It was almost a century (1938) after Moby Dick was first published, but a historical case lamenting the same money-driven attitude is in The Principles of Art.

It was almost a century (1938) after Moby Dick was first published, but a historical case lamenting the same money-driven attitude is in The Principles of Art. "The fact is becoming notorious; publishers are ceasing to be interested in the reviews their books get, and beginning to decide that they make no difference to the sales."