Subject: Help with Joseph Hemard (permissions & sources)
From: Michael Widener <MWidener@LAW.UTEXAS.EDU>
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:17:12 -0600
Sender: Exlibris <EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME>
I'm assisting a patron who is preparing an article about the French book illustrator Joseph Hemard (1880-1961). He wants to include several illustrations from one of Hemard's books, but we don't know where to get permission. A cursory look at French copyright law indicates that the illustrations are still protected by copyright, and that permission would be required to reprint them in a scholarly or professional journal. (For an excellent guide to copyright law around the world, see "International Copyright Law and Practice" by Melville B. Nimmer & Paul Edward Geller, New York: Matthew Bender, 1988- ; also available online in Lexis.)
The book containing the illustrations was published in 1944 by E. Desfossés, a firm active through most of the 20th century. It appears to have last published something in 1972 under the name Desfossés-Néogravure (judging from WorldCat).
At this point, the author and I are stumped as to who to ask for permission. I welcome any clues, suggestions, etc.
I'd also welcome any citations to source material on Hemard and his work. We own Marcel Valotaire's JOSEPH HEMARD (New York: Brentano's, 1929) and have been in contact with Prof. Margaret Harp of UNLV. Regards,
*****
MIKE WIDENER, C.A., Head of Special Collections
Joseph D. Jamail Fellow in Law Librarianship
Tarlton Law Library, School of Law
The University of Texas at Austin
727 E. Dean Keeton Street, Austin, TX 78705-3224
Phone: 512/471-7263; fax: 512/471-0243
E-mail: mwidener@law.utexas.edu
Web site: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/rare/