, Booklovers Magazine.[1] The Booklovers' library had an invite-only membership and was a home library service that started in 1900.[2] The Book Lover's library acquired a large subscription list of members of the Tabard Inn Library that could be solicited for other business and home delivery of books.[3] The Booklovers' library owned both the Tabard Inn Library and the Bodley Club Library.[4] The Bodley Club library was specifically to service libraries, and books appeared in blue covers to prevent them from being turned in at Tabard Inn library stations, as public libraries tended to lend the books out free of charge.[5] In one of the Booklovers Stock offers, a Rugby library for children and Temple library targeting Sunday Schools was also in the planning states in April 1903.[6]
The Booklovers Magazine would run special offers. For $3, patrons could have an annual subscription to the magazine. For $2 more, they could get a membership to two library systems - the Booklovers Library which could be exchanged at a library center, and a complimentary Tabard Inn Library book that could be exchanged at any Tabard Inn Exchange station.[7]
Divisions
| Service | Description | Established | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booklovers Magazine | Monthly Magazine | January 1903[8] | January 1905 (Appleton's Booklovers Magazine[9]) |
| Booklovers' library | Home based library service | 1900 | |
| Tabard Inn Library | Commercial lending library exchanges | March 1902 | |
| Bodley Club Library | Public/Private libraries and clubs | c. 1903 | |
| Rugby Library | Specifically for children | 1903 (planned) | |
| Temple Library | Specifically for Sunday Schools | 1903 (planned) |
Allied Companies
- Philadelphia Book Store Company[10]
- Tabard Inn Press Company[10]
- Tabard Inn Shops and Studios[10]
- Tabard Inn Druggist Specialty Company[10]
- Tabard Inn Food Company[10]
- Tabard Inn Corporation[11]
Key Figures
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Seymour Eaton [6] |
| Treasurer | John E Bryant [6] |
| District Manager/Supervisor | William E. Roach [12] |
| Business Manager | Dr. Edward MacInall [13] |
Operations
Establishing Stations: A District Manager would visit varying cities, shops, and advertise in papers during his stay in hopes to get enough people interested in managing the Tabard Inn Library exchange stations to setup distributing branches throughout the country.[14]
Distribution: Books were delivered using a combination of express companies via train and wagon, along with a fleet of horse-drawn wagons owned by the Booklovers' Library.[15] Books were delivered to the homes of members.[12]
Excess inventory: The sales department would sell the returned books no longer used at stations on a clearance list, as they had already earned a profit.[16]
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Booklovers Library bookplate -
Booklovers Library bookplate
Finances
The Tabard Inn Library was a corporation of its own, and reported a capital of $1,500,000 in July 1902.[12]
In April 1903, Booklover's Corporation was capitalized for $2,600,000 with 260,000 shares. $1,900,000 had been paid already, with 70,000 shares available. 20,000 were being offered at $10 and 50,000 at $12. The company had been paying dividends at 10% per year since August 1, 1900. Dividends were paid in February and August each year.[6]
Financial Trouble
The company started running into financial trouble in March 28, 1905, when J. P. Lippincott & Co., the Macmillan Company, D. Appleton and Company, Curtis and Company, Evanson and Sons, and the (Midland Retail Company[10] or Midland Metal Company[17]) filed five separate legal concerns with the Booklovers' and Tabard Inn Libraries.[10] Seymour Eaton claimed that the liabilities were less than $150,000 and the assets exceeded $12,000,000 spread throughout 2,000 cities, as well as 40 or so on trains and ocean steamships.[10]
Fixing security at $125,000, John H. Sinen, Charles Megargee, Levis and R. Thornton Eaton were appointed as receivers of the Philadelphia Book Store, and the Tabard Inn Press.[18] R. Thornton Eaton was appointed as receiver for Tabard Inn Shops and Studios, Tabard Inn Druggist Specialty Company, and Tabard Inn Food Company at $60,000 by Judge Holland.[18]
The board of directors of Tabard Inn Corporation decided to reorganize on March 30, 1905 by issuing bonds secured by stock in some of the subordinate companies.[11] The companies that went into receivership would be discontinued, but the liberty and magazines would be continued, and the discontinued companies would be solvent.[11] The Tabard Inn would be purely literary moving forward without sales of groceries, soaps, perfumes, etc.[11]
References
- ^ Eaton, Seymour. "[Booklovers Reading Club] The Catalogue of Foreign Literature Part I: French". Kuenzig Books. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ Blanck, Jacob (1906). "Tabard Inn Library Collection". Library of Congress Online Catalog. Tabard Inn Library. LCCN 93108751. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
- ^ Mr. Homegrown (January 26, 2022). "Netflix Before Netflix: The Tabard Inn Library". Root Simple: low tech home tech. Root Simple. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Schaefer, Ellen Mary (June 1904). The Fiction Question in Public Libraries (PDF) (Master's thesis). University of Illinois. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Bowerman, George F. (November 1903). "Booklovers Library Books in Public Libraries – The Experience of One Library". Library Journal. 28. American Library Association: 772–773. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Seymour Eaton (April 14, 1903). "The Booklovers Library: Some Facts and Figures". The Times Dispatch. Vol. 1903, no. 16214. Richmond, VA. p. 2. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ Seymour Eaton (November 27, 1903). "Dan Black - Dorothy Clark". The Times Dispatch. Vol. 1903, no. 16406. Richmond, VA. p. 7. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "The Booklovers Magazine". The Booklovers Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 1. Philadelphia, PA: The Library Publishing Company. January 1903. p. 1. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "Appleton's Booklovers Magazine". The Appledon's Booklovers Magazine. Vol. 7, no. 1. Philadelphia, PA: D. Appleton and Company. January 1906. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Associated Press (March 28, 1905). "Receiver Named for Tabard Inn". The Times Dispatch. Vol. 1905, no. 16803. Richmond, VA. p. 3. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Virginia Chronicle.
- ^ a b c d "Tabard Inn To Reorganize". News Leader. Vol. 11, no. 78. Philadelphia, PA. March 31, 1905. p. 10. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Virginia Chronicle.
- ^ a b c William E. Roach (July 25, 1902). "The Tabard Inn Library". The Richmond Dispatch. Vol. 1902, no. 16000. Richmond, VA. p. 4. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ MacInall, Edward (August 11, 1904). "Dr. Edward MacInall". The Times Dispatch. Vol. 1904, no. 16615. Richmond, VA. p. 6. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
- ^ Mr. William E. Roach (July 24, 1902). "To Have Stations Here". The Times. Vol. 17, no. 143. Richmond, VA. p. 8. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ Nix, Larry T. (October 25, 2008). "Seymour Eaton's Libraries". Wisconsin Library Heritage Center. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ Sales Dept. (February 1908). "Bargain House for Books". The Library Journal. 33 (2). The Tabard Inn Library: xxxvi. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Associated Press (March 28, 1905). "Tabard Inn In Trouble". Daily Press. Vol. 10, no. 71. Newport News, VA. p. 7. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Virginia Chronicle.
- ^ a b "Receivership For Tabard Inn Concerns". The Evening News. Vol. 11, no. 75. Roanoke, VA. March 29, 1905. p. 6. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Virginia Chronicle.