ISBN only exists on Amazon, data affects other editions

[Peter]

Simenon only copyrighted the book in 1949, yet this edition claims publication in June 1940.

On researching the title, I find it was first published in French under the title Les Fantomes Du Chapelier on 10 April 1949.

This implies that the 1940 book (ISBN 089190428X) is an error introduced by Amazon. Therefore:
1. Does this mean it should be deleted?
2. Should the first publication information for The Hatters Phantoms and Les fantomes du chapelier be updated?
3. Should those editions be combined?

Being new at this, it is just a little beyond my competence. Any instruction/advice/etc. would be appreciated.

[rivka, Former Moderator]

The ISBN is listed on plenty of other sites, particularly UK/NZ/AUS sites.

The 1940 date could be an error, or it could be correct. Where did you find the information that 1949 was the first date of publication?

[Peter]

rivka wrote: "The ISBN is listed on plenty of other sites, particularly UK/NZ/AUS sites.

The 1940 date could be an error, or it could be correct. Where did you find the information that 1949 was the first date ..."

If you check out the other sites listing that ISBN, they all trace back to Amazon as the data source, be it Amazon .com, UK, NZ, or even JP.

The first place that rang a bell was the copyrights page in my copy, ISBN 0-15-639342-5. It stated there that copyright by Simenon was 1949 and English translation copyright 1976.

WorldCat lists the earliest editions as 1949 under the French title. The first English edition is not listed until 1960. http://www.worldcat.org/title/hatters-phantoms/oclc/2318059/editions?sd=asc&referer=br&se=yr&qt=facet_all_yr%3A&editionsView=true&fq=

I used 3 different rare book searches to look for the 1940 edition. All came back to copies on Amazon.

First edition searches for the book under either title come back with several "firsts", the earliest of them being the 1949 edition.

Simenon's biography (2 sites) stated that he did his writing in French and it was then translated into other languages. (Implication: First edition would be in French, not English.)

I could go on, but I spent 5 hours at this and don't remember all the sites I visited in trying to track it down.

Does this help, or am I just getting things confused?

[Peter]

I have been continuing my search for direct proof on this issue, and found it, albeit in French. Luckily, although it was never good, it was good enough for me to understand that the site was giving first edition information.

I found this site referenced at Le Centre d'études Georges Simenon et le Fonds Simenon de l'Université de Liège, http://www.toutsimenon.com/oeuvre/tout-simenon.html, which took me to the information on the book at http://www.toutsimenon.com/oeuvre/tout-simenon/fiche-livre/17-Les-fant%C3%B4mes-du-chapelier_3905.

Their statement "Édition originale : Presses de la Cité, 1949", I think is self explanatory. So I guess we are back at the question of how to properly handle it.

[rivka, Former Moderator]

You can remove the copyright date from this edition, and correct the date of first publication of the work to 1949.

[Peter]

rivka wrote: "You can remove the copyright date from this edition, and correct the date of first publication of the work to 1949."

Should I also combine the French and English editions if they are not already so?

Also, shouldn't I also change the original published title to the French version?

[rivka, Former Moderator]

Yes and yes.

[Peter]

rivka wrote: "Yes and yes."

Thanks for the help. I'll get right on it.

[Peter]

Peter wrote: "rivka wrote: "Yes and yes."

Thanks for the help. I'll get right on it."

Done