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There are various ways to read the publisher's records to gain an idea of the rate at which books left the publisher for the public—none produce the same result. All the records account for the book by parts so that a single bound book is treated as 20 parts. There are records of payments made for stitching copies (no telling if for parts or book issue), but apparently some copies were sold unstitched. There are half-yearly summary reports of numbers sold (no telling whether as parts or book-form), but these figures were determined, apparently, by subtracting the numbers currently in hand, presented, given to the author, etc., from the number in hand at the beginning of the six month period plus any new printings; hence, the number "sold" seldom if ever equals a number divisible by 20 parts, which if that were the case might indicate all sales were of whole books. So it is not clear whether the number recorded as sold accurately reflects the sale of partial runs in parts or simply approximates the numbers sold in book-form. Finally there are six-month records of the form of copies remaining in hand: so many parts in quires, so many stitched, so many in cloth binding, and so many "P.O." (a label I do not understand identifying figures which sometimes are divisible by 20, sometimes not and ranging from 3 to 242).

The following chart provides half-yearly summaries of the records of disbursement and analysis of stock in hand in parts in order to demonstrate the ways any bound copy of the book might combine sheets from separate printings as a normal product of the manufacturing process—making it, incidentally, solecistic to speak of the "impression" or "state" of a given copy of Vanity Fair as a whole. The usually discrete production stages of book publishing (printing, binding, selling) intermingle in serial publication to produce bewildering combinations.

130

Ending Date of Half-Year Reporting Period:	June 47	Dec 47	June 48 Dec 48}	June 49	Dec 49	June 50	Dec 50	June 51	Dec 51	June 52	Dec 52
Number of Parts
In Hand at Beginning:	----	10016	10868	4245	30304	25425	20206	19258	15605	14418	11953
Printed During Period:	37000	25000	92250	40000	----	----	----	----	----	----	----
Total Parts Available:	37000	35016	103118	44245	30304	25425	20206	19258	15605	14418	11953
Sold:	25717	22972	96961	13941	4879	5219	948	3653	1187	2465	2411
Otherwise Disposed of:	1267	1176	1912	----	----	----	----	----	----	----	40
Total Parts Disbursed:	26984	24148	98873	13941	4879	5219	948	3653	1187	2465	2451
Number of Parts
In Hand at End: Quired:	6694	8450	3145	28289	24187	19245	17897	15067	12729	11165	8506
Stitched:	2722	1718	558	460	231	331	411	251	426	198	226
Bound:	----	----	300	1420	900	580	900	200	1220	540	660
P.O.:	----	----	242	135	107	50	50	87	43	50	46
Other:	600	700	----	----	----	----	----	----	----	----	64
Total Parts Remaining:	10016	10868	4245	30304	25425	20206	19258	15605	14418	11953	9502

Ending Date of Half-Year Reporting Period:	June 53	Dec 53	June 54	Dec 54	June 55	Dec 55	June 56	Dec 56	June 57	Dec 57	June 58	Dec 58
Number of Parts
In Hand at Beginning:	9502	7338	6536	4470	4753	6662	6069	5362	6785	8415	7956	7310
Printed During Period:	----	----	----	1000	3000	----	500	2000	3500	----	----	----
Total Parts Available:	9502	7338	6536	5470	7753	6662	6569	7362	10285	8415	7956	7310
Sold:	2144	802	2066	717	1091	573	1207	577	1870	459	646	485
Otherwise Disposed of:	20	----	----	----	----	20	----	----	----	----	----	----
Total Parts Disbursed:	2164	802	2066	717	1091	593	1207	577	1870	459	646	485
Number of Parts
In Hand at End: Quired:	6629	6022	2762	3788	5675	5583	4896	6284	8125	7554	6696	5562
Stitched:	276	191	214	188	177	66	102	117	170	80	74	58
Bound:	280	160	1340	620	500	320	240	200	60	260	440	560
P.O.:	89	99	90	93	90	60	64	84	----	42	40	65
Other:	64	64	64	64	220	40	60	100	60	20	60	580
Total Parts Remaining:	7338	6536	4470	4753	6662	6069	5362	6785	8415	7956	7310	6825

131

Ending Date of Half-Year Reporting Period:	June 59	Dec 59	June 60	Dec 60	June 61	Dec 61	June 62	Dec 62	June 63	Dec 63
Number of Parts
In Hand at Beginning:	6825	5687	5228	4585	3724	3991	3743	3646	3429	3286
Printed During Period:	----	----	----	----	1000	----	----	----	----	1000
Total Parts Available:	6825	5687	5228	4585	4724	3991	3743	3646	3429	4286
Sold:	1098	459	643	861	733	248	97	217	143	602
Otherwise Disposed of:	40	----	----	----	----	----	----	----	----	20
Total Parts Disbursed:	1138	459	643	861	733	248	97	217	143	622
Number of Parts
In Hand at End: Quired:	5437	4776	4166	3458	3698	3498	3430	3110	3058	3356
Stitched:	60	182	54	71	33	27	65	64	84	63
Bound:	60	180	220	80	140	100	40	180	80	180
P.O.:	70	50	65	55	60	58	91	55	44	65
Other:	60	40	80	60	60	60	20	20	20	----
Total Parts Remaining:	5687	5228	4585	3724	3991	3743	3646	3429	3286	3664

Ending Date of Half-Year Reporting Period:	June 64	Dec 64	June 65	30 June 65
Number of Parts
In Hand at Beginning:	3664	5833	5251	5005
Printed During Period:	6500	----	500	----
Total Parts Available:	10164	5833	5751	5005
Sold:	4331	582	746	5005
Otherwise disposed of:	----	----	----	----
Total Parts Disbursed:	4331	582	746	5005
Number of Parts
In Hand at End: Quired:	5389	4942	4965	----
Stitched:	----	42	----	----
Bound:	420	220	40	----
P.O.:	24	47	----	----
Other:	----	----	----	----
Total Parts Remaining:	5833	5251	5005	----

The Smith, Elder Publishers account books record 5,001 parts including 2 bound copies received from Bradbury and Evans in June 1865. In 1865 Smith, Elder printed 7,391 more parts and in 1866 they printed 5,000 more, yielding 17,392 parts available. These were bound into 865 bound copies leaving 92 odd parts. In 1868 they printed 250 more copies of the whole book. The Smith, Elder accounts of the first edition of Vanity Fair were closed out in 1883.