|
 Chekhov A.P. Razskazy. Short stories. [Happiness. —
A Typhus. — Van’ka. — The Pipe. — Rolling stone. — A problem. —
Steppe. A tale. — A slime.. — The privy councillor. — the Letter [the
preliminary name — Laymen, at the last minute has changed!] Fifth book
of collected stories. St. Petersbourg, in A. Suvorin’s printing-house,
1888. [2], 367 p.p. First edition. A copy with the autograph of the
author to Vasily Nikolaevich L’vov for kind memory and as a token of
deep respect from the author. A.Chekhov. 1901, IV, II. Contemporary
half leather binding. In-12°. N.K. Sinyagin’s copy.
The fifth collection of A. P. Chekhov's stories issued during his
life. When Anton Pavlovich returned from Petersburg on March 22, 1888,
he was busy to prepare a new collection. It is introduced by his story
Happiness. The writer paid a great attention to this work and
dedicated it to poet Yakov Polonskiy, who had already sent to Anton
Pavlovich a great poem At the Door dedicated to him. On March 25,
1888, Chekhov wrote to Ya. P. Polonskiy: «I am issuing a new
collection of my stories. This collection will include my story
Happiness, which I consider the best of my stories. Please let me
dedicate it to you.» On March 19, famous writer V. M. Garshin died
tragically by throwing himself downstairs of the house, where he
lived. He was severely and hopelessly ill. His death shocked the
contemporaries. The general leitmotiv of this Chekhov's collection was
his response to this event. The certain prime work of this collection
is Steppe, so it was sold in two months, now we would call it the
best-seller! The Stories were published by A. S. Suvorin in May and
June of the same year. This book included eleven stories. The
miserable circulation was only 1500 copies. It is the most rare! It
cannot be found on sale as it won the great success and then sustained
twelve issues from 1888 to 1899. It is not held by Smirnov-Sokolskiy
and Kilgour Collection; Mesier holds the issues of 1889 and 1892. For
some twelve years, A. S. Suvorin was almost the exclusive publisher of
Chekhov's books that guaranteed to Chekhov some minimum to survive in
the case of terminating his medical practice and full reliance on the
earnings from literature. But here, probably, one cannot overestimate
the importance of the publisher of New Time. He was hardly tending to
some excessive profit but it was the structure of his publishing firm
set up so profit gaining that for all the years, when it published
Kashtanka, Gloom People, Country Men, Kiddies, etc., Chekhov at the
most moderate calculations gained half of the amount, which he could
earn from another publisher, especially if we take into consideration
that Suvorin, with his usual omission, published books carelessly and
with such long intervals, which resulted in actual loss of the author.
Already after the writer's death, as if summarising the results of
business relations with him, Suvorin wrote that for some ten years he
had paid Chekhov 36 thousand roubles for his published books. He
referred to the following publications: in 1887 for collection In the
Twilight (sustained 12 issues), in 1888 for collection Stories
(sustained 12 issues), in March 1890 for collection Gloom People
(sustained 8 issues), in July 1891 for re-issue of Motley Stories
(sustained 11 issues), in December 1891 for novelette Duel (sustained
8 issues), in 1892 for story Kashtanka (sustained 6 issues), in
February 1893 for collection Ward No. 6 (sustained 6 issues), in April
1897 for collection Plays, and in July 1897 for collection Country
Men. My Life (sustained 6 issues). Moreover, in series Cheap Library,
he published two issues (in 1889 and 1890) of collection Kiddies. But
for this Chekhov earned the page fee (50 roubles per page, for each 5
thousand copies). The circulation of these issues are known (1000
copies), only his collections Plays and Stories (second issue) had a
twice as large circulation. Therefore, one can easily calculate the
gross nominal value of issued Chekhov's books (the price per book was
fixed as 1 rouble). The exception was made only for the nominal prices
of collection Plays (2 roubles) and story Kashtanka (50 kopecks). The
total price of these issues amounted 62 thousand roubles, not
including 5500 roubles earned by Suvorin from A. F. Marx as a
compensation for the blank pages of unfinished issues. Therefore, one
can easily make sure that Suvorin paid the writer more than a half of
the amount gained from sale of Chekhov's issues. At that time, this
was quite fair. Furthermore, Suvorin lent money to Chekhov, which
loans often helped the writer. However, he was less and less eager to
do this in time. So, in April 1896, Chekhov was informed by his
brother Alexander in clear perplexity that when he sent to Suvorin his
request of 1000 roubles to be lent under the issue of play Sea-Gull,
he was rejected: «... he (i. e., you) is lying everything. I have not
promised him anything. He is such a strange person: speaks so that you
would not understand whether he is telling the truth or joking».
Despite of Chekhov's personal references to the scale of Suvorin's
publishing business, it was run, in fact, so carelessly and
«predatorily» that sooner or later the writer should realise no
prospects of business relations with him. The tendency to bind Chekhov
to New Time was accounted for by more important reasons for Suvorin
than the profits from Chekhov's books. Moreover, Suvorin demonstrated
himself simply as an improvident businessman, when he did not accept
the proposals of Chekhov «to take the right of publishing and selling»
at 7000 roubles all his books to be issued by the publisher for ten
years. Suvorin motivated his rejection with the interests of the
writer himself and by the fact that he would lose a lot under that
agreement. But Chekhov was disappointed by such an answer: «You are
writing that I would earn 20 to 30 thousands from these books.
Wonderful. They say also that I would get in paradise. But when will
it happen? Meanwhile, I wish to live in present, enjoy the sun you are
writing about». It happened in August 1893, in the year, when Chekhov
was not published any more by New Time. Suvorin issued Chekhov in the
following terms: the writer paid full the costs of issue and
book-selling discount (usually 30 per cent or, in some cases, up to 40
per cent) gaining all the remaining amount upon deduction when the
issue was sold. (Afterwards, Suvorin paid Chekhov the monthly advance
of two hundred roubles.) All the books were printed for assumption of
several issues. In the course of their sale, these blank pages were
attached and sent to shops as the following issue. The price of books
was fixed by Suvorin so that it was at least by two times cheaper than
other books of the same volume issued by this firm.
The author was interested in faster realisation of each issue of his
book as he gained income only from re-issues. However, these re-issues
were sold not so well as the first ones because by the moment of their
realisation a new collection of the same author was published. This
practice was more profitable for the publisher than for the author. In
addition, the shops of New Time were not especially eager to
distribute Chekhov's books. That is why when Niva publisher A. F. Marx
made a proposal to him to sell the copyright for the issued works and
fixed the amount, which seemed rather acceptable for Chekhov, the
latter agreed at once. As we know, Anton Pavlovich studied from 1879
to 1884 at the Faculty of Medicine of the Moscow University and should
know Vasiliy Nikolaevich Lvov, who graduated a year before him and
remained to work at the University.
Brief biographic reference: Vasiliy Nikolaevich Lvov
(January 22, 1859 - January 26, 2007, Moscow), a historian and
zoologist, graduated from the Division of Natural Sciences at the
Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Moscow University with the
candidate degree in 1883, master of zoology (1883), doctor of zoology
(1886), extraordinary professor of the chair of zoology at the Faculty
of Physics and Mathematics (1906), head of embryological laboratory.
At the Moscow University, he read lectures on animal histology and
embryology. Embryology was the field of his scientific interests. He
wrote very important works on studies of lancelet chord development,
which resulted in appearance of new theories on the role of embryonic
sheets in formation of chord. The title of his master thesis was A
Comparative Anatomic Study of Fish Chord and Chord Shell. The title of
his doctor thesis was Formation of Embryonic Sheets and Origin of
Chord and Mesoderm in Vertebrates.
Reference literature:
1. Smirnov-Sokol’skii, Biblioteka, (to be absent).
2. Kilgour, (to be absent).
3. Masanov, I.F. Bibliography of works of A.P. Chekhov. Moscow, 1906,
p. 22. |
