The Maniac Collector's Inbox It’s Small World vs.
As the illustrations above clearly show, the world is getting smaller. As an example, I recently had an email from my friend and fellow Forlockian Takahiko Endo. Takahiko is the Tokyo manager of Forlockians United, know in certain circles simple as F.U. Well we say F.U. too because we want all collectors of foreign translation of the Canon to united! There was an email message from him asking about some Sinhalese translations listed on a website in Sri Lanka. Takahiko had experienced some difficulties when he tried to register on the site and asked if I would try. The problem persisted when I tried to register. The site only offered Sri Lanka as a drop-down for delivery and would not allow you to proceed any further. I found a ‘contact’ link and fired off an email explaining the frustration I was experiencing as well as details of the books I wanted to order. This was sent over the weekend and on Monday morning I received a response from the website. The email was from someone named Mel and he needed a phone number. He said he would call and walk me through the order. I replied with my cell number and a time when I would be available. At the appointed time my cell phone rang. This was on a Monday and will make more sense soon. Mel was calling from the company’s office in London. Their website showed them having offices in Sri Lanka, London, and Dallas. I told him I lived near Dallas and was just curious. He laughed when he told mw he was in Dallas on Sunday and had flown back to London that same day. Mel owns a house in Flower Mound! This is the small world part of the article. On the day before Thanksgiving, the Sinhalese translation arrived. I unpacked the books and separated one stack for me and another stack for Takahiko. As I was doing so, one of the books jumped out at me in particular. The book was Lohitha Pareekshanaya saha taw (A Study in Scarlet) published by Parivartaka in 2006. This is where the Six-Degrees of Sherlockian Separation comes in. The cover appeared to be the same one used for the Illustrated Classics No.110. When compared side by side, there are subtle differences between the Classics Illustrated cover and the Sinhalese edition. Jerry Margolin, whom I have written about in the past (Inbox no. 173; 373), owns the original painting used for Classics Illustrated. I don’t suppose they asked Jerry for permission to use the artwork. I will ask Jerry next month when I see him in New York City. Happy Collecting!!
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Past 2009 Columns January 4, 2009 January 11, 2009 January 18, 2009 January 25, 2009 February 2, 2009 February 8, 2009 February 22, 2009 March 1 , 2009 March 8, 2009 March 15, 2009 March 22, 2009 March 29, 2009 April 5 , 2009 April 12 , 2009 April 19, 2009 April 26, 2009 May 3, 2009 May 10, 2009 May 24, 2009 May 31, 2009 June 7, 2009 June 14, 2009 June 21, 2009 June 28, 2009 July 5, 2009 July 12, 2009 July 19, 2009 July 26, 2009 August 2, 2009 August 9, 2009 August 16, 2009 August 23, 2009 August 30, 2009 September 6, 2009 September 13, 2009 September 20, 2009 September 27, 2009 October 4, 2009 October 11, 2009 October 18, 2009 October 25, 2009 November 1 , 2009 November 8, 2009 November 15, 2009 November 22, 2009 November 29, 2009 |
