The original of this posting was sent to the list over a week ago, but
accidentally sent from an unregistered address and not posted.
We (and others) have been astonished at recent exchanges on Arachne. A few
members have been happy to discuss us and our business - even how to
appropriate our copyright material, which in law is our intellectual
property - often on the basis of wrong information, including an imaginary
1,000 print run! We wonder how other members would react at seeing their own
activities discussed or their property being 'cased' on line in open forum.
Talk of 'greedy and uncaring' publishers 'burying' Miss Channer's
'legacy', and other imaginative speculation, suggests ignorance of the
realities of publishing, especially for a small specialist house such as
ours, and of copyright law. Moreover, it ignores the recognised contribution
Ruth Bean Publishers has made both to the revival of the craft since 1971,
and to the standards of text and production for lace books.
It was after all OUR initiative to prepare the Mat kit in the first
place, and to publish it with Anne Buck's 'In the Cause of English Lace'
(which itself includes a fine book by Miss Channer). Without this, it is
most unlikely that either would have been available at all, and the Mat was
available for a full 10 years.
As far as reprinting is concerned, we consider our publications for
reprinting whenever we can identify an economic demand, and we seek the
views of our supplier customers, as is customary. This applies equally to
the Mat and we'll advise the list and those who have written to us of any
developments, but we do prefer to make our own decisions. It is our business
and our funds we risk, but we are in the business of disseminating, not
suppressing knowledge.
Ruth
Ruth Bean Publishers
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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