Moving Mrs. Ward

Ever since we began as booksellers in 1997 odd books have called out to me, so it’s little wonder I’m in possession of a sixteen volume set entitled The Writings of Mrs. Humphrey Ward. I bought them in 2010 at the Case Western Reserve University book sale on half price day for $40  because I vaguely remembered something about the author and because the set, published in 1909, was confined to less than 500 copies and she had signed the first book. Actually it wasn’t really anything about the author specifically that surfaced in my mind, it was more her name. I’d run across it somewhere and at the time thought to myself, “WHAAAT? She didn’t even have a first name of her own, so she had to borrow one?” Little wonder when it turned up at Case it caught my attention instantly. As I perused the volumes I vaguely remembered that she was British and a big deal in her day -- emphasis on in her day of course. Think  Danielle Steel meeting the 22nd century and that about sums it up.

As it turns out, Mrs. Humphrey Ward did have a name of her own -- Mary – and Mary is the name she used to autograph Volume I. I listed the set at $350 whereupon it sat unnoticed online while the books themselves sat equally unnoticed in a box in the closet of Moira’s old room taking up an unconscionable amount of floor space for almost two years. But all of that changed yesterday when an order arrived from ABE from a British customer. As soon as I saw the address I figured it would never go to completion because the shipping would be horrendous  for 16 volumes. Which of course it was –$130 worth of horrendous, in fact. All day I weighed my options. ABE allows the seller to ask for additional postage for sets and heavy books, so I could quote the full $130 and hope for the best while knowing full well the order could also tank. If the buyer declines it’s over – you either ship it for the amount originally quoted in the listing for one book and pay the difference, or you reject it.

Normally in situations like this I will quickly reject it because I’m confident someone else will buy it, which is usually what happens. But Mrs. Humphrey Ward (Mary) isn’t exactly a household name these days. Virtually nobody even knows that she was related to the poet Mathew Arnold (his Dover Beach is one of the few poems from which I can quote whole passages),  so even an illustrious connection won’t improve her amazon ranking. But still I needed to know more about her to make a good decision, so I launched a little research project to get the skinny on Mary. Turns out she was a sensation in England and immediately repeated the stellar performance in the United States. In 1903 the New York Times reported her novel Lady Rose’s Daughter the number one bestseller of the year. The novels are deeply religious and two serve as a platform for the anti-suffrage movement  for which Mrs. Humphrey Ward served as president of the Anti-Suffrage League,  a fact which speaks volumes to why she chose not to use her own first name, even professionally.

Suddenly a  massive infusion of clarity had zapped the decision-making process. The  books needed  to go  -- NOW – because it could easily be another two years or more before a  second buyer shows up, if at all.  I have very little invested in them and could afford to think outside the box to ensure a sale. So in the end  I did something unprecedented – I made a deal with the buyer. I would absorb 45 per cent of the shipping if she paid the rest.

She agreed and we completed the transaction, both of us happy. I know it sounds like a lot of “give” on my part, but look at it this way. Even with the commission on top of the postage and the $40 paid to buy the set I still made a $200 profit.

AND -- this is the gratifying part -- I  moved Mrs. Ward!

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