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Originally Posted by tomsem
Anything on Project Gutenberg has to be in the public domain. So you will only find things based on print editions that are 80 years or more old (exact oldness varies depending on regional rules as to what constitutes 'public domain').
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I'm not sure of the copyright of the abridged edition. It's an American edition, so it might have been printed when American publishers were reprinting books from overseas without paying the authors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsem
If these happen to be abridged editions, the blame resides with the person who contributed it to PG. Someone needs to do the unabridged edition and contribute that. (why have abridged editions on PG at all?)
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The contributor might not have known. There is no mention that it is abridged except for some vague line about "editing" in the text at the beginning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsem
It's interesting that there were abridged editions, presumably with blessing of the publisher. But these exist even now, for some contemporary books (indeed, there are platforms that offer these exclusively). Some great books are very long and there are people without time to read them who make do with condensed versions to at least have some sense of what they are about.
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I think some publishers might have specialized in edited/abridged editions. There was probably a need/desire to put out abridged editions for readers who might have been put off by a longer text. Or because of cost concerns.
Interestingly, my abridged edition was printed by Western Printing and Lithographing Company in Racine, Wisconsin. They are still around. Today, they are known as Western Publishing, and they are best known for the Little Golden Books.
