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Old May 31st 07, 02:11 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
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Posts: 46
Default Detective Book Club oddity

Francis A. Miniter wrote:

Today I came across a learthette bound book from Walter Black. This was
the "Works of Tolstoi" bearing a copyright of 1928 (presumably for the
translation). But the condition of the book looked much more recent than
1928.


Interesting. I notice the copyright date they used on their Maigret titles
was the date of the original, rather than the date of the translation.
Anyway, the thing about reprint companies like this is that, since they
generally don't give a printing date and only use a copyright date, it's
well-nigh impossible to pin down the exact date of publication.

How do/did Walter Black distribute? This series is a "book club", so I'm
guessing it would be a subscription thing, right? If so, then these
leatherette and/or limited editions might have been special offers to
members, or inducements to become a member. They might have chosen their
most popular title(s) for this treatment, hence the OP's "vintage" volume in
a series of "current" mystery stories.

John

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