Bram Stoker's Snowbound source

flavo5000 · Post by **flavo5000** » August 16th, 2022, 2:44 pm

Hi, I just had someone interested in recording Bram Stoker's Snowbound, a book that itself is certainly in the public domain, having been released in 1908. The only source I've been able to find for the book is here:
http://www.bramstoker.org/stories/02snow.html

Each of the stories are included on their own page as plain text or PDF where the sentence "This document is in the Public Domain" is clearly labeled at the beginning of each story. The top of the Index page also lists the 1908 copyright date.
Is this acceptable to read from?

Post by **TriciaG** » August 17th, 2022, 5:36 am

The index page mentions different editions. The first edition was 1908, but the first hardcover edition was in 1978.

The text doesn't clearly state which edition was used in the transcription. For that reason, I would be hesitant to approve this text source. Perhaps one could an email to bramstoker.org asking them which edition was used? And if they could put that info with the text itself, it would be a good thing.

The text says it's PD, but it doesn't say WHERE it's PD. If the site is in the UK, they may simply be stating that it's PD in the UK.

flavo5000 · Post by **flavo5000** » August 23rd, 2022, 5:35 am

TriciaG wrote: ↑August 17th, 2022, 5:36 am The index page mentions different editions. The first edition was 1908, but the first hardcover edition was in 1978.

The text doesn't clearly state which edition was used in the transcription. For that reason, I would be hesitant to approve this text source. Perhaps one could an email to bramstoker.org asking them which edition was used? And if they could put that info with the text itself, it would be a good thing.

The text says it's PD, but it doesn't say WHERE it's PD. If the site is in the UK, they may simply be stating that it's PD in the UK.

I e-mailed the site administrator and asked about this. He said that the site is hosted in the US and the public domain claim applies to the US copyright.

I also did some independent digging on my own. Snowbound has only ever been reprinted once in 2000. That edition uses the original text as-is with no additional copyright registration on any modifications made. It only contains a new introduction and annotations which are copyrighted separately. So I would think regardless of which edition he transcribed the text from, it should be in the public domain.

Post by **TriciaG** » January 25th, 2023, 5:37 pm

As mentioned in the other thread, there are more than just the original and the 2000 editions (which has an editor credited, which is suspicious in itself). Since it doesn't state which edition was used, it's not an acceptable source.

A scan of the work is probably the best bet - but, like you, I haven't found one online.