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Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï
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Questions (not edit requests) > Is it possible to request a rare and almost unknown edition of a book to be added to the database?

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WiseLlama | 5 comments I'm currently reading The Bridge Over the River Kwai By Pierre Boulle. The specific edition I'm reading was left to me by my grandfather and it's an old 1959 French edition, limited to 4400 copies reserved for members of a literary circle that ended back in 1966. I want to request this edition be added to the database, but I can't find traces of it anywhere on the net, so I was wondering if it is even possible.


message 2: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments If the book was not published the regular way but only made available to the members of that circle, it shouldn't be added to the database. If there also was a regular print run, it could be added. Have you tried to find it in Worldcat?


WiseLlama | 5 comments lethe wrote: "If the book was not published the regular way but only made available to the members of that circle, it shouldn't be added to the database. If there also was a regular print run, it could be added...."

Thank you for your answer. I did not find it on Worldcat, but honestly, I don't think there has been a regular print run.


message 4: by L J (last edited Oct 11, 2022 05:33PM) (new)

L J | 625 comments lethe wrote: "If the book was not published the regular way but only made available to the members of that circle, it shouldn't be added to the database. If there also was a regular print run, it could be added...."

WiseLlama wrote: "lethe wrote: "...Thank you for your answer. I did not find it on Worldcat, but honestly, I don't think there has been a regular print run."

There's a 1958 French edition on ABEbooks that I didn't find on Goodreads

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...

@ WiseLlama
don't know if this book is close enough to what you have for you to want it added

@ lethe
I don't know enough to say if it should be added to Goodreads database but I saw it so am sharing the information


message 5: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments Thanks, L J. The seller doesn't mention it's a special edition and since it is 1958, not 1959, it may not be the edition in question. (This could be its Worldcat record: https://www.worldcat.org/nl/title/416... )

I did find a 1959 edition with publisher "Club des libraires de France". Could that be the literary circle you mentioned, WiseLlama? https://www.worldcat.org/nl/title/490... (BnF: https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/c... )


message 6: by L J (last edited Oct 11, 2022 07:50PM) (new)

L J | 625 comments lethe wrote: "Thanks, L J. The seller doesn't mention it's a special edition and since it is 1958, not 1959, it may not be the edition in question. (This could be its Worldcat record: https://www.worldcat.org/nl..."

You're welcome. I realize they are not the same printing but since both came out after the 1957 movie they might be very similar. Possibly close enough to satisfy shelving needs.


message 7: by WiseLlama (last edited Oct 13, 2022 07:28AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

WiseLlama | 5 comments L J wrote: "lethe wrote: "If the book was not published the regular way but only made available to the members of that circle, it shouldn't be added to the database. If there also was a regular print run, it c..."

Wow, yeah that's actually it. I'm pretty sure of it because it was indeed an edition that was distributed to members of the "club des libraries français". Good job for finding it! Too bad there's no image of the cover though.


message 8: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments Added the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

Please check the page count, Worldcat and BnF have different numbers. Is it a hardcopy, or a paperback?

Perhaps you could make a scan or take a photo of your copy? If you upload it here: https://www.goodreads.com/photo/new , a librarian can grab it from there.


WiseLlama | 5 comments lethe wrote: "Added the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

Please check the page count, Worldcat and BnF have different numbers. Is it a hardcopy, or a paperback?

Perh..."


Hardcopy. I don't have a camera right now, my phone's camera is broken, it only works in selfie mode and the result wouldn't be good. Just in case someone happens to find it somewhere, the cover is extremely simple-looking, there's the British flag with a smaller Japanese flag on its right. Nothing's written anywhere except for the book title on the spine in a very small typo. There are 265 pages, so the BnF version seems to be the more accurate one (I don't know why there's a 2-page difference).


message 10: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments Thanks, changed/added.


WiseLlama | 5 comments lethe wrote: "Thanks, changed/added."

Thank you very much! I'll add a picture of the cover here if I can get my hand on a camera/scanner printer.


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