• CHRISTIE’S
    Valuable Books and Manuscripts
    London auction
    13 December
    Find out more
    Christie’s, Explore now
    TREW, Christoph Jacob (1695–1769). Plantae Selectae quarum imagines ad exemplaria naturalia Londini in hortus curiosorum. [Nuremberg: 1750–1773]. £30,000–40,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    VERBIEST, Ferdinand (1623–88). Liber Organicus Astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas restituate. [Beijing: Board of Astronomy, 1674]. £250,000–350,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ALICE & NIKOLAUS HARNONCOURT. Master of Jean Rolin (active 1445–65). Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, [Paris, c.1450–1460]. £120,000–180,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    A SILVER MICROSCOPE. Probably by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), c.1700. £150,000–250,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    AN ENGLISH HORARY QUADRANT
    C.1311. £100,000–150,000
  • ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
  • Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Roberts (David) & Croly (George). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumae, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Lond. 1842 - 1843 [-49]. First Edn. €10,000 to €15,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Incunabula: O'Fihily (Maurice). Duns Scotus Joannes: O'Fihely, Maurice Abp… Venice, 20th November 1497. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: An important file of documents with provenance to G.A. Newsom, manager of the Jacob’s Factory in Dublin, occupied by insurgents during Easter Week 1916. €6,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: WILDE (Oscar), 1854-1900, playwright, aesthete and wit. A lock of Wilde’s Hair, presented by his son to the distinguished Irish actor Mícheál MacLiammóir. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Heaney (Seamus). Bog Poems, London, 1975. Special Limited Edition, No. 33 of 150 Copies, Signed by Author. Illus. by Barrie Cooke. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Binding: Burke, Thomas O.P. (de Burgo). Hibernia Dominicana, Sive Historia Provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis Praedicatorum, ... 1762. First Edition. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: COLLINS, Michael. An important TL, 29 July 1922, addressed to GOVERNMENT on ‘suggested Proclamation warning all concerned that troops have orders to shoot prisoners found sniping, ambushing etc.’. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Scott Fitzgerald (F.) The Great Gatsby, New York (Charles Scribner's Sons) 1925, First Edn. €2,000 to €3,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Limited Edition, No. 46 of 375 Copies Only, Signed by W.B. Yeats. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of the Russian Empire, Description in English and French, Lg. folio London (S. Gosnell) 1803. First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of Turkey, Illustrated by a Series of Engravings. Lg. folio Lond.(T. Bensley) 1802. First Edn. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Mason (Geo. Henry). The Costume of China, Illustrated with Sixty Engravings. Lg. folio London (for W. Miller) 1800. First Edn. €1,400 to €1,800
  • Sotheby’s
    Fine Books and Manuscripts
    8 December 2023
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: [Austen, Jane] — Isaac D'Israeli. Jane Austen's copy of Curiosities of Literature. 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition in boards of the author's debut novel. 70,000 - 100,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Brontë, Charlotte. "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me..." 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Eliot, George. The author's magnum opus. 25,000 - 35,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Whitman, Walt. Manuscript written upon the Death of Lincoln, 1865. 60,000 - 80,000 USD

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - June - 2022 Issue

Reimagining Winnie the Pooh - Like You Never Saw Him Before

Piglet and Winnie the Pooh sneak up on the unsuspecting damsel.

The subject of copyrights is back in the news as a bill has been proposed to Congress to reduce the length of copyright protection. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley's legislation has little to do with copyright principles. It is simply an attempt to revoke the Disney Company's copyright protection for Mickey Mouse as punishment for speaking out against anti-LGBTQ legislation. If Senator Hawley was paying attention, he would have known that the Mickey Mouse copyright is going to expire in another year anyway, but perhaps letting it expire naturally would mean missing out on an opportunity for grandstanding. Missed in all of this controversy is that every year copyrighted classics are seeing their copyrights expire naturally, and this year, another, perhaps even more cherished childhood figure, has had its copyright expire. Winnie the Pooh is no longer under copyright. The consequences are such that few would have foretold.

 

Winnie the Pooh is becoming the star of a new movie, but this time, no approval of a copyright owner will be needed. The filmmaker is free to treat Winnie however he pleases. This version is being made by Jagged Edge Productions, not a big name in the field. They make low-budget films. They have garnered no Oscars, not even a nomination in the past. For a peek at what type of film this may be, among their other films are the classics Easter Bunny Massacre and The Curse of Humpty Dumpty. As you might guess, they make horror movies, but mixed with some humor based on the absurdity of the premise.

 

Their latest film is titled Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Jagged Edge Productions has not announced a release date, nor have they said much about the film, though they have released some stills from the trailer. Between what has been released, and an interview of director Rhys Frake-Waterfield in Variety, we have learned a little. Christopher Robin has gone off to college, abandoning his stuffed animals to fend for themselves. Left to their own devices, the they do not work together to resolve their problems. Instead, they devolve, acting like the children from Lord of the Flies. Piglet and Winnie work together as a team, but we learn that by the time the cameras start rolling, they have already killed and eaten Eeyore. Eeyore thought his life was hard before. There are worse things than losing a tail.

 

Fortunately, Tigger escaped the dynamic duo. It's not because tigers are more dangerous. Tigger came along a little later so he is still under copyright.

 

As you can see from the photo, Pooh and Piglet do not much look like you remember them. They are not cuddly. As Director Frake-Waterfield explained, they have essentially gone feral. Pooh no longer wears his bright red sweater but there is another reason for this. That appeared in the later Disney version of Winnie the Pooh which is still under copyright. They did not want to use any attributes of the characters that are not in the public domain. The Director points out that no one will confuse his version of the story with Disney's and I agree he has a good point there.

 

In the scene shown above, the typical horror movie beautiful woman relaxes in a hot tub, unaware of the viscous killers behind her. We learn that they chloroform her, drag her out, and run over her with a car.

 

“Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff. He's Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. Willy nilly silly old bear.”*

 

 

 

Lyrics copyrighted by the Walt Disney Music Company.


Posted On: 2022-06-01 05:47
User Name: bukowski

Disgraceful butchering of a classic tale by Philistines and charlatans.


Posted On: 2022-06-08 19:54
User Name: drwatson

Can't wait for the next iteration of Lassie.


Posted On: 2022-06-27 00:08
User Name: keeline

This instance has been used by others to say that what a shame it is that some copyrights lapse and items pass into public domain. However, this kind of "adaptation" did not have to wait for a copyright phase to conclude. Under U.S. law it would fall under "Fair Use" as a "parody." Remember that since the "Wind Done Gone" case, it was shown that parodies do not have to be "funny."

There are still trademarks that apply to characters like these and if there is a lawsuit, it will likely be on that basis.

Already some "enterprising" "publishers" have reissued the first books in the Hardy Boys from May 1927. Their copyright does not expire until 1 Jan 2023 so they are about 7 months early but will the copyright and trademark holder (Simon & Schuster) take notice? Perhaps not since they have not exercised any limits on the film and TV adaptations of their properties by WB, Hulu, or especially CW.

As far as the red shirt goes, that is a canard. Yes, it is part of the Disney depiction but it is not unique to them. Other versions have had a red shirt before the Disney animation.

Is this an "in your face" because the producer/director does not like the fact that copyright expire — after 95 very long years? Or is it something else?

Remember that many of these properties are Public Domain in the UK and Commonwealth countries based on the death dates of Milne and Shepard. Similar is true for A.C. Doyle and the Fleming Bond novels. Only in the U.S. do we have the impossibly long terms for these works.

Plus, at the time they were produced, the absolute maximum the creators and publishers could expect was 56 years — a 28-year first term with a renewal term of 28 years more IF a form was filled out and a fee paid. In the 1970s and 1990s publishing interests got Congress to unfairly extend these by nearly 4 decades more.

If one cannot make a living in 56 years from a property, how is 95 years for a work for hire going to encourage anyone to do more work. Remember that you can't encourage a dead person to make more works.


Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Important Modern Literature from the Library of an American Filmmaker
    8 December 2023
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Kerouac, Jack. Typescript scroll of The Dharma Bums. Typed by Kerouac in Orlando, Florida, 1957, published by Viking in 1958. 300,000 - 500,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Hemingway, Ernest. The autograph manuscript of "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." [Key West, finished April 1936]. 300,000 - 500,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Miller, Henry. Typescript of The Last Book, a working title for Tropic of Cancer, written circa 1931–1932. 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Ruscha, Ed. Twentysix Gasoline Stations, with a lengthy inscription to Joe Goode. 40,000 - 60,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Hemingway, Ernest. in our time, first edition of Hemingway’s second book. 30,000 - 50,000 USD
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, A New Map of Texas, Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining, Philadelphia, 1846. $3,500 to $5,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: 17th–19th-century case maps of various locations. $1,500 to $2,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Andreas Cellarius, Haemisphaerium Stellatum Boreale Cum Subiecto Haemisphaerio Terrestri, celestial chart, Amsterdam, 1708. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Vincenzo Coronelli, Set of engraved gores for Coronelli’s monumental 42-inch terrestrial globe, Venice, circa 1688–97. $18,000 to $22,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, group of four navigational charts, Antwerp, 1580s. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Thomas Bros, Block Book of Berkeley, Oakland, 1920s. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Nieuhoff & John Ogilby, An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, map of China, plan of Canton, London, 1673. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Frederick Sander, Reichenbachia, St. Albans, 1888-1894. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Two early illustrated works on horsemanship and breeding, Nuremberg, early 18th century. $700 to $800.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Gould, A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans. Supplement to the First Edition, London, 1834; 1855. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, London, 1808–14. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Oakley Hoopes Bailey, Hackensack, New Jersey, Boston, 1896. $800 to $1,200.

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