Birthday Books.

Birthday Books. These had their origin by the issue in 1866 of the Birthday Scripture Text-book by Mr W. Mack, bookseller, Bristol, who was also its joint-compiler. The success of the idea was immediate, and up till 1888 about a million copies of this book alone had been sold, in various sizes, besides the sale of about half a million of other kinds issued by him at a later date. His plan, which was soon widely imitated by other publishers, was to issue a daily Scripture text-book, and so to interleave it that there should be opposite each day sufficient space for the autographs of several friends. It thus served the double purpose of a reminder of the birthdays of friends and an autograph-book. A Shakespeare birthday book followed, and soon all the chief poets and prose-writers were laid under contribution for this purpose. The idea was extended to include illustrations, and the Princess Beatrice furnished fifteen water-colour designs for a birthday book, which were reproduced by chromo-lithography.