[BOOKSELLING AND PYRAMID SCHEMES]. Catalogue of the National Library Association, a Union of Book Buyers. Organized in 1885 and Incorporated Under the Illinois State Laws

4to. 182, [2] pp. With woodcut-engraved illustrations throughout. Original gray printed wrappers (chipped, more prominent at the foot of spine; stains on front cover and first 18 pages - SEE IMAGES). A sound copy, suitable for exhibition and study. NOW VERY LITTLE KNOWN, THIS SCARCE AND GIGANTIC AMERICAN BOOK CATALOGUE WAS ONE OF THE VEHICLES FOR A NOTORIOUS AND LITIGIOUS PYRAMID SCHEME WHICH HAS SOME SEMBLANCE TO TODAY'S SUBSCRIPTION BOOK CLUBS. The perpetrator was a shadowy figure name George W. Borland (1851 or 1852-1931) of Chicago; according to legal records he was frequently sued and lost; after filing for bankruptcy he simply reformed his companies under different names. Borland claimed that his subscription services eliminated the middlemen, and as the present amazing "stock catalogue" shows, his firm offered to members desirable books published by Harper Brothers, Appleton, Scribner's, Houghton Mifflin, Lippincott, and many others at slashed prices. In order to achieve such savings, his National Library Association continually recruited new members, who had to pay the so-called "subscription fee" and were enticed with discounts and prizes to recruit friends, families, schools, libraries, church congregations, etc. Apparently Borland and his cohorts were complete scam artists; in the year 1884 alone, Borland et al. were the subjects of major lawsuits, the judgments of which resulted in massive losses (approximately $100,000 = $3.5 million today). Consequently, these crooks simply reformed under another name and relaunched their enterprise. Contemporary newspaper and legal records show that Borland continued to lose cases from creditors such as Bradner, Smith & Co. (in 1891 -- the year in which the present catalogue was issued -- the judgment was $1491). In 1896, after the name was changed to National Merchants' Supply Co., he was forced into bankruptcy following by a lawsuit from Felix, Marston & Co. Sidney Huttner, in his innovative "Lucile Project," describes some of the consequences of Borland's dubious activities (including his involvement with the National Library Association). In its hall-of-shame "Trade Embarrassements" column in Bradstreet's Weekly: A Business Digest, vol. 10 (July 5, 1884) p. 13, Borland's name appears not once but three times: 1). G.W. Borland & Co., book publishers, assigned to W. N. Lee, having previously confessed five judgments for $40,439. 2). Chicago Installment Book Co. and George W. Borland & Co., the proprietors of it, closed by sheriff on confessed judgments for $40,690, and both assigned to W. N. Lee. 3). Fairbanks, Palmer & Co., publishers, closed by sheriff. It is said they held papers of G. W. Borland for $40,200. The catalogue also provides an excellent well-illustrated guide to the myriad of works available for the literate public during the 1890s, including -- but certainly not limited to -- Atlases and Maps, Historical Works, Art and Art History, Juvenile Works, Architectural Books, Law Books, Agriculture and Floriculture, Medical Books, Photograph Albums, Mechanical Books, Biography, Music and Music Books, Books On The Civil War, Bibles, Building, Industrial Arts, Poetry, Political Economy, Government, Book Binding, Prayer Books and Hymnals, "Cheap Books," Religious and Theological Books, Cookbooks, Housekeeping, Shakespeare, Fiction, Self-Improvement, Dictionaries, Sports, Games and Amusements, Essays and General Literature, Science and Philosophy, Textbooks, Testimonials, Foreign Books and Periodicals, Travel, Discovery and Adventure, Temperance Books, Works of Reference, Gift Books, Wit And Humor, Writing Paper, Tablets, etc. We have been unable to locate any useful information about Mr. Borland; even a cursory bio-bibliographical exposé of his antics is merited. Our copy (like all others?) has the date altered in type: 18[91] with the latter two digits printed in a slightly different font. Of this 1891 edition, Worldcat locates 3 copies (Grolier, AAS, UVA; there is also.…