The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume XVI, No. 6 [‎404r] (160/232)

hat one must
it when the
ys; a proud
stantial and
:ry time the
to the house
E so authori-
Britannica"
that, besides
he drawing-
which it is
braryaswell
ang-room, a
d more im-
oom than it
jefore.
,econd place,
is Gift, what-
should be the
;s kind; all
things, all
and “ Brum-
and sham is
nst the spirit
i as. You are
; to get the
>ff something
hether it is to
!d rather send
ing it within
D.
•e getting the
real standard
rs who made
• time. Lord
[r. Bryce, the
Bishop of London and Canon Farrar, Sir William Crookes and
Sir Archibald Geikie, Sir Walter Besant and Mr. Morley—all
sorts of famous men were amongst the contributors ; not writers
only, but; men who have played a stirring part in the history' of
our generation. These men made it a book to which all
English-speaking writers and readers refer and defer, a book
that decides disputes and settles doubts. It is quoted in the
newspapers every day, it is the book to which the most learned
men turn first when they want to look up a new subject it is all
human knowledge brought together for every reader’s daily
use.
FIRST PAYMENT 5/-
Another quality to be looked for in a Christmas gift is that
it should be something not easily matched, and this is pecu
liarly true of the “ Encyclopaedia Britannica.” It is sold now
for a very small price, and upon very easy terms of payment,
because the Daily MUil, by arrangement with The Times (for
this is the famous Times reprint of the “ Encyclopaedia’ that
you are offered), is selling a limited number of sets at little more
than the actual manufacturing cost of the volumes. But when
this chance is gone, the “Encyclopaedia” cannot again be
offered upon such terms. It will again be a book which men of
moderate means cannot afford to buy. The person to whom
you send it for a Christmas present will see other men buying it
at a price very different from the price you can get it for to-day.
You are giving a present that in the ordinary course of business
costs twice as much as you will pay for it now.
The last point to consider, and it is a very important point, is
that you do not want to choose a Christmas gift that will
either make too great a drain upon your ready money (of which
no one has too much at just this time of year), on the other
hand, saddle you with a vague burden of debt. If you buy at
a shop a handsome present on credit, you cannot be at ease
until it is paid for. You buy it with a loose sort of under
standing that you will not be harried and hurried about the
payment; but the shopkeeper may afterwards be short of
mpney, or may change his mind about the time he wishes to
give you, and you may be asked to pay for the present at just
, Tk
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the time when it is least convenient for you to pay. If you
buy the “ Encyclopedia ” there is none of this uncomfortable
uncertainty. You pay 5/- in cash when you send your order ;
after that you pay 12/- a month—which works out at the rate
of less than sixpence a day. That is not hard to do ; you
know precisely where you stand. It is a straightforward
transaction, and leaves you independent. No one can ask
you for a five pound note at an awkward moment when
you have no money to spare. It is easy to save sixpence
a day ; so easy that at the end of the month you can hardly
remember that you had made the slightest effort to save it ;
and that is the end of the matter.
There is the case in a few words.
MONTHLY INSTALMENTS OF 12/-
But it is not all you want to know. You want to know what
the volumes look like, how they are bound, what sort of a
bookcase it is that the Daily Mail offers you with the books
(included in the 12/f a month ; it is all one transaction). You
want to know all about the payments you have to make ; you
want to know how it is that the book is sold for only half the
publisher s price. On the next page you will find a printed
slip, which will save you the trouble of writing a letter. It is a
request for information. It needs only a half-penny stamp and
an envelope—and by return of post you will get the information
you want. You will receive a prospectus that gives a full,
clear and vivid account of the “ Encyclopa:dia Britannica,”
containing specimen pages, extracts from a number of articles,
as well as examples of the coloured plates and other illustra
tions, in short a miniature of the great book. You bind
yourself to nothing. If you send the enquiry form the Mail
will reserve a set of books for a day or two, until you have had
time to decide.
But you ought to send at once, for there is no time to lose.
You only have until Dec. 15th, and even before then people
who want the Best Christmas Gift may have sent in their
orders so fast that your chance will be gone. Only a certain
number of sets can be had for this present Christmas. Next
Christmas there will be no such chance. It is a bargain that
must be secured «£>w, if you are ever to secure it, and you
should send for details at once.
V
OVER