Camp Keeper’s Diary
How Not to Publish a Book — Part Two: In Which Plates Disappear and a Grudge Proves Useful
Listen to the Camp Keeper
During the photography sessions for the same book, several plates were printed — black ink versions for the book process in New York City. At some point after the process was completed, and without our knowledge, several plates went missing.
We did not know they were gone until an envelope arrived. No return address. Inside was a newspaper clipping from a major daily, showing a photograph of someone we recognized, holding one of our plates and claiming to own it and the entire collection.
The article was not sent by a friend. It was sent by someone who had a personal grudge against the person in the photograph. Spite, as it turns out, is an excellent investigative tool.
I kept the clipping.
Sometime later, I encountered the person in the article. I didn’t say much. I held up the clipping.
The remaining plates were returned the next day.
No lawyers. No police. No raised voices. Just a CPA with a newspaper article.
There have been many people involved in the Curtis story, all well-intentioned. Sometimes they slip up, suggesting that they have not been rewarded enough for their efforts. Curtis, himself, is at the top of that list. I remained friends with that person, as I did with the dealer in the above story.
I have been asked over the years whether caring for more than two thousand original copper plates has been difficult.
The plates themselves are easy. It’s the people that sometimes get complicated.