Sunday.
My Dear Osgood—
That concern is not going to bust, I reckon. They have sold 4,000 copies of my old books in the 3 months ending Dec. 31.
Have examined their inventories, & find their liabilities $80,000, & their assets $84,000. No copyrights are mentioned as assets. They’ve got everything inventoried away up yonder! One of their “assets” (continued from year to year,) is a debt of Bret Harte’s! ($2,000.) Others are considerable sums which the impecunious distant relatives of the late publisher owe. The plates of my six books are inventoried in the aggregate at $8,300. They ought to have been inventoried as old type metal—& inferior at that. I think they would have come nearer the truth if they had made their assets $50,000.
My books (cloth) are set at a cost of 50¢ for Sawyer, & 65 & 70 for the big books.
Ys Truly
S L C
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