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File:"Black Sun", by Edward Abbey (cropped).jpg

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Original file (1,251 × 1,349 pixels, file size: 176 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Edward Abbey photo from the first edition of Black Sun, circa 1969

Summary

[edit]
Description
English: Edward Abbey image from the first edition of Black Sun
Date Published 1971; apparently taken 1969
Source Photo from the Edward Paul Abbey Foundation. Cropped and gray scaled by me to match what was published.
Author Jacket Photo by Phillip Harrington
Permission
(Reusing this file)

No permission is required.

  1. First, the photo is a mechanical scan/photocopy from the original dust jacket and does not qualify for independent copyright protection.
  2. Second, the dust jacket was first published prior to 1978 without a valid copyright notice. Black Sun was first published in 1971; the hardcover book itself carried a copyright notice, so its contents remain copyrighted. However, the first-edition dust jacket did not carry a separate copyright notice. According to The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices: Chapter 2200, § 2207.1(C) at p. 15:  :"A notice of copyright on the dust jacket of a book is not an acceptable notice for the book, because the dust jacket is not permanently attached to the book. Likewise, a notice appearing in a book is not an acceptable notice for the dust jacket or any material appearing on that dust jacket, even if the book refers to the jacket or material appearing on the jacket."

At least two sources can be used to verify the dust jacket's lack of a copyright notice:

  1. An AbeBooks listing (direct back cover link) that contains the front and back cover.
  2. An EBay listing that contains images of all the parts except the back cover.

Keep in mind that the pre-1989 requirements for copyright notice were highly formalistic and, other than a few enumerated exceptions, required these three elements:

  1. "The symbol © or the word 'Copyright' or the abbreviation 'Copr.' or an acceptable variant such as "(c)";
  2. "The year of first publication for the work"; and
  3. "The name of the copyright owner, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner."

If just one of these elements is omitted, the work is deemed to be published without notice and is not eligible for copyright protection. Neither the year "1971" nor a copyright symbol (or any acceptable variant) appear anywhere in a part of the dust jacket. Credits like "Jacket design by Paul Bacon" do not meet the requirements, nor do the identifications of the publisher and author.

Adapted from File:To Kill a Mockingbird (first edition cover).jpg.
Other versions
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: "Black Sun", by Edward Abbey.jpg
original file

Licensing

[edit]
This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:


Public domain book jacket
This image is in the public domain because it is of a book dust jacket first or simultaneously published in the United States between 1930 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice, or between 1978 and 28 February 1989, inclusive, without a notice and subsequent registration with the Copyright Office within 5 years.

Per the 1973 Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices 4.3.1.II.d and 4.4.3.IV, removable dust jackets are treated as separate works from the books they cover. The same is said in the 2014 Compendium.[1]

For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart. Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death),[2] and those that do but do not interpret a failure to comply with formalities as an expiration of a work's term of protection.[3]


  1. See Chapter 2200, § 2207.1(C) at p. 15:
    "A notice of copyright on the dust jacket of a book is not an acceptable notice for the book, because the dust jacket is not permanently attached to the book. Likewise, a notice appearing in a book is not an acceptable notice for the dust jacket or any material appearing on that dust jacket, even if the book refers to the jacket or material appearing on the jacket."
  2. These include Canada (70 p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 p.m.a.), Mexico (100 p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties.
  3. France is one such example. See 17 December 2009 - Cour de cassation - Pourvoi n° 07-21.115.
The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current18:33, 22 August 2025Thumbnail for version as of 18:33, 22 August 20251,251 × 1,349 (176 KB)Star Manatee (talk | contribs)Image
18:31, 22 August 2025Thumbnail for version as of 18:31, 22 August 2025993 × 189 (25 KB)Star Manatee (talk | contribs)File:"Black Sun", by Edward Abbey.jpg cropped 19 % horizontally, 90 % vertically, 92 % areawise using CropTool with precise mode.

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