Thank you for the extensive reply!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrustratedReader
Final point:
In formatting or editing a Public Domain work, it's normal to keep the usage of the author and only correct obvious OCR or typesetting errors.
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In this case, though, as often, I do not have access to the first edition (this had been in serialized form in a pulp magazine), and even less to the author's manuscript or typescript - so, all I have is a text that has already gone through at least two previous editing processes (or three, if you include the OCR proofreading), which may have modified the author's original text.
(Also, though I know it's considered to be objectionable, I treat dead authors the same way that I treat living ones whose texts I edit - that is, I ask them about what seem to be issues to me, and they usually either say something like "oops, that's been a mistake," or "I haven't really thought about it and don't care, do it one way or the other," or, "yes, this was definitely deliberate, don't dare to change it." With dead authors, of course, this dialog just happens in my head ...)