User talk:Rtrace/Archive8

The Collector's Book of Virgil Finlay

I've been entering content for art book featuring Virgil Finlay, and just finished up the Gerry de la Ree and Charles F. Miller books. I'm not tackling The Collector's Book. I imported the content you provided. I've submitted one change so far, for Burn, Witch, Burn!, replacing your note with one containing the reference to the original pub (<a href="...). I intend to go through the rest of the content, mostly to correct/change some of the content in the other Finlay books. For example, I couldn't tell which piece of art "Voyage of the Neutralia" in both de la Ree's and Miller's pubs fit, just that it was in one of three issues of Weird Tales; the Garcia pub shows it was from the November 1937 issue. But as I go through the content, I may want to modify them as I did the "Burn" item. Is this acceptable to you? Bob 00:50, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

That's fine. I generally don't link those sorts of references, but I have absolutely no objection if you wish to do so. I have not finished going through the book yet and still need to review the titles from page 112 to the end. This is why I haven't copied the contents to the "trade" edition yet. I also would have brought the content to your attention once I had finished. I may find errors and things that need to be made into variants or notes that need to be added. You've probably got a better collection to cross reference with. Aside from the Garcia, I've got the Grants and the items from last year's World Fantasy Con. We also both have the Shakespeare portfolio and I was going to ask you if you would object to my adding the individual plates in place of the overall interior art title. Some of them are reprinted in the Garcia as well as the WFC pubs. BTW, if you need me to identify a specific item where I've got the magazine, do feel free to ask. I'll be happy to try to find it by the description. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:10, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Fine with me; if you don't enter the contents to the portfolio, I would anyhow. I've got a lot more Finlay stuff to enter yet, including 2 Japanese and 1 Spanish hardcovers and some fanzines. I won't go past p. 112 in Collector's until you've had a chance to get them in shape. Lots to do and no sense in getting in each others' way. Bob 18:44, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

First question. In Startling Stories, July 1952, "Passport to Pax" has 3 Finlay illustrations. You've shown the one on p. 20 of Collectors' Book is [2]. All three appear in other Finlay books. Which one shows a man and woman flying? Which one shows six hands with eyes pointing at a man's head in the center? Bob 00:12, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

The man and woman flying is the first illustration. The hands with eyes is the third. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:32, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Cartoon double?

A Happy New Year! I have found what could be a new publication of an older title, see here and here. Christian Stonecreek 09:26, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Happy New Year to you also! Indeed they are the same cartoon. Thanks for finding this. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:27, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

World Fantasy Convention 2014 Finlay Illustration

Would you please briefly describe the Finlay illustration in World Fantasy Convention 2014, p. 72? Bob 20:23, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

There is a copy of it here. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:46, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Uhoh. You've called that a variant of "The Last Vial (Part 2 of 3)", but it's "The Last Vial (Part 3 of 3)", the first illustration in Part 3 (or at least part of it) in the January 1961 issue. One of the few pulps I own is the copy of Amazing Stories containing Part 3. Is it possible that the same illustration appears in both the second and third parts? It seems more likely to me that an editor made a mistake and the second editor copied it.Bob 04:06, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Feel free to re-point it to the correct parent title. I had made it a variant of the December 1960 illustration based on its appearance here, which indicates it is from the December 1960 issue. I think it more likely that the credit is incorrect. I'll go ahead and adjust the date of the variant title as well. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:17, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Winter of the Llangs

I've started editing the entries to Collectors' Book with Winter of the Llangs. I appealed to SWfritter for more information on 3 or 4 of the early illustrations in the pub, and this was the first one where he first entered 2 additional illustrations for the story and then described them so I could assign the one in Collector's Book to the third one. I'll continue to try to identify those Finlay illustrations in stories with multiple illustrations, but expect progress to be slow since I have to depend on others for the information. I expect to be working all year on art books anyhow, so I'm in no big hurry. Bob 18:53, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

The Last Pharaoh

Ron, I see you verified the four issues of Weird Tales containing this story illustrated by Finlay (May through August 1937). Each has one illustration. Could you please describe each one? All four are in the Finlay art books. Bob 20:00, 15 January 2015 (UTC)

Sure. You can see the drawing from the May issue (part 1) here; June (part 2) and July (part 3). I can't find a scan of the illustration for part 4. The drawing is of a woman in Egyptian dress standing in front of several figures (idols?), including a rhino, lion and monkey. She is also amongst flames. In the foreground there is a man, stoopedm wearing a vest and grasping a scroll in his left hand. He is seen from the back. Hope this helps. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:15, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Perfect! Thanks, Ron. Bob 15

53, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

Charled Hidley

I'm writing about a name that I found in the listing of The Collected Captain Future: Man of Tomorrow, Volume Two. I have a facsimile reprint of Thrilling Wonder Stories February 1941, and in the letter column there is a letter by Charles Hidley, while the Captain Future anthology has a reprinted letter by Charled Hidley. Could the second name be a misspelling of Charles Hidley's name? I'm afraid the confirmation or correction of this weighty and world changing bit of information falls squarely on your shoulders as the primary verifier has gone walkabout. MLB 02:17, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

I was going to continue the mock seriousness of this inquiry, assuming this to be a simple data entry error, but it is actually "Charled". I found a facsimile of the Captain Future issue here (though there appear to be issues with the scan) and it appears to be "Charled" in the original magazine. Assuming your Charles is also from New York, I'd assume they are the same letter writer and even go so far as to assume "Charles" is canonical, though that is only an educated guess. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:27, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

As an ex-letter hack, I know that tracking down the id of a pre-World War II letter hack is probably pretty low on anybody's priority, I know it's pretty low on mine. I have found another letter of his in a facsimile, and because my OCD kicked in I just thought I'd ask. Think I should variant this entry, or just get a life? :-) MLB 05:32, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Does your letter mention a New York return address? I also noticed that there seems to be a letter by C. Hidley in another publication you've verified. If these are all NYC or if the city isn't mentioned, I'd be inclined to make pseudonyms, perhaps with a note that we're making assumptions. If the return addresses are entirely different, I'd suggest we refrain. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:24, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

I see I stumbled onto a heady discussion when I brought up the Charled/Charles question again below. Reason was, I was entering a letter by him written in Magazine of Horror #11 and noticed the discrepancy. I briefly debated whether to bother you with it until my OCD kicked in and there you have it. There was no address for his letter in MOH. Doug / Vornoff 01:27, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

I did a bit more digging and found a scan of the February 1941 issue of TWS here. It does have him at the New York address, so I'm going to assume it's the same guy. I wouldn't have worried if he had a different address in Magazine of Horror. It is possible that he could have moved within the intervening 24 years between letters. I'll make the variants. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:44, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

. . .Roads

Ron, you filled in the Finlay artwork in the memorial edition of The Ship of Ishtar. Would you consider doing the same thing for . . .Roads, at least for the new edition? Three of the illustrations appear in The Book of Virgil Finlay. I have no idea how many illustrations there are all together. Bob 23:59, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

Sure. It's a facsimile, so the illustrations are the same as the Arkham edition. The first (and repeated one) can bee seen here, number 2 is here, number 4 here, which is very similar to Finlay's Weird Tales illustration, but not exactly the same. Number 6 is here. I can't find a scan of the last one (number 8). It is smaller than the rest and has Santa and a woman surrounded by elves all with drinking horns. There is some fruit and a knife on a table in front of them, where one of the elves is also sitting. Hope this helps. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:28, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

Wonderful! Numbers 2, 4 and 6 appear in The Book of Virgil Finlay. Bob 22:16, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

William Rotsler in Discon II Program Book?

Hi Ron, is there any indication that the cartoon Princess of Light in the Discon II Program Book, as by "Rotsleroz", is by William Rotsler? It looks like a likely candidate for another Rotsler pseudonym. Thanks. PeteYoung 05:23, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

It's possible. Perhaps even likely. However, I really can't say for certain. I've spot checked other of his cartoons and they are generally signed with "WR". this piece is signed with his last name and that doesn't match the signature of Rostleroz which isn't signed per se, but rather printed in block letters. Also the style appears slightly different. It's slightly more realistic than his usual stuff. However, I wouldn't rule it out as being the same artist. I do know that Rostler collaborated with Gilliland. Perhaps this was a collaboration with some other artist. If you'd like to make this a pseudonym, I wouldn't disagree, but I'd suggest that we add copious notes that we're mostly guessing based on the similarity of the names. Some Worldcon program books give extensive art credits. Alas, this isn't one of them. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:01, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

On balance, probably best left as it is for now! Thanks. PeteYoung 08:29, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Lancer ed. of Conan the Adventurer

I'm holding a submission to change the date of this publication to 1966. Should I accept it? Mhhutchins 05:08, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

No, reject it please. My copy has 1967 as indicated in the notes. Perhaps he's got an earlier printing. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:47, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Actually, it appears that there was a 1966 printing and mind doesn't appear to be it. I've removed the secondary verifications that I had added and I'll ask Bill to do the same. They should be added back to a clone, which is clearly what the edit you're holding should have been. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:58, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

It's a new editor's first submission, so they probably are not aware of the proper procedure. I'll reject it and leave a message on their talk page. Mhhutchins 15:39, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

I've created a new record for the 1966 printing from Denholm's Lancer Checklist in Megavore 10. I see that he doesn't list a 1967 printing of this title. Mhhutchins 16:01, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

What's strange is that in October 2007, I completed a project using Denholm's checklist to create records for every missing Lancer printing in the database and to confirm the existing ones. So it appears that someone may have overwrote the date of the original record. Mhhutchins 16:08, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

It's possible that it could have been me, since my verification was from 2009. However, it could also have been that way when I got to it. I added back my secondary verifications that were on the other pub record. I'll let Bill move his. I'm at work now, but I'll add the Reginald index number to the notes when I get home tonight. If it was me, sorry for overwriting. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 16:44, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Change to verified pub " Pope Jacynth and Other Fantastic Tales"

This had "Fantastic" spelled as "Fatastic".--swfritter 22:34, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Alan or Allan Pollack

Can you confirm that "Allan" is credited for the cover art in this publication? (Most credits in the ISFDB are for "Alan".) If it's "Allan" please make a variant to the canonical name. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 18:01, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

There are 2 l's. I changed the cover of the reprint to his canonical name and left a note that the form of the name is not known and should be verified when a copy can be examined. Thanks for pointing this out. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:10, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

Abridged adaptations and translations of Oz novels

I've been cleaning titles from this report which finds works of fewer than 40 pages typed as NOVEL. The titles A-P and U-Z have been cleared and in the process I've run across several titles for "novel" adaptations of works by L. Frank Baum. Most of them have been sourced from reviews in the Baum Bugle issues which you have primary verified. So I'm assuming you created the records for these adaptations as well. It seems to me that the standards don't allow these adaptations to be varianted to the original novel-length works. As examples for how this relationship has been handled by other editors look at the CHAPTERBOOK sections on the summary pages for Robert Louis Stevenson and Mary Shelley. You'll see the many adaptations of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein, none of which are varianted to their original novel's title record. Looking at the pub records given on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a user will find not only abridgements but coloring books, pop-up books, and various items which are not the original work, and by ISFDB standards should not be varianted to the title record for that work.

I would suggest that these publication records be converted from NOVELs to CHAPTERBOOKs with SHORTFICTION content records. Not only will it de-clutter the summary page for the original novel's title record, but will make it clear to users that these other works are based on but are not actually the work created by Baum. I'd done a couple conversions to CHAPTERBOOK before I thought it best to bring it to your attention, and have held off doing any other pubs that are on the clean-up report. That report currently only lists pub records which give less than 40 pages in their page count fields. There are many more pubs which a) have no page count, or b) have between 40 and 100 pages that should also be converted. (The report will eventually be updated, increasing the minimum number of pages to qualify for it - roughly a hundred pages, I'm assuming.) Thanks. Mhhutchins 19:12, 5 February 2015 (UTC)

I completely agree that these should be changed to short fiction and will do so. Though, I'm in the middle of entering one of those pubs that involves many individual edits and I'm going out of town for 5 days beginning tomorrow, so it will be a while before I can get to addressing these. As for removing the variant relationship, I'm not certain there is an agreed upon standard. I did a search through the wiki on the word "abridged" and found several discussions (including this one between you and I that mentions these very titles). I found requests to build out a more robust relationship that includes things like abridgments, as far back as 2008. There seems to be consensus that abridged title records are related to the title from which they are derived and that the database should support that relationship, though it does not currently do so. I did find this old feature request, but I've been unable to find it's counterpart in Source Forge. So, it's unclear what the current status of implementing this request is. The question I have, is what is the best method of indicating the abridgment relationship until the ultimate feature is implemented. Rtrace^Talk 03:16, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

Until that feature is implemented (or if ever), the only way I can think of is placing the titles into a series. Variants only make it worse, because you would first have to break the variant relationship to then create a new relationship. Starting from scratch would be better Mhhutchins 05:51, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

Ideally whatever method we decide on should be something that could programmatically be converted to whatever data structure is ultimately implemented without having to manually re-edit all these records. Rtrace^Talk 03:16, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

That's sound ideal, but I can't imagine software that intelligent, unless we prepare the titles upfront, with some kind of code word in one of the fields. With so many thousands already in the database, I can see this being a manual job, with each one being updated as we come across them. For example, how would a relationship function know without manual input the relationship between Death and Designation Among the Asadi and Transfigurations? Mhhutchins 05:51, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

At a minimum, we'd want a easy to easily identify such abridgments. Since there is no documented standard on how to enter abridgments (or at least not one that I was able to find), it seemed to me that the best method reflect the relationship is by use of the variant with the addition of an "abridged" disambiguation in the title. This is very close to how we currently handle translations. Rtrace^Talk 03:16, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

I've said this many times before and will repeat it now: the variant function is already too overburdened. It has become a crutch, and one that is falling to pieces. I think Ahasuerus, bless him, had much pressure on his back to open the door to allow translated publications into the database, so much that he believed the fastest and easiest way to add translations was to piggyback it on the variant function. I would have been willing to wait for years until the relationship function was implemented, but he did what he felt was best at the time, and I can't fault him for that. (If I'm over-simplifying or rewriting history, Ahasueurs, please forgive me.) I believe then and still do that translations should never have been handled as variants, because it is a basic tenant of the ISFDB that variants are not based on text. The text of a variant work should basically be the same as its parent work. So how can a work in a different language be a variant of another work? If we had created this relationship function years ago, it could have been used to link translations as well as adaptations, abridgments, expansions, fix-ups, serializations, etc. Enter a title record number, use a drop-down menu to identify the relationship (1: abridgment, 2: adaptation, 3: expansion, 4: translation, etc.) and then enter the record number of the parent title. I'm not a programmer so I don't know how hard it would have been to add such a function to the database, but that seemed to be the way to go, in my ignorant and uneducated opinion. Mhhutchins 05:51, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

I worry less about variant being overused, or whether it we define it to mean identical texts or to include derived texts as with translations. However, it actually isn't ideal for handling translations as it doesn't allow us to indicate the translator, except in notes. The same issue would exist with abridgments and your point is well taken. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 15:46, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

Actually, the function could be designed to add a field for another role: translator, adapter, abridger, editor, etc. That's why pigeon-holing translations into the variant function was a bad move. An entirely new function could have been designed from scratch. Again, I don't know hard this would have been, but I personally would have been willing to wait. Having only one software designer is perhaps our Achilles heel. Mhhutchins 16:55, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

In my opinion, translations and abridgments are nearly identical in that they both are essentially re-writing a work in another form. If we were to only reflect the relationship in the notes for the abridgment title, I think it would be quite difficult to find all the abridgements for the parent work unless we have a very precise and deterministic way of noting it. Given that there is no current standard, finding all current abridgements only reflected in notes can't be easily done at all. I'd like to invite Ahasuerus to this discussion to ask what plans, if any, may be in the works for the old-style 2008 feature request and also what his opinion is on the best way to make these records easy to find when the feature is implemented. I do agree that the method I have used makes for a cluttered summary page and whatever approach is ultimately implemented for abridgments should probably allow the user to hide the abridgments when displayed. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:16, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I look forward to Ahasuerus joining the discussion as well. If we had established a way of flagging adaptations and abridgments years ago, then there would have been a way to link them to the original works programmatically. But there never was any serious discussion, and it was left to die on the vine. I don't think keeping them as variants now is going to help. Perhaps starting now and adding code words like "abridged", "adapted", "expanded", etc in the Note field of a title record will at least help in finding them in a search. Mhhutchins 05:51, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

I am kind of under the weather right now, but I will hopefully respond tomorrow after sleeping on it. Ahasuerus 06:04, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

No rush on my account. I'm out of town for the next few days anyway. I hope you feel better soon. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 15:46, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

I have been thinking about this issue, but there are other competing priorities and I am yet to come up with anything solid. FWIW, here are my thoughts so far.

It looks like we have two separate although in part overlapping issues here. The first one is adding the ability to associate "people with roles other than author/anthology editor" with title records. The list of these "roles" is long and includes translators, editors of single author books, cover designers, adapters, etc. The biggest challenge here is the ability to support co-translators/co-editors/etc as well as pseudonyms, including collective pseudonyms. Over the last couple of months I have come up with a possible approach, which will hopefully work for translators and should be extendable to other "roles". There may also be a related issue of supporting "roles" for people associated with publication records, but I haven't given it much thought yet and it may be overkill anyway.

The second issue has to do with linking related titles. The first question that we face here is whether we want to support "one-to-many" title relationships or whether we want to limit this functionality to "one-to-one" relationships. "One-to-one" relationships are fairly straightforward and include abridgements, adaptations (plays etc), expansions, revisions and so on. "One-to-many" relationships are more complex and include things like fix-ups where a single novel may be linked to multiple short stories.

Once we decide what types of relationships we want to support, we will need to make other decisions. For example, do we allow arbitrary relationships or do we limit them to a predefined set ("abridgement", "expansion", "adaptation", "revision", etc) which would be displayed to editors as a drop-down list? Also, what should we do about titles that have multiple relationships, e.g. "revised abridged" texts? Should we have a separate relationship for each permutation (which would make the list long and unwieldy) or should we allow multiple concurrent relationships between titles so that we could have "revised" and "abridged" specified separately? BTW, this is one reason why translations are somewhat different: you can have abridged or adapted translations, e.g. Alexander Volkov's adaptations of the Oz books or Brian Stableford's adaptations of numerous French novels.

Finally, how do we want to display related titles on Summary pages? Should we display them as independent entities with "[abridgement of Wizard of Oz by Joe Q. Author]" or "[fixup of X and Y"] next to them? Or should we display them together, similar to the way we display variant titles? It would seem that certain types of relationships like minor revisions/abridgements/expansions would look better if we could display them together. On the other hand, would it still work for significant alterations like 30 page abridgements of novels?

I should also add that we really ought to rewrite the database filing logic before we can implement whatever enhancements we agree on. Currently the approval logic for every submission type files data in its own way, which makes it hard to add new fields and especially non-trivial relationships. We need to centralize the filing logic so that there would be one place where title records would be filed, one place where publication records would be filed, etc. That's a fairly major change. Ahasuerus 18:36, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Almuric

In Weird Tales, May 1939 and the two subsequent issues, Finlay illustrated the story "Almuric". Would you please tell me which illustration shows a man amid multiple planets, surrounded by rings and rays? Bob 03:56, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

This is the one on page 66 which I believe is the one you're looking for. I can't find an online scan of the illustration on page 77, but it has a man in a loincloth looking into a jungle. The dimensions are roughly square. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:48, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Right on! Thank you for looking this one up. Bob 17:51, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

The Abyss Under the World

The story "The Abyss under the World" in Weird Tales, August 1937 and the subsequent issue was illustrated by Finlay. I notice you didn't label the illustration in Part 2 as being for "(Part 2 of 2)". Was there some reason for that? Which illustration shows a man swimming under water with a rope around his waste? Bob 19:57, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

I can't find a scan of the August 1937 image, but it is not the one you want. It has three men in modern dress observing a man in a toga descending from above surrounded by clouds. This is the illustration from the September 1937 issue, which I think is the one you want. I'll correct the title. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:48, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Again, this is indeed the right one. Someday maybe I'll learn how to spell "waist". Thank you! Bob 17:55, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

King of the World's Edge

In Weird Tales, September 1939 and three subsequent issues, the story "King of the World's Edge" was illustrated by Finlay. Can you tell me which illustration shows a bearded man's head and a flying bat? Bob 20:03, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

I can't seem to find any scans for these issues. It's not the September 1939 illustration which shows a bearded figure (I assume Merlin) in front of a tomb ("Here Lies Arthur"). The October illustration is the one you want. For sake of completeness, the November issue has a number of naked figures, all with long hair. In the foreground an old bearded man raises his left arm up. The December illustration has a scaled lizard-like creature rising from flames. My main reason fro describing all of these is in case you need to look them up for your ongoing work. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:48, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Thank you once again. I really appreciate the extra effort covering possible future needs. I still have a number of Finlay art books to enter, so it is indeed possible that this information will come in handy. Bob 18:02, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

"The Serapion Brethren, Volume II", by E.T.A. Hoffman

You had a small typo in your contents for this book. You had content items: Section V; Section Sixth; Section VI; and Section Eight. It seemed likely that the second "Section VI" was supposed to be "Section VII", and I verified that in the Google Books copy you cited there. Since I wanted to import those contents into another edition, I went ahead and made the correction. Chavey 16:09, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Collected Captain Future

Hi, Ron. I notice in your 2nd verified above pub on p.8 you have a letter from Charled Hidley. Did you mistype that instead of Charles Hidley or was it originally spelled "Charled"? It's got to be the same person. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 00:41, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Take a look at this discussion above. I am almost certain they are the same person and was asking MLB if the return addresses were identical before we made the pseudonym/variant. Both the reprint and and original letter have the name spelled "Charled". --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:52, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Letters to Captain Future

No good deed goes unpunished. So, I've been asked to ask you to check if

• Letter (Captain Future, Summer 1941): Otho, On Frontispiece is really listed as such, as my facsimile has it listed as Letter (Captain Future, Summer 1941): Otho On Frontispiece.

• Letter (Captain Future, Summer 1941): A I Work is really listed as such, as my facsimile has it listed as Letter (Captain Future, Summer 1941): A-I Work.

• Letter (Captain Future, Summer 1941): In Self Defense is really listed as such, as my facsimile has it listed as Letter (Captain Future, Summer 1941): In Self-Defense

• Is The Future of Captain Futurer (Captain Future, Summer 1941) really spelled that way. I **blush-blush** forgot to list this from my facsimile, although it is not spelled that way in my copy, and if it is misspelled, it can be corrected and then I can import it into my listing.

Sorry about this, but my variants have been put on hold 'til I contacted you. MLB 04:24, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

The three letters are all correct, except that I should not have capitalized "on" in the first letter, which I've now corrected. The essay was a typo on my part, and I've also corrected that. I suspect that your facsimile is closer to the original than the omnibus which has clearly been re typeset, and that appears to be how the variants were submitted, so we're good there. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:55, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

I'll accept the submissions. Thanks. Mhhutchins 19:11, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and the Fairy Chessmen", by Lewis Padgett

You verified this publication as a Collection. However, both works in that book are classified by us as NOVELs, which would make this an Omnibus. To be precise, it would make it this Omnibus, hence it seems that it should be merged with that title. Chavey 00:36, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

I thought we agreed that these were both novellas per this discussion. It looks like someone converted the SHORTFICTION entries to novels and in fact they both still have a story length of novella. Since both works are under 40,000 words, I think we should keep them as short fiction leaving the book as a collection. Was there a subsequent discussion that I missed? Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:26, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

"Weird Tales", June 1975

You verified this issue of Weird Tales as having interior artwork (on fep) by "Virgil Finley" (with an "e"). This is almost certainly by "Virgil Finlay" (with an "a"), but it's possible either that we spelled his name wrong, or they did, which requires different actions. Could you check on that? Thanks, Chavey 08:22, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

It was a typo on my part, and I've fixed it. I'll notify the other verifier. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:58, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Adventure of Second Lieutenant Bubnov

Earlier today the newly added Suspected Duplicate Authors report found this story by "Ivan Turganev" in your Bleiler-verified The Evening Standard Second Book of Strange Stories. The Note field said "Contents from The Supernatural Index", so I checked the Google Books version and found that it correctly spells the last name "Turgenev". Based on this information, I have changed the spelling of the author's name and merged the title record with its "Turgenev" counterpart. Ahasuerus 12:12, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

"Layefiky" or "Layefsky"

Can you confirm the author credit for the story on page 123 of this publication? We have the same titled story in the database credited to "Layefsky". Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 22:18, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Yes, the name is a typo, but it is a variant title anyway. I'll leave a note on the page of the other verifier of the Derleth collection. Assuming he agrees, we can change them all. I'll also go ahead and make the variant. If the other copy is under a "pseudonym", we'd have to split it out individually anyway. Thanks for pointing it out. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:47, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

It seems to me that the variant should be reversed, especially if you believe "Layefiky" is a typo. She's published a book as "Layefsky", so that would appear to be the canonical name. Also, if you make a variant record, one of the authors has to be made into a pseudonym, which has yet to be done. Thanks. Mhhutchins 18:53, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

I wasn't clear. The typo was on my part (or whoever entered the original copy of this anthology). Her name in my copy is "Layefsky". I hadn't changed the author's name on the title record yet because it would affect one other verified publication. I expect that "Layefiky" is purely a data entry error and that there will be no pseudonym once Don Erikson has had a chance to check his publication. If not, his would probably be the record that should be changed and would necessitate another variant (because of the pseudonym), but I'll be surprised if that is the case. So the edit to fix this is only half done pending Don's response. Sorry, looking back on my original response I realize "typo" is a bit ambiguous. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 19:54, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

I thought I did this already. The table of contents, the story page, and the acknowledgements page all say Layefsky.Don Erikson 19:44, 28 February 2015 (UTC)

Until we're certain that it's a typo or not, we shouldn't have created a variant record. I'll remove the variant relationship until we can determine if the records should be merged. Mhhutchins 02:36, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Please don't. The variant is still required because of the variation in title. "Moonlight—Starlight" is the parent title as that is how it first appeared. "Moonlight, Starlight" appeared later and should be the child. Assuming that Don verifies his has the author as "Layefsky", we can then simply update the author's name on the parent title. I doubt that we will end up with any title under the name Layefiky. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:21, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Keeping a variant without a pseudonym creates an error on a clean-up report. It only takes another submission (maybe five seconds) to create a variant if necessary. In the meantime the error is sitting on a clean-up report that I check every night until Don responds. I'll re-create the variant if you insist, and it will continue to show up in an error report. But I will at least variant it to the correct canonical name. Mhhutchins 06:02, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

The Best of Henry Kuttner - Cover artist

User Dirk P Broer posted a possible (debatable) credit for the artist of The Best of Henry Kuttner on most of the primary verifier's talkpages (looks like you were overlooked). The cover credit seems to have been changed in the meantime. Can you join this discussion? Thanks, --Willem 08:38, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

"Cameos", by Marie Corelli

You verified this publication, omitting two stories in the collection that were non-genre. I added those two stories, and marked them as non-genre - since we now have that capability. I also added story synopses for those two stories, and added a cover image. Chavey 23:17, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Lambshead Cabinet

Can you check page 303 of this publication record and confirm that the art and story are correctly credited? The story has been varianted to "Norman Taber" while the art is credited to "Norman Tabor". Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 02:27, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Both credits are as given. I'm going to go with "Taber" as the parent name as it appears that way in both the copyright credits and about the contributors, whereas "Tabor" appears only in the art credits once. Even so, that could easily be the wrong way around. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:34, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

That's fine, but it creates a canonical form of the name for which there are no actual credits in the db. Mhhutchins 07:21, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

True, but that existed before. "Dr. Galabrious" seems to me to be part of the Lambshead joke, and I doubt that it will ever be used again, except in that context. We could make the pseudonym canonical with Taber as the legal name. However, I think that would make linking potential future writings under his own name likely to be missed. If there were more than two titles, I might have approached this differently. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:25, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

A Specter Is Haunting Texas

Can you confirm the cover art credit in this record? The canonical spelling of the author's name is "Neal". Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 01:13, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

It was an error, which I have now corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:56, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Quadditch Through the Ages

This publication and this one are currently typed as NOVEL. That's obviously wrong because of their length, but would you consider them as SHORTFICTION (thus making the pub record into a CHAPBOOK) or non-fact NONFICTION? All of the publications under these titles will have to be changed to the same type, so I've asked the other verifier to join this discussion to determine what it should be. Thanks. Mhhutchins 20:05, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

IIRC, these are collections of fictional articles. Not the only titles we have with this problem - titles that would be sets of essays or factual articles in the world of the particular fictional series. I'd rather put them as NONFICTION - despite them being fiction - than chapterbooks, though if there was some way to put them as COLLECTIONs (without having to list each beast covered in Fantastic Beasts), that would be better. --clarkmci / j_clark 10:50, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

I'm uncomfortable with typing these as NONFICTION which doesn't fit the definition in this help section at all. However, I recall that there may have been a R&S discussion in the past. A search on NONFICTION doesn't come up with anything relevant. Does anyone else recall if we came up with a standard for how to deal with stuff that is clearly fictional, but would be nonfiction to the characters of other fiction? We seem to use SHORTFICTION without a story length for all sorts of things for which we don't have a title type (e.g. plays). Unless we have a consensus that the NONFICTION type is used both for fiction and nonfiction, I'd prefer we make these chapbooks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:42, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

At one point there was a discussion re: adding a new title type, "fictitious (or fictional) essay", but it hasn't happened yet. For now we just have to use "SHORTFICTION" for the clearly fictitious stuff a la Lem and "ESSAY" for "slightly fictionalized" articles. Ahasuerus 17:54, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

I've made the changes to Quidditch Through the Ages so we can see how it looks (I'm the only active verifier for that title). I've also converted the omnibus publications that contain only these two titles to COLLECTIONs. There is another omnibus that also contains a free standing collection, so I've left it as an OMNIBUS. If j_clark concurs, I can make the same edits to the Fantastic Beasts book. I don't really want to make that one into a COLLECTION. If part of that book is ever published as a standalone story, I would probably revise that opinion. However, I think that's unlikely. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:19, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Quidditch looks good. Hopefully Clark will respond soon so that you can convert Fantastic Beasts as well. Thanks. Mhhutchins 02:45, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

I've dug out my copies of Fantastic Beasts. There's several "articles" besides the numerous beast articles, so can easily do it as a collection without a long list of beasts (the beasts being covered by using the heading "An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts" as the title for that section); e.g. there's "A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts", "Ministry of Magic Classifications", "Why Magizoology Matters", even ignoring "Foreword by Albus Dumbledore" and "About This Book [by Newt Salamander]". COLLECTION is my preference. --clarkmci / j_clark 01:02, 1 March 2015 (UTC)

It's not my preference, but I can live with this as a collection. Unless someone else objects, please go ahead and convert your publications. I'll then import the contents into mine and convert it to a collection. Let me know if you'd like to change the other publications without active verifiers, otherwise I can make those edits. We should also change the collections that contain this one back into OMNIBUS since they'll now contain a collection. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 17:25, 1 March 2015 (UTC)

A seemingly independent discussion initiation has popped up, just as I was working on changing my first verified publication - this conversation --clarkmci / j_clark 07:58, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Fred Patton or Fred Patten

Can you confirm that this record is correctly credited? There is an article by Patten in "Oz and Ends" article in the 1969 issue and that is his canonical name. Thanks. Mhhutchins 07:21, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

It was a data entry error on my part. Now Corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:56, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

Bergman or Bergmann

Can you confirm the credit for the poem on page 22 of this publication? He's usually credited as "Bergmann". Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 07:23, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

Which is how the record title record is credited (and matches the credit in the magazine). Did someone fix my error between when you and I looked at it?. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:47, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

Answered my own question. Darrah updated it. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:52, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

Then it might be a good idea to let him know that a pseudonym and variant should have been created instead of "correcting" what wasn't an entry error. Thanks. Mhhutchins 18:47, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

No. We're good. "How he is usually credited", is what I was referring to by saying "Which is how the record is credited". I've got to stop answering these while I'm sipping my first cup of coffee of the day. I clearly can't be trusted to get my meaning across while under caffeinated. Sorry for the confusion. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 21:07, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

My apologies. I found an online version of the ToC and verified that Jennie's name was spelled correctly there (with two n's), so I just updated it. I think it was too late at night, and I didn't think to follow up with the verifier. And I might mention, she's a "she". (And a long time friend.) Chavey 00:03, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

No worries. Her name is spelled correctly with the poem as well. This entire edit seems beset by people either up too late or too early! --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:14, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

:-) Chavey 05:25, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Walter and Walters

Could the "Walters" credited for the cover art of this record possibly be the same as the Walter credited in other publications from the same publisher? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 17:27, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

It's credited as "Walters" on the dust jacket flap (the only credit). However, Chalker/Owings and Kemp's The Anthem Series both state that it is simply "Walter". It's almost certainly the same person. I skimmed Lloyd Eshbach's chapter on FPCI, but nothing jumped out at me. I'll make the variant. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:28, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

"Prince Zaleski and Cummings King Monk", by M.P. Shiel

I was doing a second verification on your verified publication. Since the first half of this collection is the same as the earlier collection "Prince Zaleski", and since there's an introductory page (page 1) saying just "Prince Zaleski", I added a content item of that Collection. I also added a note to the title rec trying to clarify this publication, and where its pieces came from. Chavey 18:42, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

Turns out, I can't do that -- the cleanup reports don't like a collection containing another collection, so I reverted this title to what it had been and just added that information as a title note. Chavey 07:44, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

I think I actually prefer it that way. Unfortunately, my copy was lent to a friend a few years ago and it has yet to make it home, so I can't look at the introduction. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 19:00, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", by J.K. Rowling

Since you verified one of the copies of this book, you might wish to join this conversation. Chavey 07:37, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Aussiecon World SFC #33

Can you confirm the credit on page 12 of this publication? Henk Pander (not Pender) has done cover art for a Le Guin collection and an illustrative portrait of her. Also, is it ESSAY or INTERIORART? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 05:26, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

He (I'm assuming Henk is a he) is credited a the bottom of the page as "Pender". He's almost certainly the same artist and I would wonder if it's the same illustration as the one on the back flap of the dust jacket in this publication. The drawing is from the neck up and she appears to be wearing a turtle neck. Additionally, it is signed with the artists's name (probably "Pander", but not certain) followed by "'74". If that sounds like the same drawing, I'll make mine a variant of the existing title. I can also send you a scan of my drawing if you'd like to make a more exact comparison. I'll go ahead and make the pseudonym and variant which we can then merge if it seems like the same drawing. Do you think Henk Pen may be yet a further pseudonym? --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:27, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Personally, I don't create pseudonyms and variants for obvious typos in art credits. If it were my publication, I'd correct the credit and note the typo. If we can credit art based on signature, we should be able to correct obvious publisher errors in credit as well. In other words, the published credit for art doesn't carry the same weight as the published credit for fiction. This situation was discussed years ago and the conclusion I walked away with was that art credit and fiction credit were not the same and don't necessarily have to be handled the same. In this case, why not use the artist signature to credit the piece? That's an established standard. Also, from your description it's the same work, so a variant would be OK. Whether you create a pseudonym, well, that's up to you. Mhhutchins 18:42, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

A Scanner Darkly

Ron, I'm reckoning that your Masterworks edition of A Scanner Darkly also contains Dick's 'Author's Note', given that you have added "+ii" to the page count. PS. I've made mine "+[2]", as there are no roman numerals in either of my editions. Thanks for checking. PeteYoung 11:21, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Corrected. I went with it starting on page 218. This is how we used to handle this sort of content. I re-read the help file for determining page numbers, and it could be argued that this fits within the "Unnumbered pages within a range of numbered pages" bullet. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:04, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

I fixed a page number typo

I fixed a page number typo of your verified [1]. The book's table of contents gave the same page number for two stories, I changed a 59 to an 89.Don Erikson 23:20, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

I, the Vampire

In Weird Tale, February 1937, James Mooney, Jr. illustrated the story "I, the Vampire". Does the illustration for that story show a woman with a vampire behind her pointing with arm fully extended? Bob 16:07, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

Yes, that sounds like the same illustration. It is singed at the bottom right and dated "36". --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:02, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

WAG that actually hit! That illo is in the Italian Finlay art book I've been entering. Thank you. Bob 18:23, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz

There are two primary verified records for the same edition of this title. This one is correctly credited to Katharine M. Rogers, while this one is credited to "Katherine" M. Rogers. Mhhutchins 21:06, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

I must have mistyped the name when checking to see if this was already in the database, and then continued to mistype it. I've deleted the incorrect pub and title and moved the review that was linked to the other title. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:58, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

"Fawler" or "Fawver"

Most sources credit "The Waves from Afar" to Kurt Fawver. Can you confirm the credit on page 36 in this issue of Weird Tales? Thanks. Mhhutchins 23:50, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

Data entry mistake on my part. Now corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:52, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

Map in The Heritage of Hastur

Could the map in this publication be the same map in other editions but with a different title and credited to "Thrym Berger" and not "Thaym Berger"? It also is credited to Jack Gaughan in some printings. Perhaps you and the other verifiers might discuss a common title and credit? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 18:26, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

Yes the maps are the same and it appears that it is actually by Gaughan. A copy of the map and an explanation can be see here. I've verified the information cited from The Darkover Concordance in that article. I'm not sure if Berger is a real person or a character in the novel, however since Gaughan is actually the artist (or at least the copyist), I'd go with Gaughan for a credit citing Breen's Concordance in the notes along with mentioning the possibly fictitious Berger. There are three being used: "The Heritage of Hastur (map)", "The Seven Domains of Darkover (map)" and "The Seven Domains of Darkover in the Fortieth Year of the Regency of Darvan Hastur". Technically, the third title doesn't follow the standard set out in this help page under Entry Type Interior art. I have no position on using the title of the work vs the short or long map title. However the help page requires the disambiguation "(map)" at the end of the map title. Personally, I don't think this should be required when using the map title as that should be reasonably unique. Does everyone agree on Gaughan? Can we come to a consensus on a title? I'll hold off on updating my copies until folks have had a chance to respond. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:31, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

I certainly agree that Guaghan is the map artist. I would prefer "The Heritage of Hastur (map)" as the title, but that's only a mild preference and I could agree to any other title. I suggest that the attribution on the map should be mentioned in the notes to the pubs in which it appears to avoid future confusion. Ron, please feel free to make the changes to the edition I verified, or let me know and I will. Bob 18:47, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

Side note: if the title of this uniquely titled map had not been disambiguated with "(map)", I probably never would have found the issue with the various attributions given to the work. So there is value in using the disambiguation even with maps that have titles. Of course, that's the prerogative of the verifying editors. Mhhutchins 19:21, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

(i) I'm pretty sure it's "Thrym", not "Thaym", as in the ancient Norse legend of "The Lay of Thrym". (ii) I agree that this is a made-up name to make it look as if a character from Darkover had made the original map; (iii) I agree that the credit should go to Gaughan; (iv) I agree that we should, in general, have the word "Map" someplace in the title of a piece of art that is a map, with the disclaimer that when the art has a title which already includes the word "Map", I think it's unnecessary to add "(map)" to its name. Chavey 18:29, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

I agree with Darrah on all counts. --Willem 20:04, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

It seems that all parties have had long enough to chime in. I've merged all the title records and taken the extended title with the addition of the "(map)" disambiguation. Thanks all. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 22:25, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

Sorry to be late to the party. The changes decided on are fine with me. AndonSage 20:48, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

"Toni Jerrmann" or "Toni Jerrman"

Can you confirm the author credit of this record? The latter name is the more common in the db. Thanks. Mhhutchins 23:45, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

The name is as credited. I've also got one of the other appearances and double checked there too. I'm fairly certain "Jermann" is canonical as that is how they ware credited in the membership list. In any case, I've made the variant. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:51, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

"Travis Heerman" or "Travis Heermann"

Can you confirm the author credit of this record? The latter form of the name is more common in the db. Thanks. Mhhutchins 23:48, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

Since this was an ebook, I cut and pasted most of the credits, so it is indeed "Heerman". I've created the variant. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:00, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

Letters to Captain Future II

Going to update my Captain Future listings I have imported the letters from The Collected Captain Future: Man of Tomorrow, Volume Two into the facsimile Captain Future, Spring 1941, but I have a problem. In the Captain Future anthology there is a letter by George Crainger, Jr. but in my facsimile the author is George Grainger, Jr. Notice his name is spelled with a "G" instead of a "C". Could you check your copy and see if his name was initially entered correctly? Sorry to bother you with this. MLB 02:31, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

That was a data entry error on my part, which I've now corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:41, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

"Hidden Valley of Oz", by Rachel Cosgrove

You had marked the first edition of this book as "N/A" under the primary verification. Presumably this was an oversight while you were marking other things (Clue, Locus, et.al.) as "N/A". But since I overrode your verification with a primary verification, I thought I should mention it to you. Chavey 18:40, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Grass

Ron, which of the two SF Masterworks editions of Tepper's Grass do you have? Your verified edition is in the original 'Millennium/Gollancz SF Masterworks' series, yet it has the cover of the 'SF Masterworks (II)' series. If you need a cover of the original series edition, I've just added one here. Thanks for looking. PeteYoung 18:59, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

I've got the original. It's an Amazon image It matched at the time I added it, but I suspect Amazon swapped it for the newer printing. I'll scan a new one from the actual copy when I get home tonight. Thanks for pointing it out. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 21:42, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

Starship, Winter 1983-84

Hi, Ron! I added some letters and a piece of interior art (by Michaels) to this issue. Christian Stonecreek 05:12, 23 March 2015 (UTC)

Ghost Stories fo an Antiquary cover art

Hello. I have just cloned a pub of your verified, and discovered that the cover art was a detail of one of the illustrations by James McBryde (the one before p. 121). Cheers ! Linguist 14:42, 24 March 2015 (UTC).

Thanks. I've updated mine as well as the one unverified Dover printing and merged the cover records. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:51, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Black Unicorn

The format in which the publisher is given in this record would indicate that Tor is an imprint of Byron Preiss. How is the publisher(s) given on the book's title page? If this is a joint publishing venture, perhaps "Tor & Byron Preiss" would be more appropriate. Mhhutchins 17:07, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

I'll change it as you suggest, though I'm sure that I didn't alter the publisher when I verified the book. The title page has "A Byron Preiss Book" over the Tor logo and cities. There is significant space between the two statements. Incidentally, the publishers of my copy of Gold Unicorn are presented identically, so I'll alter that one too. In both cases, the copyright page mentions only Tor and the back cover mentions both publishers (Tor as Tom Doherty). Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:45, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

"The Wounded Land", by Stephen R. Donaldson

You verified this publication as having a cover by Darrell K. Sweet. Amazon's "Look Inside" insists that the cover shown with your publication is by Michael Herring. So it seems like either it's showing the wrong cover, or else the cover attribution is incorrect. Could you check on this?Chavey 17:05, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

It wasn't on the shelf and I'm certain that this is one of the books that was de-duped from the combination of mine and my husband's libraries. I thought I had caught all those and moved them to transient verifications, but I must have missed this one. I rooted around the attic for a couple of hours where all the duplicate books are boxed, but I couldn't find that one. I'll switch the artist, but I do worry that there is an explicit Sweet credit in the book itself. If I happen across the copy, and I remember this discussion, I'll revisit the record. Sorry I couldn't be more definitive. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 18:43, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

I have a couple of conversation like this that I don't move to Archives, hoping that I eventually run across that missing book again :-) Chavey 04:54, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Night's Master

Your verified Night's Master has a cover artist credit of Edmund Dulac. However, the other three pubs (885298) with the same cover art are all credited to George Barr and the other two (913317) credited to Dulac have a different cover. Would you mind double checking the credit on your publication? Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 23:06, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

That wasn't the correct cover scan. I see that the scan was uploaded in December of 2013, whereas I and Harry had verified our copies in 2009 and 2010, so someone changed it after both verifications. I've replaced the scan with the correct one and merged the cover titles. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:52, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Men of Iron

I have changed the classification of Men of Iron by Robert E. Howard from SHORTFICTION to ESSAY. You verified one of the pubs containing this item. Would you please comment here about such a change? I should note that the latest pub in which this item appears classifies it as an essay as well. Bob 00:25, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

"Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1970-1980", by Mike Ashley

Your verified publication appears to be identical to this publication. Unless you have some specific reason to believe they are different printings, it seems that you should transfer your comments to the pre-existing book, then delete the duplicate record. Chavey 04:28, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

I do think I've got a later printing. My evidence is that mine only has 13 digit ISBN listed, whereas the earlier printing appears to have been entered with the 10 digit ISBN. Also the list of the publisher series has this book with the correct number (34) and I'm sure that I intended to remove the comment about it being misnumbered when I originally cloned the other record (I've done so now). Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:30, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

You're right. The appearance of the 13 digit ISBN, when the OCLC record shows that the first printing had the 10 digit one, is conclusive evidence that this is a later printing. I've taken the liberty of adding that evidence to the publication notes for your copy. Chavey 17:55, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Ace Fantasy => Ace Books

Hello, I took the liberty to regularize the publisher for your verified pub here as there were only 3 books attributed to this specific publisher. Hope that you'll agree. Hauck 15:15, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

The Wizard of Oz abridgement

I removed this title as a variant of the novel version. That's not allowed under ISFDB rules since essentially they are not the same work. It came up on a clean-up report because a SHORTFICTION record can't be varianted to a NOVEL record. Mhhutchins 07:03, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

Lauterback or Lauterbach

Can you confirm the credits for the two works by this author? There are more works credited to Lauterbach. Thanks. Mhhutchins 07:13, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

That's how it is credited. I'll make the variant. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 11:48, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

B. A. and B. H. Baker

Could B. A. Baker and B. H. Baker be the same person? Both have essays in The Baum Bugle. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 20:04, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Both credits are as given. I was going to say that I couldn't tell whether they were the same person, or if they were which would be the canonical name. However, Rutter's Index to the Baum Bugle lists them both as by Brian A. Baker, so I'll go with that. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 11:44, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Then I'll let you handle Brian A. Baker and Brian H. Baker as well. Thanks. Mhhutchins 04:23, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Done. Now to refile these 7 issues. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:31, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

A for Anything

I have submitted a new cover scan for this publication. Syzygy 19:34, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Blair Frodelius and Blair Frödelius

Here is another set of Bugle contributors which needs to be reconciled. Thanks. Mhhutchins 22:46, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

I can make the pseudonym, but I seem to recall that diacritical marks don't count as a variation, or more precisely, when I've entered authors with or without the marks in the past, they've been matched by the software with the version of the name is already in the database. Perhaps my recollection is incorrect and it only works that way when the existing name has the diacriticals, and the new one doesn't. My specific memory is of entering "Philip Jose Farmer" when it was presented that way and finding the authors name converted to José after saving. So this really raises the question of whether we want to capture different presentations of diacritical marks and if so, is it a problem when the software prevents us from doing it in one direction. If we don't, which presentation should we prefer? The one most often used, or the one with the marks? I'll invite Ahasuerus here as the behavior of the software probably has some bearing on what we may want to do. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:12, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

The way it works when a new title/pub is entered is that the software checks whether each entered author/publisher/series/pub series name is already on file. It performs the check in a case-insensitive manner so that if you enter "poul anderson", the software will recognize that it is the same as "Poul Anderson", which is already on file, and change it to "Poul Anderson" on the fly. Which is fine, except that the software uses what is known as "the Swedish collation" to look for identical characters. You can find the conversion table, in all its gory details, on this Web page. For example, if you scroll down to the row which starts with "E", you'll see that the software thinks that "e", "È", "É", "Ê", "Ë", "è", "é", "ê", and "ë" are all the same for matching purposes. Because of this if you enter "Philip Jose Farmer", it will be automatically converted to "Philip José Farmer" since it's already on file.

In the case of Blair Frödelius it shouldn't be an issue because, as the linked chart shows, "ö" is only matched against "Ö" and "]" (sic!). Yes, it's a mess, but at least in this case it shouldn't affect your ability to create variants and a pseudonym.

As a general rule, if the software lets you enter two different forms of a name, you are fine from that point on. The bottleneck is the point where a new name is created -- or not, as the case may be. Ahasuerus 02:49, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

The Left Hand of Darkness

Ron, can you check if your verified SF Masterworks edition of The Left Hand of Darkness is as by Ursula Le Guin on the title page, as mine is? Also, we have the essay 'The Gethenian Clock and Calendar' already in the database, and it appears on page 246. Thanks. PeteYoung 04:59, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

You're correct and I've made the edits. Thanks for catching this. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:35, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

Rich or Rick Sternbach

Can you confirm the cover art credit for this publication? Mhhutchins 00:18, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

The credit is "Rich" and since it appears that Rick is short for Richard, I think it is the same guy. I've made the variant. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:35, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

de Camp's Phantoms & Fancies and "Veiled Worlds"

Can you confirm the series given to the second piece in this publication? I can't find any other reference to this series other than here on the ISFDB, much less that there are other titles in the same series. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 05:50, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

It's not from that book. The essay is merely an introduction to a section of poems and isn't even listed in Chalker/Owings. I can't imagine where the series came from. Assuming that you've no reason to keep the data, I'll remove the series. If not, we can always put it back. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:23, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

Actually I'm going to put it back for now. I hadn't noticed until I was hitting approved, that there is a second verifier. Perhaps Bob knows where the series came from. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:27, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure how a section introduction could be part of a series (and the second one), but I'll let you two hash it out. Mhhutchins 13:56, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

I'm as baffled as you, Ron. I'm sure when I verified, I assumed you had identified the series and never really became concerned about it. Please remove the series. Bob 19:20, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

"From Bass Lake to Beech Mountain"

Can you confirm that one of the credits for this piece is "Lary Abramsom" or "Lary Abramson"? Thanks. Mhhutchins 02:33, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

Both credits are as indicated, and I strongly suspect the correct spelling is "Abramson". I'm friends with the editors of both publications and have inquired if they can verify the name. I'll make the pseudonym when I hear back from them. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:50, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Well that was quick. Abramson it is. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:11, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Pratchett's 'Sir Joshua Easement: A Biological Note'

Ron, I recently added Pratchett's short piece 'The Tale of Joshua Easement' which I suspect may be a variant of 'Sir Joshua Easement: A Biological Note', collected in your verified pub A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction. It begins "Sir Joshua Easement, of Easement Manor, Shrewsbury, was in his own estimation at least...", and ends "...and his head being found in a bear pit in Dudley." Can you confirm or deny? Thanks for checking. PeteYoung 10:58, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Yes. It is the same story and my copy even gives Imagined Lives as the original publication which would make the one you added the canonical title. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:31, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Smith End of the Story

Re this book. My Night Shade Books copy with "First Edition" on copyright page has a 13 digit ISBN number there and on rear of dust wrapper. Copyrights are dated 2006. Just wanted to check with you about this --Mavmaramis 20:09, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for catching that. I've updated the record. Both Locus1 and Amazon have the date as January 2007, and I've changed the date to match that rather than the printed copyright, which I've also noted. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:24, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Conversations with the Weird Tales Circle

Ron, I've observed conflicts with some of the information on this pub. I bought my copy in 2011 from Amazon. Amazon shows three copies, one published in 2009, and two dated 2011. The publisher's website just shows the 2009 edition and confirms the $225 price. Amazon shows the price as $295 for the 2011 copy. My book, purchased from Amazon, has a scanning label on the back cover with the ISBN and the $295 price on it. However, my records show I only paid $177.39 for my copy. I propose to add a note indicating at least the label on my copy. Any thoughts? Bob 01:07, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

I obtained my copy in the secondary market, so I can't tell you if there ever was a sticker. As I mentioned in the notes, there isn't any indication of printing or edition and the only date is from the copyright statement. I tend to discount Amazon as a source for dates and certainly for prices and page counts. Given that the publisher still has 2009 copies available at the original price, it seems unlikely that there was a second printing. You can mention the sticker if you'd like, but I wonder if it was added by Amazon for their own inventory purposes. That ISBN isn't listed in Worldcat or the Library of Congress. However, it does bring up 6 copies on ABE some with 2010 and 2011 dates. It all appears to be a bit of a mystery. The publisher was at the Reno Worldcon a few years ago. If he shows up in Spokane (and if I remember), I'll ask him if there were multiple printings. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:42, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

Flashing Swords 1

Re this book. Added cover artist Bruce Pennington which is depicted on his Facebook page here. Also replaced cover scan with a better one from my collection. --Mavmaramis 14:47, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

World Without Women

Hi, the signature "R McGinnis" is on the lower edge of the cover of this pub, so the artist is Robert McGinnis. See Flickr for a good scan. Horzel 21:59, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

The signature is cut off on my copy as well as the scan we had. I've noted that copies exist and uploaded the scan you found. Even then, it's tricky to read when shrunk down to our limits. Thanks for the detective work. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:02, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

Huller or Hullar

Can you confirm the author credit of this record? Thanks. Mhhutchins 00:54, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

That's how the credit reads. Variant created. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:00, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

David G. Harwell vs David G. Hartwell

Hi! Could you, as primary verifier, please re-check all instances of David G. Harwell?--Dirk P Broer 12:26, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

That was my error, undoubtedly propagated through copying and pasting. One would hope that they got the name of a guest of honor right! Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:13, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

Padgett Changes

I'm going to host this on my own talk page since I need to pull several folks into this discussion. Nearly a year ago, this discussion occurred and I believe of those that participated, we came to a consensus that both the Lewis Padgett stories "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" and "The Fairy Chessmen" which we currently have listed as novels are in fact novellas by our standards. However, the edits to correct this were not done. I'd like to have one more round of making sure everyone is OK with these changes and if there is no objection, I'll happily make all the edits since once we convert the novels to novellas, some publications are going to have to change types (i.e. novel to chapterbook and serial to shortfiction). There are a couple of additional changes that I'd like to make to the Gnome Press record which aren't related to the title type changes. The changes I see as required and which editors have verified copies are:

1. Original magazine serial appearances in Astounding (Rkihara, Hauck and myself): No real changes to these publications except that the serialized parts will roll up to a novella instead of a novel. Letting you know as a courtesy.
2. Gnome Press collection/FEL facsimile (Biomassbob, Chavey and myself): Change from an Omnibus to a Collection. I'd also like to change the title replacing the ampersand with an "and" as it appears on the title page, and add the Reginald number.
3. Italian translations in I Romanzi del Cosmo and Urania (no active editors): Change from serial to shortfiction.
4. Consul Books editions (Chavey and Willem H.): change these from novels to chapterbooks.
5. French translation as L'échiquier fabuleux and L'homme venu du futur (Hauck): change from novel to chapterbook.
6. Hamlyn collection (Dirk P Broer): Only affects the contained content record, so no changes are required to the collection itself.

The remaining publications require similar changes, but have no active verifiers. Please chime in as to whether you agree. If there is no objection after a few days, I'll proceed with the edits. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:51, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

"The Fairy Chessmen" at 39,678 words has without doubt became a novel in its french translation (a process which usually expands the original text by about 20%), I've already evoked this problem of type change during translations (note that it works both ways), but nothing came of it. IMHO a 190 pages novella (what "L'échiquier fabuleux" will become) or a 252 pages one (here) will not make us appear very serious, but I've approved enough 96 pages german "novels" (abridged translations) not to worry unduly. There are only two options : 1) the length of text is "measured" in its original language and stays fixed in translation (this will usually result in percieved incoherences french, german or italian novels becoming english novellas or english texts seeing an marked increase in their length) or 2) the length of a text is "measured" in every language which will result in divergences at type level (NOVELLA varianted to NOVEL, etc.). Hauck 05:20, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

I have no strong feelings about the proposed change, although making the change seems to be a slippery slope. All those Ace doubles that are classified as novels, but are really novellas — are they going to be changed as well? Bob 22:04, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

I feel like everyone has had enough time to comment and I've now changed everything except the French translations. I personally think it is a better policy to have the story length of the translation reflect the translation's length. I expect this will show up on a cleanup report and may generate further discussion. There was also this recent discussion which appears to be a related issue. The remaining translations appear to be arguably novellas based on their page counts. Regarding Bob's point about the Ace Doubles, I haven't looked to see if it has been brought up before. However, I would argue that we should accurately reflect the lengths of those works based on their word counts. Otherwise our length definitions have no real meaning. Changing the doubles is not a project that I'm looking to undertake, but I'd have no objections to someone correcting my verified copies. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 15:33, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

'Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers During the Great War'

Ron, I suspect Edward James's essay 'Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers During the Great War' in your verified World Fantasy Convention 2014 may be the same as 'Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers in the Great War: An Introduction' which I've just added in BSFA Awards 2014. It begins "This site is a record of the research I am doing..." and ends "Finally, could I encourage anyone who finds this site to tell me if there are mistakes or omissions. Thank You!", followed by a short essay 'Yevgeny Zamyatin in the Great War'. Can you confirm or deny? Thanks. PeteYoung 04:09, 31 May 2015 (UTC)

Deny, I'm afraid. My copy begins: "The hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War occurred this August." and ends "In the meantime, I hope readers of this will browse thought my website and read some of the fascinating and at times inspiring lives of those who created that fiction.". I'll add a note to mine that it is not the same essay despite the almost identical title. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:25, 31 May 2015 (UTC)

I'll do the same with mine. Thanks again for checking. PeteYoung 14:50, 31 May 2015 (UTC)

Carter J. Wainwright

Can you confirm the credit given to the "about the author" pieces on the back page of this record? The inside story is credited to Carter T. while the essay is credited to Carter J. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 05:48, 31 May 2015 (UTC)

Hannes Bok: A Life in Illustration

Ron, just to let you know. I'm starting to enter a bunch of Bok portfolios and books. A Life in Illustration will probably contain most (or even all) of the artwork from these older pubs. So far I found one illo (p. 328) that I made a variant to a plate in Hannes Bok II. But I will likely want to add some of the illustrations you skipped, most of them details of other illustrations. Question: On p. 416 is an illo that is the same as Plate 9 in Bok II. But in Bok II, it is referred to as "Brigands of the Moon", the cover illustration on p. 38. The figures are the same, but the crashed spaceship is not. How should those illustrations be treated? Bob 20:55, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

I would argue that those two illustrations you mention are different enough that they should not be varianted, though you could certainly reference the other illustration in the notes. Of course, whichever one matches the plate from Hannes Bok II is another matter and I would make "Crash Landing" a variant of "Brigands of the Moon", if that is the one that matches. If it matches the cover Science Fiction Qarterly, I'd keep the cover as the parent title. Feel free to add any missing illustrations. I recall that I mainly avoided details that were used as chapter headings as they were otherwise included in their entirety elsewhere in the book. Thus my note. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:59, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, Ron. Appreciate your input. Bob 19:49, 2 June 2015 (UTC)

Best of C. L. Moore

Can you confirm the page count field of this printing? The earlier printing was "X+368", as does the OCLC record linked in the Note field. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 23:57, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

xv+368 actually, but I think you just missed it here since the other printings have the v. Thanks for catching it. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:30, 2 June 2015 (UTC)

Spinner of Silver and Thistle

Ron, I'd like to enter the drawing in Spinner of Silver and Thistle. I expect that most or all of them will be variants of known art works. Are you agreeable to this? Bob 00:08, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

Sure. Go for it. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:20, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

A. Merritt and Hannes Bok Books

Ron, I'd like to add the illustrations to Fox Woman and the Blue Pagoda and Black Wheel if you approve. Bob 19:45, 6 June 2015 (UTC)

Sure. That's fine. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:14, 6 June 2015 (UTC)

Seven Out of Time

Ron, I notice that you did not enter the individual artworks that Hannes Bok did for the book Seven Out of Time, and that when those artworks appeared in Hannes Bok: A Life in Illustration, you just made them a variant of all four full page illustrations. But in two other Bok art books, only the first two of these illustrations are shown, and I'd like to variant them to the originals. Would you please enter the individual artworks and match them to those in Life in Illustration? If you would prefer not to, I do know that the illustrations appear as the frontispiece and on pages 57, 159 and 225. Please tell me which ones are the first two (p. 270 and 271) in Life in Illustration. Bob 19:09, 8 June 2015 (UTC)

I've added them to the paperback version. You should be able to import the entire contents of the paperback into the hardcover and it should only pick up the missing items. I'll leave that to you in case there is more you want to add first. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:46, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, Ron. Much appreciated. Bob 19:09, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

A Hannes Bok Showcase

Ron, I've finished entering content for A Hannes Bok Showcase for the deluxe hardcover version and imported it into the TP. You may want to import it into your hardcover version as well. I don't know if your copy has the endpapers the deluxe version has. Bob 15:27, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Done. I've taken the liberty of correcting the title of the Pohl introduction which the other verifier noticed. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:59, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Changes to The Quarters Novels Vol 1

Hi, I have added some more details to the Notes for The Quarters Novels Vol 1, and changed the link to the cover to a more stable one (same image though). I also made one change -- the copyright page gives the cover artist as Jody Lee rather than Jody A. Lee, so I went with that version of her name. BungalowBarbara 04:16, 13 June 2015 (UTC)

Phoenix Prime

Hi Ron. I was looking over my copy of the above and noticed there was no prime verifier. Do you, as 2nd verifier, want to move up to prime? Also, one of the notes states that according to a source, that this printing has purple edges. I didn't see any on my copy. Is yours the same? If so, should the note be eliminated, or added to that it the edges are not purple. The fate of worlds hangs on the answer to this question. I'd like to add a few notes after you do any changes you want. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 02:50, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

My copy does have purple stained edges. I assume that yours has the 1969 date on the copyright page. If not, you may have a 1st or 3rd printing. A prior verifier must have removed the first spot. I'll move mine up. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:00, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Mine has yellow edges and the copyright page has "First printing: May, 1966" and "Second printing: December 1969" so it looks to me like the 2nd printing but with no purple edges. Or a 3rd printing with no mention. Hard to say. I'll leave it alone. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 21:28, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Mine definitely doesn't have a printing history, nor any indication of what printing it is. Just the 1969 date. What you describe seems to match this printing. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 21:40, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Yep, that looks like it, all right. I think my eyes did not gaze down past the first two 75 cent pubs. Sorry for the bother. Another lesson learned. Doug / Vornoff 04:33, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Whispers 3

Looking thru your verified Whispers 3 I saw three instances where a [1] has been used as disambiguation on interior art contents. Assuming these should not be there, would this minor of a correction be something I should have just corrected and informed you of, or just make you aware of as I'm doing now? Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 04:37, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

I have no problem with those corrections, but it's always best ask first. I would also try to ask the other verifier. I'm not certain that everyone always follows this practice, but I try to for at least those verifiers who are still active. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:15, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Makes sense. Thanks for the advice. Doug / Vornoff 15:01, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

made repairs. Doug / Vornoff 15:06, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Upon the Winds of Yesterday

It looks to me like there are two copies of Upon the Winds of Yesterday, the George Barr art book, that are identical, not only in specification, but also in verification. The content isn't merged, though. What am I missing? Bob 19:53, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

There is only one record for the NONFICTION book here. What you're looking at is the title for the cover art record. Because the cover art is reused as the title page, under this variant title, it appears twice in the book (once for the cover, once for the title page). It's a little confusing, but that is how repeated contest appear when you look at their title record. Hope this helps. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 20:57, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, I knew I was missing something! Double appearances of artwork in one pub seem confusing, especially if you merge them. I usually try to title one slightly different so I can variant one instead, but that isn't always possible. Bob 00:50, 27 June 2015 (UTC)

Cover art credit for Wells' Selected Short Stories

Hi. Shouldn't the cover of this pub be credited to Harry Willock, as for its previous printings ? Thanks. Linguist 13:03, 7 July 2015 (UTC).

There's no credit in my copy. I've added it based on the earlier printings. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:42, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

Cathy Buburus or Buburuz

Can you confirm the credit for the art on page 45 of this publication? Thanks. Mhhutchins 22:12, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

There is an artist credit section that has it as "Buburus". However, there is also a signature that looks like it is probably the correct spelling, so I've gone ahead and used the canonical name. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:48, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

Life, the Universe and Everything

Redid cover scan of your verified. Thanks. Linguist 13:18, 8 July 2015 (UTC).

An interior artist on Slaves of the Blood Wolves

Hi Ron. In your verified Slaves of the Blood Wolves, you have art by "Plachy" for one of the stories. I've asked a question on the help desk about him, if you'd care to check it out. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 18:45, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Some Terry Pratchett title type discrepancies?

Ron, could you weigh in on this discussion please? Sorry, but I'll be incommunicado for a couple of days. Thanks. PeteYoung 21:31, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

John Tynes / John Scott Tynes

It looks like "John Scott Tynes" in your verified Tour De Lovecraft: The Tales is the full name of John Tynes. The original, 1990s, editions of his "Delta Green" books used the shorter version of the name, but more recent editions add his middle name, e.g. see Delta Green: Strange Authorities. Ahasuerus 03:14, 19 July 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for catching it. I've made the variant and pseudonym. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:23, 19 July 2015 (UTC)

Out of the Storm

You verified Out of the Storm by William Hope Hodgeson published by Donald M. Grant. I wonder if you would detail the illustrations by Stephen Fabian in that pub. I'm entering Fabian art, and would like to match a couple of the illustrations in that pub if possible. Bob 23:54, 19 July 2015 (UTC)

Done. The title page illustrations are all about a quarter page in size, the second illustrations are the full page ones. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:06, 20 July 2015 (UTC)

Fantastic! Now which are these: (1)Labelled "The Finding of the Graiken", it shows shipwrecks, maybe 1/3 sky, 2/3 water, with a hazy moon in the center top, an octopus and skull in the near foreground, shipwreck in left foreground, an unwrecked ship mid-range right. and (2)A smaller picture with a "frame" around it, about 1/3 sea, 2/3 sky, big full moon on right side behind the rigging of a shipwreck, a mast sticking out of the water on the left foreground ? Bob 16:11, 20 July 2015 (UTC)

1 is the second illustration for "The Finding of the Graiken". 2 sounds like the frontispiece which is only in the hardcover edition, although it doesn't have a frame. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:27, 21 July 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, Ron. By frame, I meant it has a heavy line around it, not anything fancy. I'm sure that's it. Much appreciated. Bob 15:33, 21 July 2015 (UTC)

Unconventional Fantasy

This title is coming up on an error report because the authors don't match the publication record. Should it be "Bill Campbell (I)" or "Bill Campbell (II)"? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 04:10, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

Sorry, I forgot to fix the pub record. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 10:50, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

Rick/Richard Courtney

Is the cover art credit for this record explicitly credited to "Rick Courtney"? Or was there a secondary source? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 23:42, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

The only credit I can find is the signature "R. Courtney" which is visible in the scan in the lower right just below the crack in the road. If the other verifier doesn't object, I would suggest we change it to the canonical name Richard Courtney. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 15:01, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

I agree that we change it to the canonical name, since that is the de facto standard. (Whether that standard is documented, I have no idea!) Thanks. Mhhutchins 15:05, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

Held submission

I'm holding a submission that changes one of your verified records. Please let me know whether I should accept it, or I can release the hold to allow you to moderate it. Thanks. Mhhutchins 15:04, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

Well, he did leave a note on the my changes to verified page, which isn't the right place for this sort of change. The only thing that gives me pause is that if this is from a facsimile, why can't I find the credit in the original? If you want to release the hold, I can take over the hold and contact the other editor. It's probably fine, but it seems less a facsimile if they are adding credits. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 15:19, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

You got it. (As he wipes his hands and walks away.) Mhhutchins 15:22, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

Whispers in the Night

You verified Whispers in the Night, which was illustrated by Stephen Fabian. I have two illos in a portfolio from that book, one labeled the frontispiece and the other as "Icon", which shows a person in a spacesuit stepping through a mirror or painting frame. Could you specify the artwork in that book? Bob 23:44, 28 July 2015 (UTC)

Done. The second illustration is the one on page 273. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:45, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

Wow! Thank you, Ron, I'm listing Fabian's book illustrations in some of other pubs he illustrated, and really appreciate you doing this in one I don't own. Bob 18:31, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

The Kingdoms of the Air

Fabian illustrated this story in Tales, Summer 1988. Would you please tell me which illustration shows a knight on horseback, lance upright, head bowed, facing some sort of ruin under a moon and dark clouds? Bob 19:54, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

That's half of the two page illustration, beginning on page 102, unless there are also vultures, in which case you have the whole thing.

Also, for the story "The Last Night of the Festival of the Dead" in Tales, Summer 1998, which of Fabian's illustrations shows a masked man and woman next to a bridge with a town in the background and a crescent moon? Bob 20:03, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Page 31. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:54, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, Ron. Hope you had a great vacation! Bob 18:56, 10 August 2015 (UTC)

Legend by David Gemmell

The cover to Legend cover by Luis Royo (credit may be to Royo) -- image appears in 2 of the "portfolios" and the art book Malefic can be seen here and the signature is visible under the arm of the dude who's falling backward... Could you correct the credit, as primary verify-er? Thanks Susan O'Fearna 02:49, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

Fixed. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:14, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

still says Mark Harrison... Susan O'Fearna 08:20, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes. Because of the explicit credit. However, it is now a variant of the Luis Royo title. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:14, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

The Mutant Weapon vs. Med Service

Please see ISFDB:Community Portal#The Mutant Weapon vs. Med_Service as a primary verifier of The Mutant Weapon / The Pirates of Zan & The Mutant Weapon / The Pirates of Zan. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 23:45, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

"Her Smoke Rose Up Forever", by James Tiptree, Jr.

Could you please check your verified copy of the SF Masterworks edition of this book? My copy appears to be identical to the one you have, and has a full number line, but lists the price as £9.99 instead of the £8.99 you have entered for this book. Chavey 22:00, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

My mistake. I would guess that fixer entered the record and I didn't catch it when I verified. Of course, I could have fat fingered it also. Fixed now. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:00, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks much! Chavey 03:07, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

Making corrections to obvious cover art credit errors

It's been a long established practice to correct cover art credit errors as in the case of this one. Making a variant creates another error in that no pseudonym has been created. It's obvious that you wouldn't make "Mark Harrison" into a pseudonym of Royo. This record appeared on a clean-up report. Correcting the credit and noting the error is the only way to make sure it is removed from the clean-up report. Mhhutchins 06:25, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

I recall discussing this before, perhaps several times, buy I don't remember that we ever reached a consensus. I would guess is why the help files do not reflect this as a standard. My argument remains the same that when the author or artist of a title is explicitly credited in the publication, then that is what should be used regardless of whether it is artwork, fiction or non fiction. We have a perfectly good method for noting such miscredits within the structure of the database through the variant/pseudonymous title relationship. There are several examples where this sort of miscredit has been reflected in just this manner, including this title which does not have the two artists records listed as a pseudonym. I would guess this was accomplished by using the Ignore this title link which I would assume is there for just these sorts of circumstances. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:13, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

It's there when editors refuse to see that correcting the credit is the best way to handle the situation, and the moderator has determined it's not worth continuing the discussion. There are literally hundreds of publications in the database in which artists were incorrectly credited and the records have been changed to reflect that. No one should use the same "credit as published" standard we use for text when it's determined that art is miscredited. Art and text each have their own entry standards. For example, we don't enter "uncredited" in the cover art field for uncredited work as we do for text contents which are uncredited. Why is that handled differently? Another example, there are literally thousands of publications in the database in which the cover art is not credited, but with secondary sources the editors have been able to credit those covers. Why is that standard any different than correcting obvious errors? Or perhaps you believe the art fields shouldn't be handled differently in those cases and they should be credited as published, i.e. no credit whatsoever? Either we adapt the standard to fit the type, or we handle them all exactly the same. We shouldn't use the standards of one type to justify how another type should be entered. Mhhutchins 21:42, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

When there is no documented standard for how an author of a title type is handled differently, why wouldn't I assume that the documented standards for other types apply? I certainly don't handle the author's of ESSAYs differently. I couldn't tell you why the standard is different for the use of uncredited for cover artwork. I would certainly advocate for changing it. I don't understand why we want only want to track cover art when there is a credit. If that art is reprinted as interior art without credit, there is no question about including it. It seems that we treat cover art as the least of the artwork that we track and I simply don't understand why we do. However, it is a standard and it is documented in the help pages and I abide by it. Ignoring a published credit in favor of a canonical name is not documented anywhere that I'm aware of. I assume that you still think the mis-credit is data worthy of capture and would do so in the notes. However, my opinion it is always preferable to use the structure of the database to reflect the publication (i.e. the variant relationship between titles), rather than the unstructured data of notes. It makes the relationship more clear and easier to find in queries. If someone ever wanted to see all the times a work was mis-credited, they could simply look at the variant title and see all the publications where it occurs. If we only reflect it in the notes, every publication containing the title must be examined. Not only that, but there is no reason to expect a mis-credit ever occurred unless you happen to be looking at the publication and see the note. We could of course add notes to both the publication record and the corrected title record with HTML links to each affected publication. But using the existing variant relationship structure is really much clearer and easier. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:43, 9 August 2015 (UTC)

Dannis or Dennis Anfuso

Can you confirm the credit of the first piece in this publication? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 21:17, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

My typo on data entry. Thanks for pointing it out. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:52, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

Born to Exile

Would you mind entering the Fabian artwork for this pub? More Fantasy by Fabian has six illustrations from that book. Bob 18:45, 10 August 2015 (UTC)

In addition, would you please enter the Fabian artwork for Golden Blood?

Provided the other verifiers don't object, I'll be glad to. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:32, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

No objection here. Ahasuerus 01:52, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

The other verifiers for the Eisenstein book have responded and I've added the titles. I've also found some of the pieces online to help in matching:

• frontispiece
• Born to Exile
• Inn of the Black Swan
• The Witch and the Well
• The Lords of All Power
• The Castle Under the Hill

That only leaves the piece on the copyright page which is much smaller and is of a crouching figure in full plate armor with a kite shield and holding up a sword. I'll give the other verifier on the Williamson book a bit longer to respond. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:46, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Wow, you sure make it easy for me! They were in the same order in the Fabian book. Thank you so much! Bob 18:15, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

For Golden Blood, I didn't detail the spot illustrations, which are repeated throughout. For the plates:

• Vekya
• Price Saw It Was a Bleached Human Skull
• Price's Fist Crashed Against Ali's Jaw
• Malikar Leapt into the Tomb
• Price Rode Down into the Wadi
• She Wrapped the Cloak About His Shoulders

Have fun matching them. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:07, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for making this so easy! Bob 16:28, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

The Half-Men or The Half Men

Hi! Concerning this title in your verified publication "At the Human Limit", does it appear with or without a hyphen? Locus1 shows it with and my copy of Absolute Magnitude SPR 2005 has it without. Thanks for checking. - Syzygy 20:46, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

There is no hyphen. It appears that Locus1 lists its appearance in Absolute Magnitude without the hyphen which is how the error likely was introduced. I've gone ahead and fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:29, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Great! Thanks for taking care of it - John Syzygy 12:32, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Heart Of the World

Going through my copy of Heart of the World I see that T. Yamada is not the illustrator of this work. The artwork is signed B. P. C. and probably comes from the original serialization or printing. Yamada has only done the cover. Also, I wouldn't bet money on it, but T. Yamada is probably this artist. MLB 03:23, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

Good catch. The Yamada credit from the back cover ("Illustration by T. Yamada") and could be read as referring to the cover only or all the illustrations. I'm having a hard time seeing the "B. P. C." in my copy. However, they are much clearer in this scan of the 1896 printing. I'll go ahead and change the credit. I'm also going to add Amy Sawyer as another credit as her signature also appears. For example, the illustration facing page 175 in the Newcastle or page 184 in the Longmans definitely has her signature in the bottom left corner. It also appears to have the BPC in the bottom right, though I can't see that in my copy, only the scan of the 1896 edition. I can find her listed here, so it appears that she was an artist. I'll assume that she collaborated with BPC on that piece and perhaps others. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:12, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

Weird Tales on CD

Are you certain that this publication should be typed as "ebook"? If it was published on CD-ROM, then it should be typed as "other" with an explanatory note, such as this publication and this one. Mhhutchins 19:30, 15 August 2015 (UTC)

Sure. The help is a bit confusing on that in that ebook seemed appropriate regardless of how the files are distributed. I doubt I ever got to the paragraph for other. In any case, it's changed now. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 22:19, 15 August 2015 (UTC)

Vallejo's "Freedom"

does the image by Vallejo titled "Freedom" from Renovation match either this image from Imaginistix or this image from Spectrum 15? Susan O'Fearna 04:27, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes, it is the second one from Spectrum. I'll let you go ahead an merge the titles, unless you'd rather I do it. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 07:31, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Conan the Barbarian

I put a note with weblink here --Zapp 11:20, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

Tom O'Bedlam's Night Out and Other Strange Excursions

Fabian illustrated this pub that you verified. Would you please enter the individual illustrations? There are a number of them in Women and Wonders I'd like to match up. Bob 18:32, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

Eight illustrations from another Fabian illustrated pub, The Dream of X, are in Women and Wonders, four full page and four smaller pictures. Could you also enter the individual illustrations in that pub? Bob 19:18, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

I will, but it will have to wait until I get back from Sasquan. And by the way, you need to leave a space between the link and the name of what you are linking to in the wiki software. Otherwise the links don't work. I've corrected the two above. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 19:36, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the information on the procedure! Have a great vacation!! Bob 00:40, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

Ron, I went out and bought Tom O'Bedlam's Night Out and entered the artwork myself. Not impatient, just decided I wanted the pub. I hope this isn't a problem for you; if it is, toss my input. Bob 00:42, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

The Schweitzer book looks good. I've added the artwork for the Hodgson. It appears I actually have a copy of Women and Wonders, though I'll have to track it down. If you get this before I do, hopefully the works are captioned so you can match them. If I locate my copy first, I'll go ahead an do so. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:19, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Found it. I've merged the parent titles matching them to their original titles. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:26, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Wonderful! Thank you, Ron. Welcome back! Bob 18:47, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Review of a non-eligible publication

Based on the documented standard (here under Reviews), the review of My Judy Garland Life: A Memoir in this publication should have been entered as an ESSAY rather than a REVIEW. Once that is done, the title record and the publication records should be deleted from the database. Thanks. Mhhutchins 02:20, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

Well, that's not precisely correct. At the time those records were entered (2010) the standard was to enter books that were otherwise ineligible if they appeared in a review. I'll delete the review and the record if you insist. However, your own comment (16:12, 30 September 2014 (UTC)) in the discussion that changed this standard stated regarding titles entered under the old standard indicates it should be left alone: "I say let sleeping dogs lie. Eventually a few will be cleared by editors who are sticklers to the standards and are aware of this change. The other reviews will remain in the database as REVIEW-typed records linked to titles with publications, which really does very little harm to the integrity of the database." For this standard, I'm not a stickler. I'm sure that there are many books I entered by following the standard in place at the time that would not be eligible if entered today. I agree with your original assessment that these works should be left alone. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:47, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Notwithstanding my previous opinion, there are going to be some titles which are borderline and would be too much trouble to go back and change. But in this case, the author is not a spec-fic author, and the subject is not related to spec-fic whatsoever. Having this author and a record for this publication in the database rubs against everything logical about this db. Granted the rules were different when this record was created, but I don't think you'd do it today. (Maybe I'm wrong.) When I run across these extreme cases in non-verified records, I usually change them. If the pubs are verified, I'll bring it to the editor's attention. I'm not advocating making a concerted effort of going through the database and finding such pubs, but in the daily course of working on the db, one is apt to find situations that were once allowed and, based on the current standards, should now be corrected. It would be hard to explain to a new editor why this publication is in the db when they're told that other similar pubs which they want to enter aren't eligible. Mhhutchins 05:10, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Done. While I do take a highly inclusionist view of what constitutes a book about speculative fiction. This particular book is so highly attenuated in its relationship to Baum's novel that I would not have entered it without the old standard. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:57, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

The Bane of Black Sword

Would you mind double checking the title of The Bane of Black Sword? The publication title and the title record do not match. Either the publication title is missing the second "the" or it needs a new title record without the second "the" which is varianted the current title record. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 21:39, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for catching that. Corrected now. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:57, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Donald E. Ford and Donald M. Ford

Could it be possible that these are the same person? Both had pieces in convention programs which you have primary verified. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 04:39, 24 August 2015 (UTC)

They are. The Torcon book isn't actually a program, rather a book about the convention after the fact. The Cinvention program does actually appear to have his middle initial as an "E" though it is a little hard to read. Thanks for finding the error. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:06, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Encyclopedia Cthulhiana

Hi, Ron. In your verified pub here and this one of the above title, can you tell me why there are two page numberless content records for interior art records by Dave Carson? They show up as duplicates. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 18:06, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

I've no idea how that happened, but fixed now. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:12, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

The Disinheriting Party

We have what look like duplicate publication records for The Disinheriting Party. If you agree, I would recommend 'moving' your secondary verifications and the OCLC & LCCN notes over to the primary verified record. Then deleting the secondary verified publication and it's associated image on the wiki. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 01:37, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Done. I suspect that I missed it in the non genre section. I hope it wasn't me that merged the title records. I'd like to think I would have caught the duplicate pubs if I was aware of the duplicate titles. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:47, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

I merged them. That's when I noticed it was a duplicate pub. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 22:23, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Dan Clore and Don Clore

Can you determine if these are the same person? Both seem to be writing in the same niche of the field. You have verified the record containing this title. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins 00:32, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

Yes. It should be Dan. Thanks for pointing it out. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:59, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

After the Last Elf is Dead

There are two illustrations for this story in Weird Tales, Summer 1988. Which one shows an armored figure from the waist up, holding a sword point down? Bob 18:14, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

That's the one on page 87. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:41, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

James Miller (II)

In your verified The Collected Captain Future: Man of Tomorrow, Volume Two, I updated the author of the letter on page 6 to James Miller (II). This was done to separate it from James Miller since it is unlikely he wrote the letter 35 years before he was born. ;-) If there is anything in the letter to better identify the letter writer, you may wish to update the new author record. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 15:49, 7 September 2015 (UTC)

It does include his full street address from when the letter was written, but I don't think that's really enough to disambiguate. Thanks for fixing this. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:48, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

The Master Mind of Mars

Ron, is the frontispiece in this pub captioned "Speak, Great Tur, ere I strike"? I'm looking for a Krenkel Barsoom illustration with that caption. Bob 21:28, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

There's no caption and the drawing of a woman with one hand raised standing above a prone and unconscious man doesn't seem like it would fit that caption anyway. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 22:58, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

The Red Death

I added the Fabian artwork to the story "The Red Death" in Whispers # 15-16. Bob 20:10, 10 September 2015 (UTC)

The Ameba

You have verified pubs containing "The Ameba" (The Best of L. Sprague de Camp) and The Ameba (both pubs). Would you please check and see if these are the same poem and should be varianted? Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 13:53, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

Plus another: "The Little Green Men" (The Best of L. Sprague de Camp) and The Little Green Men (Heroes and Hobgoblins). -- JLaTondre (talk) 13:56, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

The poems are identical. I also discovered that we have the titles listed incorrectly, at least in my copy of The Best of L. Sprague de Camp. The titles for all of the poems are listed with the quotation marks in the table of contents, which is how I suspect they crept into our records. However, on the title pages for each have no quotation marks. I would assume that this is the case with all of the Del Rey printings. If the SFBC edition has the same issue, we can simply merge the titles that exist elsewhere and remove the quotation marks from the remaining. I'll invite the other verifiers here to see if all agree on the needed edits. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:55, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

Ok for me.Hauck 15:45, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

Ok for me too.--Dirk P Broer 20:54, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

SFBC Edition, Gutter Code I03 has Quotes shown on pages 94, 207, and 295 matching the table of contents listings. Sorry to be the odd man out. Kevin 23:31, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

Alas, that makes correcting things a bit more complicated. While it may be more overall edits, I think it would be easiest, at least as far as understanding, to correct each individual publication. The SFBC publication already looks like it should and does not need corrections.

There are three poems that need to be addressed and we'll need to determine which title is canonical.

1. "Reward of Virtue" - This first appeared in the September 1970 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction which happily is verified here. It currently show the title as having the quotation marks, but given the confusion, I'm going to ask the verifier to confirm the form of the title before building the variant relationship.
2. "The Ameba" first appeared in the December 1973 issue of the fanzine Yandro, which we don't have in the database. Fictionmags has it though, and they list it with the quotation marks, so I'm going to proceed with that form as the canonical title.
3. The Little Green Men" fist appeared in the February 1976 issue of Fantasy Crossroads and is currently listed without quotation marks. This is also verified and I'll ask the verifier to confirm the title before making variants here as well.

I'll proceed with swapping the titles of the copy I've verified. I'll also correct the two unverified Phoenix Pick publications. I'm going to switch them to the unquoted titles. The Amazon look inside feature allows me access to the title page of one of the poems and it does not include the quotation marks. I'll assume that the two other poems follow the same convention despite the fact that all three are listed within quotes in the table of contents. Lastly, I'll fix the variants of the title records as necessary after I've heard back from their verifiers. I'll leave it up to the other verifiers of the other Del Rey publications to correct their own records, unless you would specifically like me to do it for you. Thanks to all for checking. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:26, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

"The Ghoul" by Hubbard

This title, as it appears in your verified publication record, is showing up on a clean up report, because it is typed as SERIAL with a novella length, but varianted to a NOVEL parent record. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 23:45, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

Since there is an edition of 273 pages, I'm going to assume it's a NOVEL and not novella and make the necessary changes. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 23:50, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

It was listed as a novella. Since the secondary sources listed it as a novel, I did an estimated word count using your spreadsheet and I recall it came out over 73,000 words. In any case sorry I forgot to clear the story length field when I converted it. Thanks for fixing the record. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:31, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

The Sowers of the Thunder Artwork

I imported the full-page artwork into The Sowers of the Thunder from the second printing of the same pub. Hope you don't mind, but if you do, feel free to pull them out. Bob 18:08, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

Little Fuzzy

I would like to change the publication date of this verified pub to November 2006. There's no note and no month stated, but it's in the Locus books received for November (issue 552, January 2007). Amazon (both US and UK) agrees on November. Any objections? Thanks, --Willem 13:48, 18 September 2015 (UTC)

I also replaced the amazon image with a full cover scan. --Willem 13:56, 18 September 2015 (UTC)

That's all fine. I don't know where the original month came from. It may have predated my verification. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:38, 18 September 2015 (UTC)

Thanks! Changed and noteds added. --Willem 09:08, 19 September 2015 (UTC)

Hounded

Hi, Ron. In your verified pub of the above would you have any objection to my adding the "Irish Pronunciation Guide" and the excerpt from Hexed, as well as a couple of notes? Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 00:17, 19 September 2015 (UTC)

That's fine. Please proceed. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:28, 19 September 2015 (UTC)

Submitted. Thanks / Doug / Vornoff 01:35, 19 September 2015 (UTC)

Default display of non-English translations

When you get a chance, could you please review this discussion? The proposal basically boils down to changing the behavior of the Summary Bibliography when the viewing user is not logged in. Currently only English translations are displayed for unauthenticated users. The proposal would change it to displaying all translations. The downside is that the Summary page could get longer and harder to navigate.

I am trying to get a sense of how widespread the support for this change is. TIA! Ahasuerus 01:03, 20 September 2015 (UTC)

Red Shadows

I added the Jones illustrations to the Red Shadows, as well as to the other versions of that pub. As always, if you have a problem with this, please don't hesitate to remove them. Two of the illustrations in this pub appeared in a Jeffrey Jones art book. Bob 00:42, 21 September 2015 (UTC)

A few points:

1. You left the overall artwork credit for Jones in the work. As far as I can tell the only other illustration aside from the plates, is a small frontispiece on page 2. There is a splotch of ink on the title page, but I'm not sure whether that should be considered an illustration. I think we should change the title of the overall artwork to "Red Shadows (frontispiece)" and assign it to page 2.
2. These are plates which are not part of the pagination and I don't think they should be listed with the page numbers they face. I probably would have used "plate 1", "plate 2", etc. and assigned them to their proper place with the pipe and a number that occurs between the pages where they occur (e.g. for the first plate: "plate 1|32.9"
3. Solomon Kane is the same illustration as the cover. I would make it a variant of the cover art record. I recall that there was a discussion where other editors disagreed as to the approach on repeated artwork, but we never came to a consensus and a variant is how I've handled these situations in other publications.

Let me know what you think. I'm happy to make the edits or will let you, if you'd like. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:47, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

I agree with most of your suggestions. I would not change the titles to "Plate x", etc., since the titles are given (in the illustration index). Another complication is that the plates in this edition are also in the first printing, but in a different order. Sticking with the name instead of assigning numbers will help avoid confusion. But, please go ahead and make the changes as you feel best! Bob 01:08, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

I think you misunderstood what I was suggesting regarding the plates. I was recommending changing the page number, not the name. I've gone ahead and made the edits so you can see what I was recommending. If you like how that looks, you can change the page numbers similarly for the first printing, reflecting the different order. However, it won't affect the title of the interior art records or the ordering in the second printing. Regardless, you should go ahead and assign the frontispiece to page 2 for the first printing, assuming identical page numbering. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:51, 26 September 2015 (UTC)

Like it, copied it. Thanks! Bob 17:11, 28 September 2015 (UTC)

The Book of Kane

I added the artwork to The Book of Kane; one of the illustrations is in a Jones art book. As always, if you object, please don't hesitate to remove the additions. Bob 21:51, 21 September 2015 (UTC)

Same comment as with Red Shadows above regarding the page numbers used for the plates. I do think it's fine to leave the overall artwork credit, for this publication, as there are several additional illustrations. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:00, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

I'll make these changes, since you agreed to make the changes to Red Shadows. Bob 01:09, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

The White Isle

I added the frontispiece to the contents for The White Isle and added to the notes. Bob 01:05, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

1984 World Fantasy Convention booklet

In this pub that you verified is a Jeff Jones illustration "Belling the Slayer" on p. 21. Is this illustration in color or B&W? I have two slightly different versions, one in Yesterday's Lily and the other in The Art of Jeffrey Jones. And a question about "Asleep" in the same pub, p. 19. There is an illo titled "Carol Asleep" in the Jones art books, showing the upper part of a woman's face (asleep), her chin and lower lip covered by a blanket, her hair spread on a pillow. Is this the same illustration? Bob 17:10, 28 September 2015 (UTC)

"Belling the Slayer" is in black and white. It's a drawing of a nude woman next to a skeleton with a scythe and either a headdress or antlers. The other is not the illustration you are describing. There is a sleeping woman in the background with a man in a loincloth with a dagger on his belt seen from behind and approaching her. Hope that helps. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:38, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Very much! Thank you for your trouble. Bob 17:15, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

This is more complex that I thought. Does the skeleton in the illustration have "jingle bells" over his shoulders and down his chest? All of the versions I have that do not have the bells have a second woman hugging the skeleton, arms over his shoulders. Bob 21:57, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

The second woman is there. I hadn't noticed it before. She is very faint, but that could be the reproduction of the drawing. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:27, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, that's the sketch, very similar to the final ink drawing. Thank you, Ron. Bob 20:16, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Amazing Stories, November 1952

Please confirm the story and the author feature in this issue, variously credited to "A. T. Kedzie" and "A. J. Kedzie". Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 07:18, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

Corrected. The T looks like a J in the font used. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:04, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

The Baum Bugle, Autumn 2005

Can you check if this title is actually titled "Ihmemma Oz", not "Ihmemaa Oz"? In any case, it should be either merged with the other interior art of the same name or made as variant of the cover art. Cover art of the Art House publication can be seen here. Thanks. --Jorssi|talk 12:21, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

The title is captioned as "Ihmemma" so I'm going to leave it as is. However, it is the same illustration as the cover you linked to, so I have created a variant. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:11, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

(The) Mask of the Sorcerer

Hi! I came across a review of this pub in another pub I'm updating. The cover image shows (as well as my review) that there is no 'The' before the word Mask. Can you confirm that the title page of your verified pub has the word 'The' preceding Mask? Thanks for checking. Syzygy 19:37, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

It's only missing on the cover. The title page, as well as the spine have the full title. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:36, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

Ok. Thanks again for taking the time to check on this. Syzygy 13:30, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

Alan Humter

Can you confirm the credit for three interior art records in this Whispers issue for Alan Humter? The work of fanzine artist "Alan Hunter" appeared in previous issues of Whispers. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 20:58, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

Corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:41, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

Astorita or Astarita

Can you confirm the artist credit for the work on page 106 of this publication? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 00:29, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

The credit is based solely on the signature, so I've corrected it. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:59, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

Review of The Road to Oz by Arthur E. Wald / Weld

There are three reviews of this Baum title in the database that have the same date and similar credtis. Two are credited to Arthur E. Weld and one to Arthur E. Wald. Can you check to see if they're the same review and should be merged and/or varianted? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 02:13, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

The credits are correct. I've assumed that Weld is the correct name, since it was published that way twice. I deleted the separate poem title (the review is in verse). My thoughts when I originally entered it was that perhaps a second title was warranted as we do with a review column that contains several reviews. Looking back on it, I think that was a mistake and have mentioned the title of the poem in the notes. The earlier printing excerpts only two of the stanzas from the larger poem, and I've added notes that it is an excerpt. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 14:19, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

Asa and Ava Brown

Can you check your PV'd publications to confirm the three credits for these authors? I suspect they're the same person, since all three are in Amazing Stories in the 1940s. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 02:27, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

The Ava credits are as we have them. The Asa credit has the correct name, but is also listed with the military rank of "Pfc." It looks like we missed the rank on at least two of the credits in that issue. I'll correct them after I've contacted Ron Kihara. I would guess that these two are actually different authors. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:47, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

Deryni Magic: A Grimoire

As one of the primary verifiers of Deryni Magic: A Grimoire, could you please review this discussion? We are trying to decide if we should add two SHORTFICTION titles to this NONFICTION pub. TIA! Ahasuerus 18:19, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

Thurber's The White Deer

Can you confirm the publisher given in this record? It's the only record currently giving the publisher name in this format. All the rest is entered as "Harvest / HBJ" which appears on the cover of the image linked to your record. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 18:27, 14 October 2015 (UTC)

I've changed it to match the usual form. It's my understanding, and is borne out by the help pages that the publisher's name need not reflect exactly what is on the title page. In this case, it has "A Harvest / HBJ Book" over "Harcourt Brace Jovanavich" I've no memory of why I added it in the form I did in 2009. Perhaps that was used in other publications at the time. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:23, 15 October 2015 (UTC)

Duplicate ISBN

Please check the two publications on this cleanup report, both of which you have primary verified. They have the same ISBN. If the ISBN is duplicated in the publication, please note it in the records, and then choose the "ignore" option of the cleanup report. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 19:52, 15 October 2015 (UTC)

Done. It's slightly more complicated as the Martin book lists different ISBNs for the trade and limited editions on the copyright page. I've reflected that in the notes. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:59, 15 October 2015 (UTC)

Ryan Bunch and Ryan Bunche

Can you confirm the credits of these authors and determine if they're the same person? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 17:39, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

He's the same person and he goes by Bunch on Facebook, so I'll make that the canonical name. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 20:09, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

Plachy Again

Hi Ron. I don't know if you remember this but we were having this discussion about artist Franz Plachy on the Help Desk a while ago. I thought I'd do something about straightening it out but put it off. I've added his first name and dates to his biography page. You agreed that his signature on this link in the Help Desk conversation was the same as the one in your verified pub so I was wondering if you'd want to change "Plachy" to "Franz Plachy" on that. Or if you agree, I'd do it for you. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 04:19, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

As I mentioned back in July, I'm happy to go with a new canonical name. I've changed the record in my pub. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 11:28, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Amazon and ebooks

Re the two publication records for titles by F. R. Maher: The page count field for ebooks is only used if the book is PDF format. In all other formats the pages are set by the user and file reader. You have the option to give Amazon's "Print length" (which is how they designate the number of pages) in the Note field.

One last thing Amazon Digital Services is not really a publisher; it's a platform for self-publishing. If you look at the Amazon listings, you'll see that credit is given in the "Sold by" field and not the "Publisher" field. There are other records in the database that credit them as the "publisher", but we should only use the publisher credit given in the book itself. If no publisher is credited, the field can be left blank, and then noted. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 15:53, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

I've made the changes you've requested. I would like to note that if these are indeed policies, neither is reflected in the help files. We certainly have extensive instructions on the special numbering for magazines and how to detail unnumbered pages at the beginning or end of books. If we are to have special rules for eBooks, we should probably document those standards rather than trying to catch when folks have done it incorrectly. I will note that I'm aware that there is some format that has something called, I believe, "real page numbers". My understanding is that it is constant no matter how the text is resized. I thought it was Kindle, but it may be iBooks (Apple). I generally don't purchase eBooks myself, unless it gives me enough of a discount on the audiobook (which strangely it sometimes does) to make it worthwhile. As for the publisher. That's clearly a special case for a single company. However, the review (and the only reason I entered these titles) does list the publisher as "Amazon Digital Services". I did check to see whether we had the publisher before adding the records and we certainly have plenty of pubs in the database. Perhaps until those are cleaned up, a note on the publisher advising not to use it would be warranted. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:35, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

Yes, we do need to document how entering ebooks may differ from print books, but I've had my share lately of being accused of railroading policy, so I'll leave that to some other intrepid soul. But in this case, we follow the stated standard for all publications: credit the publisher as stated in the book (print or electronic, no diff.) Regardless of what a secondary review states is the publisher, the Amazon Look Inside of the ebook shows no publisher credit. And the Amazon listing, as I said, also doesn't have a publisher field, only a "Sold by" field. As for the pages, it's pretty obvious that ebooks in Kindle/Mobi, Nook/ePub, or iBook formats don't have pages, so why should anything be entered into the Page Count field when the reader determines the number of pages, not the publisher? Mhhutchins|talk 04:13, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

R. S. Cragg or Craggs

Can you confirm the credit for the last piece in this issue? "Craggs" is the more common credit. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 16:11, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

No "s". I'll make the variant. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:05, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

Refugees from an Imaginary Country

I added the full-page illustrations to the contents of this pub; hope that's acceptable to you. If not, I'll take them out again. Bob 00:18, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

I also entered data for another edition of Transients and Other Disquieting Tales, including the Fabian illustrations. I'll leave it up to you if that content should be imported into the trade hardcover. Bob 03:25, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

Garan the Eternal

I have updated your verified 228201 to add the short stories One Spell Wizard and Legacy from Sorn Fen. Please visit a discussion at User talk:Bluesman#Garan the Eternal where we are discussing if this should be classified as a collection or omnibus. --Marc Kupper|talk 01:35, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

Remembering Derleth

A quick question re: your verified Remembering Derleth. Is it possible that "Harry Warren, Jr., Concluded His Tribute to Derleth With These Words ..." was by Harry Warner, Jr. rather than by "Harry Warren, Jr."? Ahasuerus 02:28, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

My typo (twice due to cut and paste). Now Corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:33, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for checking! Ahasuerus 02:51, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

ConAdian Souvenir Book

Re the single interior art record in this publication: I was varianting the titles published under the pseudonym "Barry Smith" to Barry Windsor-Smith, but stopped when I came to the record in this publication. Is this a single work with multiple co-artists, or several works by individual artists? If the latter, then there should be separate records for each artist. (I would have brought this to the attention of the PV1 editor, but there have been issues in the past about the detailed interior art credits for these convention programs.) Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 21:56, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

You may not recall the history of my suggested edits to this publication. Bill refused any of my suggested edits including, specifically, detailing the individual artwork. If you are suggesting the intermediate change of crediting one overall INTERIORART credit for each artist that had anything included in the book, that isn't something I contemplated since I wanted to have one credit per illustration. You were involved in the ultimate resolution of my proposed edits where we decided to let Bill keep the record as he wanted. Ahasuerus eventually convinced Bill that I had not overwritten his Curry verifications. I believe that Bill's belief that I had done so may have had more to do with his refusal of my proposed edits than any other stated reason. Even after that was resolved, I didn't feel comfortable reopening discussions for this book, nor would I feel comfortable doing so now.

In answer to your original question, there is not a single work by multiple artists. As the second verifier, I'd be happy with any changes that better detail the contents of this book. However, because of the history noted above. I'd rather not make those edits. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:31, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

It is entirely against the ISFDB standard to create a single record for multiple different works by multiple artists/authors. I can't imagine anyone believing otherwise. You would be very well within the standards to replace this record with seven records credited to the individual artists. It is optional to create individual records for each work within the same publication by the same artist, but not to combine all of them into one record. As stupid as it may look in the record, I am forced to create a variant in order to clear up the summary page for "Barry Smith". It's situations like this that make me wonder why I even bother wasting so much time cleaning up the data on this site. Mhhutchins|talk 01:51, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

"A Wizard of Earthsea", by Ursula Le Guin

I added a cover artist for our verified edition of this book, based on the attribution given by Wikipedia. Chavey 05:11, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Isip

Is there a way of knowing which of the Isips were responsible for the three works which are still attributed to the the pseudonym Isip. If not, they will have to be varianted to "unknown". Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 17:33, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

There is no signature or any other clue for the one I own. Thus, I've made it unknown and noted accordingly. I've left the question for the other two illustrations on their verifier's talk page. He hasn't posted to the Wiki in about a year. However, his Library Thing page shows recent activity, so I've emailed him to alert him of the question. I also asked him to let us know if he can't or doesn't want to participate so we can put up an inactive banner if needed. Lastly, I also brought the other form of the name (R. Isip) into the relationships. Given that it is used more often than Rey, I made it the parent. Hopefully Tpi will respond. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:34, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Weird Tales, July 1950

Can you confirm that this issue is credited to the editor's full name, unlike the other issues of the same year? If so, that issue will have to be unmerged from its editor title record, creating a new one credited to the full name. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 18:03, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:51, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Ray Beam and Rau Beam

Can you confirm the two similar credits in this publication? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 03:04, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

That was a typo on my part. Corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:40, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Vacant PV1s

Ron, I’m shifting some books so I’m moving many PV1 verifications to ‘Transient’. If you want to take over the top slot at Engine Summer, Unquenchable Fire and The Deep, you’re welcome. More to come, inevitably. PeteYoung 22:58, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

Sure, and thanks. Just drop me a note if you need me shift any other verifications up. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 23:29, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

The Chinese Agent

The initials J.L. on the cover of this are those of Joseph Lombardero a.k.a. J. Lombardero, I'll have to create a pseudonym there. For a signature comparison see Heritage Auction site. Horzel 09:13, 13 November 2015 (UTC)

Updated. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:39, 13 November 2015 (UTC)

A Wizard of Earthsea

Cover artist of this Ace 1973 edition is Joseph Lombardero, according to Diamond Bay Research. (That site gives Warren Roth Gallery as source, with a site that no longer exists, but they still sell Lombardero art on ebay). Horzel 14:20, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

Rick Lal or Lai

Can you confirm the credit of this work? Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 17:38, 15 November 2015 (UTC)

Typo on my part, now corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 19:45, 15 November 2015 (UTC)

Weird Tales, Fall 1998

Hi, Ron. In your verified pub above, I have a question about the interior art records for "The Hero's Celluloid Journey" by Somtow. The six drawings, [2] thru [7], are exactly the same. Should they be handled as separate contents, as you have them? Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 00:40, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

I believe that they should. However, I also should have made the repeated items as variants of the first appearance, which I've now done. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:15, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

Hilgar or Hilger

Please confirm the credit for this work? There's a note that the book was edited "Hilger". but this introduction is credited to "Hilgar". Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 19:44, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

Corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 22:08, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

Edmond Dantes

Is this speculative fiction? Mhhutchins|talk 08:25, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

It's in Reginald. I don't really have any other information about it. I wouldn't think his criteria for inclusion was wider than ours is. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:24, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

I'm also curious. You appear to have merged the two editions. Given that the 1884 edition is expanded nearly 88% (based on page count), I would think that we'd want to keep the editions separate. My understanding is that our policy was not to merge titles when there have been significant changes. I'll also note that Reginald lists both editions without stating that it is merely a re-titling. He does note that the 1884 book is "expanded". --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 15:08, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

I didn't merge them. Each of them have been varianted to the same title (since they are presumably the same work), and they each have separate title records. They showed up on a clean-up report because you added them to a series and gave them the same series number. If you think they're the same number in the series (and presumably the same work), there can only be one title given the series number. That's why I created a parent record to record the series and series number. Their appearance on the clean-up report is what brought the work to my attention. Mhhutchins|talk 18:28, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

No summary, synopsis, or review revealed any trace of speculation about the book. (Unless one considers speculating about what happens to a fictional character after a novel's end is considered speculative.) I'd like to know Reginald's rationale for including it in his reference work. Alas, we'll never know. Mhhutchins|talk 18:50, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Robert Couldon or Coulson

Can you confirm the author credit of this work? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 18:46, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

Corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 18:49, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

Anne Claire or Anne-Claire Payet

Can you confirm the co-artist credit of this record? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 00:24, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

Sure. Corrected and the other verifier notified. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:02, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

Waking Merlin

Formats and Editions (WorldCat) Last hour you approved my creation from OCLC data of the new novel Merlin's Apprentice, sequel to this one, namely Waking Merlin (2005) whose first edition we have, ISFDB Publication Record # 310434.

Do you have advice about how to add that 2006 edition (displayed first in Formats and Editions) which represented the novel as "A Katrina Picket Adventure". [1] If clone the pub, retain the Cover by Thomas Taylor date 2005, on probability that the cover illustration by Taylor is identical but reduced in size and incorporated in new jacket design? Or a new 2006 cover by Taylor? [2] Series name "Katrina Picket"? or something longer? or "Merlin" which is the writer's simple designation on her website The Merlin books; probably more recognizable as it occurs in both titles (there has been no third book); must be one of numerous series with Merlin names.

That is all for me -12-04 and I might wake up thinking I don't need your advice but thanks in advance if you do. Good night. --Pwendt|talk 23:45, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

If I were doing these edits, I would clone the publication including the cover. It appears to me that the Taylor cover is essentially the same and I believe there are other examples in the database of the same COVERART title being used for the same artwork in different sizes.

You are correct that there are already several series with the name "Merlin". Series is one of the options in the search tool. I'd go with the "Katrina Picket" for the series name in order to avoid having to disambiguate the series name with something like "Merlin (Landman)".

Hope that helps. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 00:44, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

The History of Middle Earth

As a verifier of one of the volumes of The History of Middle Earth, I would like to ask your input on an issue of authorship. Most of the title records for volumes in this series list both J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien as authors. Two do not (Vols. 1 and 10). Christopher is credited with editorship on the title pages, but his contributions go well beyond those of the average editor. On the other hand, strictly speaking an editor of a collection is not given author status on ISFDB. The exception to this rule that has given Christopher author status for most of these books is likely a judgment by ISFDB editors that the fraction of content he has contributed to these books warrants it.

Please see <a href="http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Help_desk#Tolkien_-_Book_of_Lost_Tales_Vol._1">this entry</a> at the help desk for arguments on both sides.

I would like to get your opinion on this, so that a consensus can be reached and all of the volumes be credited in a consistent way. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Ldb001 19:58, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

Mabel Tibbetts or Tibbitts

Can you confirm the two credits in this publication differ from those found in other issues? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 05:35, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

They do. I've made the appropriate variants. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 06:39, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

The Iron Star

Can you confirm the cover art credit for this record? I'm trying to determine if "Laura" might be the fairly well-known Los Angeles fan who is more often spelled as "Lora". Most of her art work appeared in William Crawford publishing ventures, like FPCI and Griffin. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 20:30, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

The credit on the jacket is simply "Crozetti". Chalker/Owings has it as "Laura Ruth Crozetti" and that may be the source of the full name. I also see comments from Bob referencing Chalker's column in Fantasy Newsletter and that may a further source for the full name. I'll also note that throughout Chalker/Owings, when they list more than just Crozetti, they either list "Laura" (1 instance) or "Laura Ruth" (3 instances), so they definitely believed that to be the spelling of her name. I'll also mention that of the remaining items credited to "Laura Ruth", C/O only credits her with the cover of The Machine-God Laughs. They list the remaining items, Science-Fantasy Quintette, Fantasy Twin and From Death to the Stars all as having jackets by Walter alone. here. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:18, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

And to make it even more complicated, SFE lists most of those as by "Lora Ruth Crozetti". Mhhutchins|talk 02:54, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

I was thinking that SFE would be more authoritative, and they probably are about Lora vs Laura. However, I have Quadratic which they claim has a Crozetti jacket. It is clearly credited to Walter on the front flap. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 07:57, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

I'd like to change The Iron Star to match the simple "Crozetti" as stated on the jacket. However, there is this additional Book Club edition that shares the cover art record and is verified by an inactive editor. I think it is probably OK to assume that the jacket was reprinted with the same crediting as the trade edition. Do you agree? If so, I'll change them both. For the remaining items, we're only working from secondary sources and we've already demonstrated may not reflect the actual credit on the book. I'd suggest that we replace those credits with whatever name we determine to be canonical until actual copies can be verified or Walter if no other source for the Crozetti credit can be found. Alas, none are available as facsimiles here. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:18, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

I agree that you should change your record to reflect what is stated, along with that of the PV'd book club edition. I'm also thinking there should be strong consideration of making just "Crozetti" the canonical form of the name, even if we're able to confirm her complete name, since it doesn't appear that she ever used it. This all came up because of the submissions I'm holding by Dirk Broer to make "Laura Ruth Crozetti" into a pseudonym of "R. Warner-Crozetti", something I'm wary about doing. See this discussion for more background. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 01:26, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

Done. I've gone ahead and varianted it to her current canonical name, though I don't know if that will stand. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 01:30, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

I also wanted to mention that I agree that "Crozetti" is probably the best choice for the canonical name. We'd certainly end up with fewer variants that way. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 08:04, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

The Eagle's Shadow

Please check the price field of this record. The number there appears to be the correct ISBN for the book, according to the OCLC record. Thanks for checking. Mhhutchins|talk 02:52, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

Fixed. It appears that the number that was in the ISBN field was from another edition that I must have cloned. The one in the price field is the correct number. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:02, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

Merritt Linn and Lynn

Could you confirm the credits for Merritt Lynn and determine if pseudonym and variants are necessary? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 02:01, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

We had the credit wrong on one, though Miller/Contento and the table of contents did as well. The other is correctly credited so I've made the variant. Miller/Contento lists Lynn as as pseudonym for Linn as well. They have a third title that we also have wrong but it's in the opposite direction. I have a facsimile on a CD with scans of several issues including that one. So I'll correct it as well. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 03:35, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, Ron. Mhhutchins|talk 04:57, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Death's Deputy

In Fantasy Review, August 1983, Jack Chalker's article "Daddy" reviews Crawford's small press publications, among them Death's Deputy, which you verified. Chalker reports that, "1500 copies were printed, of which 750 were clothbound by Crawford, 300 were bound into From Death to the Stars (1953), and 450 were sold to Greenberg (Martin Greenberg, for his Pick-A-Book line) who bound them in cheap vinylized cardboard bindings. Jacket by Laura Ruth Crozetti." Lou Goldstone is credited for a lot of other Crawford jackets, but not this one. Clearly, I can't verify this information, but pass it on for your consideration. The article plus a follow-up are a pretty thorough review of Crawford's publications. Bob 02:49, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Goldstone is credited on the flap. Additionally, you can see his signature in the bottom right corner.

The notes already in the record about the printing counts are from a number of sources, including the 1998 edition of The Science-Fantasy Publishers (Chalker/Owings) which post dates his column in Fantasy Review. C/O does correct the jacket credit, and presumably the 700/500 split is another correction of the FR article where he reported 750/450. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 04:04, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Ron, for reminding me that you have a copy of Chalker/Owings. Can you look at the non-verified credits for Laura Ruth Crozetti to see if they match that reference. I'm in the process of determining how we should handle her credits based on the newly-found info that she published a novel as R. Warner-Crozetti. Here's a discussion I'm having with Dirk who brought this to my attention. Feel free to add any input you may obtain from Chalker/Owings to the discussion. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 04:54, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

John Williams Waterhouse

Would you mind double checking the credit for John Williams Waterhouse (middle name with an 's') vs. the correct spelling of John William Waterhouse (without the 's') in the following publications?

• The King of Elfland's Daughter - cover credit
• Time and the Gods - cover credit
• Art of Imagination: 20th Century Visions of Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy - interior credit, p533
• Fantasy of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History - interior credit, p25

Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 15:16, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Both the Gollancz books have the extra "s", so I've made the variant. The reprints of the cover does not. I've asked the other verifier of the reprint to verify. Once he does, I'll correct those records. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 19:34, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Marta Randell or Randall

Can you confirm the author credit of this record? Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 19:24, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

It was an error on our part, now corrected. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 19:42, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Horror: Another 100 Best Books

Hi, Ron. On p.389 of your pv'd Horror: Another 100 Best Books you have a publess review of Ruth Rendell's "A Sight for Sore Eyes". Everything I've seen shows this to be a psychological thriller with no spec-fic content but it is reviewed in this book of horror reviews. If you think this belongs in the db, I'll add a pub for it, unless you want to do it. If you don't, could you make an essay of the review and delete the review? One more of the publess titles gone then, either way. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 04:58, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Done. The standard was different when this book was entered and I'm sure I would have entered the novel with the review. Someone must have deleted the novel without letting me know that it left the review hanging. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 09:25, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. I think there are other straight crime novels by Rendell which also don't belong. I'll look into them. Doug / Vornoff 04:41, 22 December 2015 (UTC) Just looked - they all have several pubs and reviews in genre mags. Think I'll leave well enough alone there. Doug / Vornoff 05:03, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

A Hot Day's Night

Hi, Ron. In your pv'd F&SF, Sept-Oct 2015, the above story first appeared in High Country News, Jan. 19, 2015. I submitted a note in the story title record. Do you want to change the date for it? Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 02:47, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

You can go ahead and change the date. We don't ordinarily advise verifiers when changing a date of a title record. Thanks. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 02:54, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

Done. Thanks, Doug / Vornoff 06:54, 25 December 2015 (UTC)

Myth-Told Tales

You verified Myth-Told Tales as being by Robert Lynn Asprin. The front cover has Robert Asprin without the middle name. If the title page has Robert Lynn Asprin I would recommend adding a publication note explaining that the publication has Robert Lynn Asprin on the title page so that someone casually looking at the page would not wonder if there's an error.

The Ace eBook edition had "Robert Lynn Asprin" in ISFDB but Amazon offers a Look Inside that shows "Robert Asprin" on the title page. The Ace paperback also has "Robert Lynn Asprin" in ISFDB but the Look Inside of the ebook was a scan of the pb and and so I assumed that also has "Robert Asprin" on the title page. I have corrected both of the Ace editions.

If your publication has "Robert Asprin" then you can update your publication record and merge the title record with its parent. That'll wipe out the variant title stuff as "Robert Asprin" is the canonical name and yours is the last publication with the Robert Lynn Asprin version of the name. --Marc Kupper|talk 06:14, 27 December 2015 (UTC)

The title page has "Robert Lynn Asprin" and I've added a note indicating the name on the cover differs from the title page. I do notice that the Worldcat record for the mass market paperback lists the name as "Robert Lynn Asprin" under Responsibility which is supposed to match what is on the title page. I don't know if we should give that more weight than the look inside of the Kindle. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 13:11, 27 December 2015 (UTC)

The Man Who Sold the Moon

Hi. Your verified listing http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?43803 says this book has 299 pages. My copy, also stated First Edition, has 288 pages. Is mine a variant, or is the listing wrong? Thanks. Markwood 06:17, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

We have the same edition. I must have missed that when I verified. Thanks for pointing it out. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 12:36, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

The Severed Hand

Your verified Tales from the German has The Severed Hand as a translation of Kalif Storch. I would have expected it to be a translation of Die Geschichte von der abgehauenen Hand. Would you mind double checking this? Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 17:43, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for finding that. I must have grabbed to wrong record number when originally linking the variant. --Ron ~ Rtrace^Talk 19:13, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

After Dark

I added the gutter code to After Dark, and changed "Verified copy" to "Primary verified copy" in the notes. Bob 16:42, 30 December 2015 (UTC)