PREFACE
FEW enterprises are more liable to misunderstanding than a work of this character. The main trouble arises from confounding it with books in general. A large, elegantly-bound volume--maybe a History of the World, or of some particular Nation, or embracing a scope of interest to a very considerable portion of mankind, in the gathering of material for which the continuous time and labor of but one person have been employed, and the sales of which are equally extensive and continuous with the very general and comprehensive nature of the whole--such a volume, we say, finds purchasers at so low a price as to make that asked for a work of the kind herewith presented seem disproportionately large.
Perhaps it is a work of fiction that is offered the purchasing public.
Very well; the "Novel" is sumptuously bound, artistically illustrated, and contains a great number of closely printed pages; yet its price per copy is even less than that for which the Publishers offer their HISTORY OF WESTERN IOWA. Hence, not infrequently individuals leap unthinkingly to inadequate and necessarily hasty conclusions, such as, that the price asked is exorbitant, and so on, for quantity. Such a mode of overleaping reasonableness naturally leads to depreciation of the enterprise, and per consequence, many highly creditable works, having begun their career with a "damning by faint praise," have ended it in unthinking condemnation.
Now, it is not the intention to argue or philosophize. We herewith present the results of half a year's diligent labor, which has occupied the entire time and attention of a number of competent men--labor not of the most inviting kind, but of a sort akin to drudgery. And not only time and work, but money also to a not inconsiderable amount, has been expended. The Publishers ask you to remember that the HISTORY OF WESTERN IOWA has been compiled for you; that its sales are limited almost wholly to that portion of country the facts concerning which it recounts; that, were it possible to send the books broadcast over the country, and sell them in every city, village and hamlet, the selling price could, and would, be proportionately reduced. The work is intended mainly for home consumption; the expense is large, the sales disproportionately small. In presenting this work to the citizens of Western Iowa, we do so at the very lowest possible margin of profit, and that, even, problematic.
With these remarks, we trust we have established relations of friendly understanding with every candid patron. The nature and plan of the work were fully explained in the PROSPECTUS, to the promises of which we have endeavored strictly to adhere. There are errors, of course, no book was ever published
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PREFACE
that did not contain errors. These are most likely, in this instance, to occur in the Biographical Departments of the work. The persons approached by a member of the Publishing Staff in many instances themselves unintentionally give incorrect information; the historian has no other means of knowing, and so, trusting to the accuracy of the informant--especially as the matter sought is of personal concern to the informant himself--he "makes a note" of it, and transcribes it for the HISTORY. Hence, patrons should judge leniently concerning such errors as may appear; for, in both the matter of compiling and printing, no pains have been spared to insure the strictest accuracy.
It goes without the saying, that it is not to the interest of either the Publishers or their employes to pervert the facts in any case to the help or hurt of any one.
And so, asking only a recognition of the difficulties, risk and unavoidable obstacles in the way of such an undertaking, we launch the HISTORY OF WESTERN IOWA upon the sea of popular favor, confident that it will meet with a reception in some degree commensurate to its merits.
Very Respectfully yours,
THE PUBLISHERS
March, 1882.
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