New General Catalog
of Old Books and Authors

The aim of this site is to catalog all deceased authors, and all authors of books published before 1964, including their full name(s), date of death, date of birth, pseudonyms, sex & nationality (for non-EU citizens who died after 1920), and their books published before 1964.

The purpose of this site is:

1. by cataloging the dates of death of authors, to enable the determination of the expiry of their copyright where a “life + x years” rule applies.  Where the date of death is unavailable, the date of birth or date of their first publication can be used to set an upper limit to the duration of copyright – see my Authors by Year of Death webpages to see whose copyright expires each year in the near future.
2. by cataloging the dates of publication of books, to enable the determination of the expiry of their copyright where a “publication + x years” rule applies.  In the US, for works published from 1923 thru 1963 the copyright status also depends on whether the initial copyright was renewed – see my Catalog of Copyright Entries (Renewals) webpages for guidance on this.
3. to identify those books already available on the Internet, to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort by “electronic republishers”.

This is a mammoth project, and is only partially complete.  The online webpages here currently catalog over 124 000 authors out of what I estimate to be at least 500 000 deceased authors, and over 210 000 (30 000 of them online) out of what I estimate to be at least 2 500 000 books published before 1964.

Of these old authors, about 20 800 (17%) are female.  If you want to find about more about women authors and their books, look at the Celebration of Women Writers and Hypatia Trust websites.

NB: I take great care in collecting and collating the information from which these webpages are produced, but errors do exist in the sources, and quite possibly in my transcriptions and understanding (eg: some of the ‘book’ titles may be pamphlets or learned journal articles; the dates for plays are often those for the first performance, which may be significantly different from the formal publication date; and for many other books there can be small variations for the publication year).  The information is provided in good faith, but it is the condition of use of these webpages that you do not rely on any of the information without checking it to your satisfaction.

For some authors, I have attempted to indicate which of their full set of names were used as a byline by the use of parentheses, but different forms occur in different places, my sources don't always make clear what was used, and it's too time-consuming to check everyone.  So don't place much importance on this parenthesising.

I've also added the sex of each author, but there are several that I don't know – can you help me identify the sexes of some of the unknown ones?

Follow these links for definitions of the dates, the general abbreviations, the language abbreviations, the nationality abbreviations & the electronic library codes used in the catalog's pages.

Most of these books are not (yet) on-line, and I can't help you locate copies, beyond my standard advice on buying or borrowing and selling or valuing old books.  But if you obtain one that's out of copyright, how about digitising it and putting it on your webpages so that others can use it, or submitting it to an online collection such as Project Gutenberg?

If you have any additions, corrections or other suggestions, please send them to webmaster@kingkong.demon.co.uk.

Dates: The date of first publication in book form is in brackets [ ] at the end of each book line; for works first published in a periodical, that date is also included, in parentheses ( ); multiple dates separated by slashes (/) indicate different editions; a dash (-) indicates that publication was spread over that period.  For plays, ‘pub:’ means date of publication, ‘pro:’ means date of production/performance & ‘reg:’ means date of US copyright registration.  If the book was first published in another language, that language is also in the brackets, eg [Fr-1911].  An author birth or death date preceded by ‘J’ means it's in the Julian (old-style) calendar; an author birth or death date preceded by ‘G’ means it's in the Gregorian (new-style) calendar.

General abbreviations:

• I try to list women's maiden (nee) and sequence of married (1:Mrs, etc) names, where I know them.
• ‘(M:’ means ‘male’
• ‘(F:’ means ‘female’
• ‘aka’ means ‘also known as’
• ‘fl’ means ‘flourished/floreat’
• ‘(ed)’ means ‘edited or edited by’
• ‘(jt ed)’ means ‘jointly edited’
• ‘(abr _)’ means ‘abridged by’
• ‘(ps:’ means ‘used pseudonym (or stage name, etc) of’
• ‘(&ps:’ means ‘used real name and pseudonym of’
• ‘(tr’ means ‘translated or translated by’
• ‘(jt tr)’ means ‘jointly translated’
• ‘var’ means ‘various’
• ‘w’ means ‘with’
• ‘c__’ means ‘circa __’
• ‘(_e)’ means ‘_th edition’
• ‘[_v|’ means ‘_ volumes’
  
  
• ‘[a|’ means ‘autobiography’
• ‘[b|’ means ‘biography’
• ‘[d|’ means ‘drama’
• ‘[e|’ means ‘essays’
• ‘[f|’ means ‘fiction’
• ‘[m|’ means ‘music’
• ‘[n|’ means ‘non-fiction’
• ‘[p|’ means ‘poetry’
• ‘[s|’ means ‘short stories’

Languages: Books originally published in languages other than English are indicated with the following codes:  Ab = Abenaquois;  Af = Afrikaans;  Ag = Algonquin;  AG = Ancient Greek;  Ah = Amharic;  Al = Albanian;  Am = Armenian;  Ap = Arapaho;  Ar = Arabic;  Be = Bengali;  Br = Belarussian;  Bt = Breton;  Bu = Bulgarian;  Ca = Catalan;  Cb = Cebuano;  Ce = Cherokee;  Ch = Chinese;  Cr = Cree;  Ct = Croatian;  Cz = Czech(oslovak);  Da = Danish;  Du = Dutch;  Ee = Estonian;  Eg = Egyptian;  Es = Esperanto;  Et = Ethiopic;  Fa = Farsi;  Fi = Finnish;  Fl = Flemish;  Fr = French;  Fs = Frisian;  Ga = Galician;  Ge = German;  Gr = Greek;  Gu = Gujarati;  He = Hebrew;  Hi = Hindi;  Hu = Hungarian;  Ic = Icelandic;  IG = Irish Gaelic;  Il = Iloko;  It = Italian;  Ja = Japanese;  Ko = Korean;  La = Latin;  Li = Lithuanian;  Lv = Latvian;  Ma = Manx;  Mi = Micmac;  Mk = Mohawk;  Mm = Malayalam;  Mo = Maori;  Mr = Marathi;  Mt = Maltese;  My = Malay;  ME = Middle English;  MF = Middle French;  Na = Nahuatl;  Ni = Nipissing;  No = Norwegian;  OE = Old English;  OF = Old French;  Oj = Ojibway;  On = Oneida;  ON = Old Norse;  Pa = Pali;  Pe = Persian;  Pl = Polish;  Pr = Provençal;  Pt = Portuguese;  Pu = Punjabi;  Qu = Quiche;  Ro = Romanian;  Ru = Russian;  Sa = Sanskrit;  Se = Serbian;  SG = Scottish Gaelic;  Sh = Shona;  Sl = Slovenian;  Sp = Spanish;  Sw = Swedish;  Ta = Tagalog;  Te = Telugu;  Ti = Tibetan;  Th = Thai;  Tm = Tamil;  Tu = Turkish;  Uk = Ukrainian;  Ur = Urdu;  Vi = Vietnamese;  We = Welsh;  Yi = Yiddish.

Nationalities: Only non-European-Union authors who died less than 70 years ago, and US authors who died after 1922, have their nationality noted in braces { }.  The country codes used are based on the ISO 3166 / Internet codes:  AF = Afghanistan;  AL = Albania;  AO = Angola;  AM = Armenia;  AR = Argentina;  AU = Australia;  AZ = Azerbaijan;  BA = Bosnia & Herzegovina;  BB = Barbados;  BD = Bangladesh;  BG = Bulgaria;  BH = Bahrain;  BM = Bermuda;  BO = Bolivia;  BR = Brazil;  BS = Bahamas;  BW = Botswana;  BY = Belarus;  CA = Canada;  CD = Democratic Republic of Congo (ex Zaire);  CG = Congo;  CH = Switzerland;  CI = Côte d'Ivoire;  CL = Chile;  CM = Cameroon;  CN = China;  CO = Colombia;  CR = Costa Rica;  CS = Czechoslovakia;  CU = Cuba;  CY = Cyprus;  CZ = Czech Republic;  DDR = East Germany;  DE = Germany;  DO = Dominican Republic;  DZ = Algeria;  EC = Ecuador;  EE = Estonia;  EG = Egypt;  ET = Ethiopia;  FO = Faeroes;  FR = France;  GD = Grenada;  GE = Georgia;  GH = Ghana;  GM = Gambia  GR = Greece;  GT = Guatemala;  GN = Guinea;  GY = Guyana;  HR = Croatia;  HT = Haiti;  HU = Hungary;  IE = Ireland;  IL = Israel;  IN = India;  IQ = Iraq;  IR = Iran;  IS = Iceland;  IT = Italy;  JM = Jamaica;  JO = Jordan;  JP = Japan;  KE = Kenya;  KH = Cambodia;  KP = North Korea;  KR = South Korea;  KW = Kuwait;  LA = Laos;  LB = Lebanon;  LK = Sri Lanka;  LR = Liberia;  LS = Lesotho;  LT = Lithuania;  LU = Luxembourg;  LV = Latvia;  LY = Libya;  MA = Morocco;  MG = Madagascar;  MK = Macedonia;  ML = Mali;  MM = Myanmar (Burma);  MT = Malta;  MU = Mauritius;  MX = Mexico;  MY = Malaysia;  MZ = Mozambique;  NE = Niger;  NG = Nigeria;  NI = Nicaragua;  NO = Norway;  NP = Nepal;  NZ = New Zealand;  PA = Panama;  PE = Peru;  PG = Papua New Guinea;  PH = Philippines;  PK = Pakistan;  PL = Poland;  PR = Puerto Rico;  PT = Portugal;  PY = Paraguay;  RO = Romania;  RU = Russia;  SA = Saudi Arabia;  SB = Solomon Islands;  SC = Seychelles;  SD = Sudan;  SI = Slovenia;  SK = Slovakia;  SL = Sierra Leone;  SN = Senegal;  SO = Somalia;  SU = Soviet Union;  SV = El Salvador;  SX = Serbia & Montenegro  SY = Syria;  SZ = Swaziland;  TH = Thailand;  TM = Turkmenistan;  TN = Tunisia;  TO = Tonga;  TR = Turkey;  TT = Trinidad & Tobago;  TW = Taiwan;  TZ = Tanzania;  UA = Ukraine;  UG = Uganda;  UK = United Kingdom;  US = United States;  UY = Uruguay;  UZ = Uzbekistan;  VC = St Vincent;  VE = Venezuela;  VN = Vietnam;  YE = Yemen;  YU = Yugoslavia;  ZA = South Africa;  ZM = Zambia;  ZW = Zimbabwe.

Electronic library codes in the left margins of the pages:

• Numbers are the acquisition numbers in the Project Gutenberg collection.
• ‘#’ means it is in the Project Gutenberg of Australia collection.
• ‘A’ means it is in the Making of America collection, as page images.
• ‘B’ means it is in the New Project Bartleby collection.
• ‘C’ means it is in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library collection.
• ‘D’ means it is in the Bibliomania collection.
• ‘G’ means it is in the Golden Gale collection.
• ‘H’ means it is in the The Universal Digital Library Million Book Collection.
• ‘I’ means it is in the Canadiana collection, as page images.
• ‘J’ means it is in the Celebration of Women Writers collection.
• ‘K’ means it is in the Kansas collection.
• ‘L’ means it is in the American Memory collection at the Library of Congress.
• ‘N’ means it is in the Naked Word collection.
• ‘O’ means it is in the On-Line Book Initiative collection.
• ‘P’ means it is in the Project Perseus collection.
• ‘Q’ means it is in the Litrix collection.
• ‘R’ means it is in the Wright American Fiction 1851-1875 collection.
• ‘S’ means it is in the On-Line Medieval & Classics Library collection.
• ‘T’ means it is in the Southern Literature collection.
• ‘U’ means it is in the University of Virginia collection.
• ‘V’ means it is in the Victorian Women Writers Project collection.
• ‘W’ means it is in the Wiretap collection.
• ‘X’ means it is in the Oxford Text Archive collection.
• ‘Y’ means it is in the Bibliobytes collection.
• ‘Z’ means it is in the SETIS collection.
• ‘g’ means it is in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France's Gallica collection.
• ‘h’ means it is in the Comedia collection.
• ‘i’ means it is in the Athelstane collection.
• ‘q’ means it is in the Shropshire collection.
• ‘r’ means it is in the Project Runeberg collection.
• ‘u’ means it is in the University of Virginia collection.
• ‘z’ means it is in the Internet Archive's Text Archive collection.
• ‘&’ means it is locatable via the On-Line Books index.
• ‘*’ means it is in preparation according to the Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreading site and other sources.

How to buy or borrow an old book: I am not a bookdealer, but the following information may help you find what you're looking for.

If there is no link in the margin on the left hand side of the book's title on the webpage then there is not an electronic copy available on the Internet, to the best of my knowledge, but I recommend you also check the On-Line Books site as its listings are more complete than mine.  If no one has a link, you're down to looking for a paper copy...

Look it up in the US Library of Congress catalog, for British authors also try the British Library, for Canadian authors also try the National Library of Canada, for Australian authors also try the National Library of Australia, for New Zealand authors also try the National Library of New Zealand and for French & other European authors also try the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Thus armed with the publishing data (full title, full author(s)/editor(s) name(s), publisher, place & date of publication) you can then try getting a copy if it's in print from Amazon or Barnes & Noble in the US, or Amazon or Blackwell's in the UK, or use the price comparison service at bookfinder4u.

If it's out of print, some of them offer a search service, but it's better to use the availability & price-comparison service at bookfinder4u, AddALL or BooksPrice.com or the comprehensive book mart systems at abebooks.com & Alibris.  Or you can use a second-hand book search service directly, such as Booksearch at Hay, BookFinder.com, Bibliofind at Amazon, Free Book Searches, HP Bookfinders, Curran's Books (in N Ireland), Powells.com & usedbooksearch.co.uk, or try enquiring at a second-hand or antiquarian bookdealer specialising in the subject from the extensive list in the AcqWeb Directory.

Alternatively, try a book search service through a local second-hand or antiquarian book dealer, who you may be able to find in the Yellow Pages of big cities.

The price of second-hand books is strongly dependent on their condition, which the trade (at least in the UK) describe as:

• Mint - as new
• Fine - almost as new
• VG (Very Good) - showing only minor signs of use
• G (Good) - bookseller-speak for well used
• Poor - text complete, otherwise defective: a reading copy only

There's also further advice on finding old books at Any Amount of Books.

Another possibility is to try borrowing it on Inter-Library Loan (or similar system) through your local public library or educational establishment's library.

How to sell or value an old book: I am not a bookdealer, but the following information may help you find what you're looking for.

The value of second-hand books is strongly dependent on their condition, which the trade (at least in the UK) describe as:

• Mint - as new
• Fine - almost as new
• VG (Very Good) - showing only minor signs of use
• G (Good) - bookseller-speak for well used
• Poor - text complete, otherwise defective: a reading copy only

Next, you need to identify the edition you have.  To help do this, look it up in the US Library of Congress catalog, for British authors also try the British Library, for Canadian authors also try the National Library of Canada, for Australian authors also try the National Library of Australia, for New Zealand authors also try the National Library of New Zealand and for French & other European authors also try the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Thus armed with the publishing data (full title, full author(s)/editor(s) name(s), publisher, place & date of publication) you can check what people are asking for other copies through the price-comparison services at bookfinder4u, AddALL or BooksPrice.com or the comprehensive book mart systems at abebooks.com & Alibris.  Or you can offer it for sale or ask for a valuation from a second-hand or antiquarian book dealer specialising in a relevant subject from the extensive list in the AcqWeb Directory.  Alternatively, try a local second-hand or antiquarian book dealer, who you may be able to find in the Yellow Pages of big cities.