Instituting Bestsellers: The First Ten Years of "Sales of Books During the Month"

Abstract

Abstract: In February of 1895, the first American bestseller list appeared in the inaugural issue of the Bookman under the unassuming title of "Sales of Books During the Month." Though scholars have used the Bookman list as a reference point in studies of reading trends, there has been no sustained consideration of its specific form and influence. This article seeks to supply both, providing an institutional history while also locating the bestseller phenomenon within a larger turn of the century publishing context, including early experiments in advertising. Focusing on the first ten years of the Bookman list, from 1895–1904, this analysis relies in part on a database of every title which appeared on the list during that time, comprised of over 21,000 entries. This approach allows for new perspectives on how questions of homogeneity and simultaneity, inherent to bestseller discourse, played out across turn of the century American landscapes.