Publicity of Spiritist communications.

— The question of the publicity of Spiritist communications is the complement of the general organization that we treated in our previous issue. [Organization of Spiritism.] As the circle of Spiritists widens, mediums multiply and, with them, the number of communications. For some time now these communications have undergone a notable development as regards style, thoughts, and the breadth of the subjects treated;

they have grown together with science itself, and the Spirits regulate the level of their teaching according to the development of ideas, as much in the provinces and abroad as in Paris, as is attested by the numerous samples sent to us, some of which have already been published in the Review.

In giving these communications, the Spirits have in view general instruction and the propagation of the principles of the doctrine. This objective would not be attained if, as we have said [in the article cited above], they remained hidden in the folders of those who receive them. It is, therefore, useful to spread them by way of publicity. From this will result another very important advantage: to prove the concordance of the spontaneous teaching given by the Spirits on all fundamental points and to neutralize the influence of false systems, by proving their isolation.

— It is, then, a matter of examining the mode of publicity that can best attain this objective. For this, two points must be considered: the means that offers the most chances for the extension of publicity, and the conditions most suited to producing a favorable impression upon the reader, whether through the judicious choice of subjects or through the material arrangement. By not taking into account certain requirements, sometimes of pure form, the best works often die in their infancy. This is the fruit of experience; certain publishers have, in this respect, a tact that gives them the habit of the public's taste and allows them to judge infallibly the probabilities of success of a publication, leaving aside the intrinsic merit of the work. The development that Spiritist communications are taking places us in the material impossibility of inserting them all into our Review. To embrace the whole panorama, it would be necessary to give it such an extension that it would oblige us to sell it at a price unattainable for many people. It becomes necessary, then, to devise a means of supplying them under the best conditions for all. To begin with, let us examine the pros and cons of the different systems that might be employed. 1st Local periodical publications – They present two drawbacks: the first, that they are almost always restricted to the locality; the second is that a periodical publication, having to be supplied and distributed on fixed dates, requires bureaucratic material and regular expenses, which must be provided for in any case, on pain of interruption. If the local newspapers, which address the general public, often have difficulty surviving, with all the more reason a publication addressed to a restricted public, since it would be to delude oneself with the vain hope of counting on many subscribers from outside, especially if such publications were to multiply. 2nd Local non-periodical publications – A society, a group, the groups of a same city could, as they did in Metz, gather their communications into brochures independent of one another and publish them on undetermined dates. From the financial point of view this mode is incomparably preferable to the preceding one, because it implies no commitments and one is always free to stop whenever one wishes. But there is always the drawback of the restriction of publicity. To spread these brochures outside the local circle, there would be need of expenses for advertisements, before which one often recoils, or a central bookshop, with numerous correspondents to take charge of them. But here another difficulty presents itself. Booksellers, in general, do not willingly concern themselves with works that they do not themselves publish; on the other hand, they do not wish to clutter their correspondents with publications of no importance to them and of uncertain sale, often made under poor conditions of sale by their format and price and which, besides the drawback of displeasing the correspondents, would oblige them to bear the costs of return. These are considerations that the majority of authors, strangers to the trade, do not understand, not to mention those who, finding their works excellent, are astonished that no publisher should be eager to publish them. Those who print them at their own expense should bear in mind that, in spite of the advantages they may offer to publishers, the work will have to await those interested if, given the peculiarities of the trade, it is not in marketable condition. We beg the pardon of our readers for entering into such material details on the subject of celestial things, but it is precisely in the interest of the propagation of good things that we wish to guard ourselves against the illusions of inexperience.

3rd Individual publications by mediums – All the reflections above naturally apply to the isolated publications that certain mediums might make of the communications they receive. But, besides the fact that most of them cannot do it, these have another drawback: it is that, in general, they have a stamp of uniformity that makes them monotonous and would harm their sale all the more the more they multiplied. They would be attractive only if, treating a determined subject, they formed a whole and presented an ensemble, whether they were works of one or of several Spirits. These considerations are not absolute and there may certainly be exceptions, but we cannot help agreeing that they rest upon a basis of truth. Moreover, what we say does not aim to impose our ideas, which everyone is free to consider or to refuse. Only, as one does not publish anything except in expectation of a result, we feel ourselves obliged to set forth the causes of disappointment.

— The drawbacks we have just pointed out seem to us completely overcome by the central and collective publication that Messrs. Didier & Cie are about to undertake, under the title of Library of the Invisible World. It will comprise a series of volumes, large in-18 format, of seven printing sheets, or about 250 pages, at the uniform price of 2 francs. Each volume will have its order number, but will be sold separately, so that enthusiasts will be free to choose what suits them most and best, without the obligation of acquiring them in their entirety. This collection, which has no fixed limits, will offer the means of publishing, under the best possible conditions, the mediumistic works obtained in the various centers, with the advantage of a very vast publicity, by means of the correspondents. What this house will not do by means of isolated brochures, it will do by means of a collection that may acquire great importance. The name of Library of the Invisible World is the general title of the collection. Nevertheless, each volume will have a special title to designate its provenance and subject, benefiting the author without his having to interfere in the proceeds of the works that are foreign to him. It is a collective publication, but without reciprocal bonds among the producers, in which each one enters at his own account and risk, taking advantage of the common publicity.

In this collection the editors do not commit themselves at all to publishing everything presented to them. On the contrary, they expressly reserve to themselves the right to proceed to a rigorous selection. If accepted, and provided they satisfy the conditions of format and price, volumes published at the authors' expense may form part of the collection.

Personally, we are entirely foreign to the whole of this publication and to its administration; it has nothing in common with the Spiritist Review, nor with our special works on the matter. Here we give it our approval and our moral support because we judge it useful and because we consider it the best avenue opened to mediums, groups, and societies for their publications. We shall collaborate in it like the others, at our own account, assuming responsibility only for what bears our name. Besides the special works we may furnish to this collection, we shall give it, under the particular title of Spiritist Portfolio, a few volumes composed of selected communications [v. Philosophical Spiritism], whether among those obtained in our meetings in Paris, or among those sent to us by mediums and by the French and foreign groups that correspond with us and did not wish to make personal publications. Emanating from different sources, these publications will have the attraction of variety. To them we shall add, according to circumstances, the observations necessary for their comprehension and development. The order, classification, and all the material arrangements will be the object of particular attention. Such publications not aiming at our personal benefit, our intention is to apply the rights that may fall to us, for the care we shall give them, to the benefit of the free distribution of our works on Spiritism, to the persons who cannot acquire them, or to any other use judged useful for the propagation of the doctrine, according to conditions that shall be fixed subsequently.

This plan seems to answer all needs and we do not doubt that it will be welcomed with sympathy by all the sincere friends of the doctrine.

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[v. Catalog of books that may be used to establish a Spiritist library — Catalogue raisonné des ouvrages pouvant servir à fonder une bibliothèque spirite - Google Books.]