I have been following this thread with interest. As a relatively new lacer, it has been very disappointing to me to find so many very interesting sounding lace books labeled as "out of print" or "unavailable" except at the unreasonably high prices from dealers of used books. It is almost as though by being out of print their value shoots up to unattainable prices. I wish there was some way a lace or crafting book company could be formed so that these books could be reprinted at reasonable prices (and put these high prices back down to a reasonable amount). Maybe the authors could come together and pool resources?
As far as a book becoming public domain after the author has been dead for x amount of time - how is it even possible to know when an author died to count the years when a book becomes public domain? This information would only be known in close circles of lacers or within the families of the author. In most cases, the books will not become public domain within my lifetime. As others have said, lace making is not a hobby for the poor, unless one happens to be rather handy at making all your own pillows and bobbins, and if a generous instructor is available to teach and supply his/her own patterns to work. I hope a solution to this will be found so this fascinating art and all the labor intensive work put into the making of the books will not be lost. Liz in Missouri where we had a windy, cloudy day. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
