After Two Years, Quincannon is Forced to Remove the Titles
from Online Vendors in Order to Combat Plagiarism




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


PRLog (Press Release) – September 6, 2011 – During the early part of the
twentieth century, inventor John Hays Hammond, Jr., became known as
the "Father of Radio Control." Born into a wealthy family, his patents made
him even wealthier. A protégé of Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham
Bell, Hammond lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he built himself
an actual castle as a home and laboratory. That castle is now a museum
displaying his collections of Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance art and
artifacts.

In the late 1990's, the Quincannon Publishing Group began producing
a series of Hammond Castle-related titles. The publisher has once again
been forced to curb sales as a way to combat a flurry of misuse by other
would-be authors.

"We were fine for about two years of selling through online vendor Biblio.com but this past summer we've been hit with more than a few suspicious orders which, when investigated, made us very very uneasy," explains editor-in-chief Alan Quincannon. "Previously, we had gone through a few years of craziness—things completely beyond belief so once again, the only way to deal with such matters was to limit sales."

What could have brought about such a drastic maneuver?

"At some point, you just say, ‘Enough!' Computers and the Internet have allowed the concepts of origin and ownership to become blurred. People don't think they are going to get caught stealing someone else's work but they always do and they are shocked when we address such things through legal means."

Until the Quincannon books, any information about Hammond was sketchy and wildly speculative. None of which was ever helped by Hammond's own exaggerations in interviews and press releases. He was a showman. But Hammond biographer, John Dandola, bothered to do years of detective work and amass his own personal archive of photos and documents which rivals that of the museum. It put both himself and his publisher in enviable scholarly positions but not without risks.

"There were some pretty bizarre incidents," said Mr. Quincannon. "There was the author who astonishingly admitted an intent to transpose our Hammond biography into simpler sentences and sell it to another publisher. The intended publisher was as stunned as we were and they pulled the plug on the project. Believe it or not, we've actually been confronted by that same scenario twice from two different authors peddling to two different publishers. Then there was the writer who taught journalism but lifted entire passages for a magazine article and never gave credit. And of course, there's been a rash of others who were too lazy to do their own research and also never bothered to cite our books as their source materials. Scholarly integrity is fast becoming passé but we are fully aware that no one can produce anything of accuracy about Hammond without our books so keep it honest and give credit where credit is due."

Living in the Past, Looking to the Future: The Biography of John Hays Hammond, Jr. by John Dandola
is 272 pages and contains not only a full index but over one hundred restored vintage photographs. Although much delayed by work on his mystery novels (Hammond is a character in two of them), screenplays, and stage plays, Dandola is gradually finishing a second volume of the biography.


















Both The Ghosts of Hammond Castle and Echoes from the Castle Walls: The Fiction of John Hays Hammond, Jr. are also available, whether bought separately or as a pair.

The only other Hammond title never available anywhere else is Recipes from Hammond Castle by
Nellie Nally Connors and Patricia M. Drury, which is now in its expanded second edition.

"That title always had to be ordered directly from our offices for a very good reason," said Quincannon. "The late Mrs. Connors was Hammond's cook. The cookbook includes very personal reminiscences and was a very personal undertaking. Our agreement with her was just as personal and we are obligated to protect her work and her wishes. People should bear in mind that these recipes are offered to cook and enjoy but they are fully protected by copyright and cannot be reprinted in other collections."

The publisher is also quick to point out: "Make no mistake, all of our Hammond titles are all still very much in-print. I always find myself saying that because Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble have marked some of the titles otherwise because we don't sell through them due to the deep discounts they demand while allowing us no protective control over our product."

CLICK HERE to view the titles and their prices.

Before ordering any of these titles, please inquire at
Sales@QuincannonGroup.com and specify whether you wish to pay by check or credit card.

The credit card process is quite simple. E-mail your order
supplying your name and address. In return,
you will be e-mailed an invoice with a link to pay using your credit card or PayPal account. The order is processed safely and securely.

# # #
 
 
 
The Biography of John Hays Hammond, Jr.
and Other Hammond Castle Books
Now Only Available Through the Publisher
 
Copyright © 2011 by The Quincannon Publishing Group. All rights reserved.