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OK to freely distribute Kahunas Katalogs??


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question OK to redistribute Kahuna's Katalog? (davidmcintyre)

Posted: 1:40:22 pm on 5/29/2008 Modified: Never

 

I am a relative newcomer to the scouting collectible hobby, but have managed to amass a pretty good collection of handbooks since starting out. Except for a few of the rarest Original Editions, I have nearly a full set of editions, printings, versions, etc.

 

I realized that I need to consult what everyone seems to regard as the ultimate resource for Handbook collecting: Kahuna's Katalog. Unfortunately, Joe Price passed away, and appears not to have distributed very many of the katalogs.

 

I've been searching for a KK of Handbooks, and managed to borrow a KK of Merit Badge Booklets, which I scanned.

 

So, I now have a very nice scanned PDF version of the Kahuna's Katalog of Merit Badge Booklets (1st edition, 1st printing, 9/1987). It is around 10MB.

 

I also have a potential chance to scan a KK of Cub Scouting books, which I hope to do very soon.

 

Does anyone think it would be improper for me to freely distribute that PDF? I'd mostly like to use it as an incitement to get someone to loan me their KK of Handbooks, but I would probably just put it on a website for downloading. Joe isn't around, he didn't make a big deal about putting a trademark on the KK I have (which doesn't change anything legally but makes me feel like he wasn't super concerned about it getting distributed), and I am not sure anyone is going to take up that project. If there were new copies available I'd buy one (as would many of you), but there aren't even used copies available at any price (and the last one on ebay, a few months before I started collecting, went for ~$250).

 

So, does anyone think it would be bad to freely distribute a PDF scan of the Kahuna's Katalogs?

 

Thanks, Dave

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You might want to contact the International Traders group noted below. A suspect some of them might know the family, or have a contact for them. Joe did not give them away when he was alive, and I know the family has tried hard to get maximum value out of his collections. So, you should be careful about copyright violations which, I would think, they inherited.

http://www.scouttrader.org/contact_information.shtml

Meanwhile, you could see if you can find a copy of the Fisk and Bearce reference, which by the way, is supposed to be reissued with updated material in 2009. They worked with Joe at times in their researching, and are a really good source. Good luck. Too bad Joe is not still here, as he was a wonderful scouter and very helpful. I had the privilege of visiting him a couple of times in his house. We even made some small trades.(This message has been edited by skeptic)

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Thanks for the replies. I posted on the ISCA forum first, so if anyone there knows anything about it hopefully they will let me know. I also joined the patch-L list.

 

I agree about the potential issues, which is why I haven't publically offered the PDF yet.

 

Thanks again,

Dave

 

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Also, I already have a copy of Fisk and Bearce, but it is nowhere as detailed on handbooks as the Katalog (at least I am told).

 

The KK of Merit Badge handbooks is vastly more detailed that F&B, if that is any guide.

 

-Dave

 

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Oh, there is far more detail in the Kahuna book. But, for basic info, F & B is really well done; and I am looking forward to the new issue. The best thing about it for me has been the ability to check things off within the book, especially in some of the odd-ball areas they cover. But, for detail, Joe's work is far superior. If you are anywhere near Ventura, Ca., I could let you review my copy.

 

Good luck.

 

YIS

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Yes, I agree F&B is great, and the new edition will be great, but at this point I want to know how many different star versions there were in the 9/1944 37th printing of the 4th edition (I have four different versions so far). Does the KK have that level of detail?

 

For the KK of Merit Badge books, I paid for two-way Fed Ex shipping, completed the scanning in a couple of hours, and had the book back to the owner in 3 days or so. The new Fujitsu SnapScan scanner is pretty amazing. Load it up with 50 pages, hit the button, and in around 25 seconds you have the PDF on the computer. Lightyears better than any other scanner I've ever even heard of.

 

I put the title page of the KK of MBP here:

 

http://www.race-stuff.com/binary/KKMBpage1.pdf

 

just in case anyone hadn't seen it before.

 

I know many people wouldn't be comfortable shipping their KK, and I understand that, but if anyone ever is interested in getting their copy scanned, just let me know.

 

-Dave

 

 

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Joe Price was a great guy, he was a MB councelor in my council as a kid. He also developed and Scoutmastered our JLT course, Buckskin Confrence for the first 15 years. Everyone loved the Great Kahuna.

 

I believe his son is currently a member of our council, we were talking about the Price family last night at a council meeting. I'll inquire about it if you like and try and get a response from the family.

 

 

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Excellent, and thank you very much.

 

In the meantime, I managed to borrow a Kahunas Katalog of Cub Scout Literature, of which I've also made a nice PDF version. It's smaller than the Merit Badge Katalog at only 143 pages. It also has "Proof Edition" on the front cover, so I don't know if it was widely-distributed. It seems to go up to late 1991 (with some 1992 editions listed with no details).

 

-Dave

 

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  • 5 months later...

There are four great Kahunas Katalogs. Cub Scout Literature, Every Boy's Library, Merit Badge booklets and Boy Scout Handbooks. They are each extremely detailed extensive catalogs of all the various editions, printings, versions, etc, with all the tiny little differences listed, etc. For example, a 1915 Every Boy's Library version of the Boy Scout Handbook came in two minor variations, with some text on the spine being very slightly different typesize (7.5mm vs 8.5mm). For serious collecting they are must haves, along with the Fisk and Bearce book.

 

I'd love to publish them freely on the web, but no one seems to be comfortable with that idea without clearance from Joe Price's family, and I don't have that (although I haven't tried very hard).

 

-Melgamatic

 

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Somehow the email address associated with my account got changed to someone else's. I just went to check it, and it was clearly a scouting-associated email address, but not mine. Unfortunately, I was unable to run the preferences changing page (in both IE7 and Firefox), so my email address is wrong...

 

If you could re-send me that information at:

 

melgamatic@race-stuff.com

 

I'd appreciate it.

 

Thanks, Dave

 

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I'm not an attorney (though there are several on this forum). I did refresh my memory of the copyright law...it seems any publication intended for distribution is automatically covered by copyright laws, whether the author registers it or not. I would consult an attorney before proceeding with distribution. If indeed, this is the "holy grail", the family may be interested in republishing it.

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