"As would be expected, [The Cost Book of Carey & Lea] gives the production cost information for most of the books published by Carey & Lea during this thirteen year period. Since Carey & Lea may well have been the country's largest and strongest publishing house at that time, and since it was publishing America's and England's outstanding contemporary authors, the value of this cost information is considerable. Aside from the use which bibliographers can make of the details given here concerning composition, press work, binding, and printing offices, other literary historians will welcome details concerning author payment, size of editions, and specific dates of publication." -- Introduction.