A Picture of Marketing
I just received an exciting notice that one of my favorite books, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, is being released October 27, and the pre-orders are going well. But wait: according to copyright theory, this isn't suppose to happen. There are many editions out there already. The book is long ago in public domain. And this is hardly the only case. Tens of thousands of public domain works are still sold the same as new releases. Intriguing. A theory of copyright that posits that this is impossible has a problem.
Comments (4)
Abhilash Nambiar
I remember reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. Compared to books on Austrian Economics, it makes real light reading. Must say I enjoyed it a lot. If ever you are in Chicago, I recommend you visit the Art Institute of Chicago, they have the painting of Dorian Gray used in the 1945 movie based on the novel.
Published: October 14, 2009 10:31 AM
David
Abhilash,
Where, approximately, is the Dorian Gray painting located? Big fan of the book & the movie version, in fact I think I actually Googled once to find out who did the paintings in the 1945 film. Would love to see it next time at the Art Institute, somehow never noticed it there.
Published: October 14, 2009 1:48 PM
Abhilash Nambiar
David,
Sorry I do not remember the exact location, last I had been there was 4 years back. I am sure the museum staff will be able to help you. It is a permanent exhibit.
If you remember the novel, Dorian Gray's picture deteriorated along with his character. In the movie, the painter had to paint the picture during shooting as the story progress with Dorian Gray doing more and more evil thing. The final picture, that of an ugly and disfigured man, is the finished picture. For those not familiar with the novel, it looks totally unspectacular. You can see what it looks like on Wikipedia.
Published: October 14, 2009 7:21 PM
David
Abhilash,
Thank you, I will inquire next time I'm there. Did a search on the museum's site earlier & found it was listed in an American art gallery section.
Here's a pic of the painting in question from Flickr for anyone who'd like to see it.
It would be something else if they managed to reunite that painting with the Henrique Medina portrait of young Dorian Gray. Apparently that painting was bought by a private collector from an MGM studio auction.
Jeffrey, good eye on the new printing and the implications for copyright arguments!
Published: October 14, 2009 9:21 PM