Talk:Gulf Hamstery

Internal documents from Gulf Hamstery sought
Gulf Hamstery made a lot of money when it was in operation and Albert Marsh obviously was a competent writer with a desire to document what he was doing. I would love to find any records he left, if anyone has them archived.

In Murphy's account, he says that he talked with Everett Engle and reports that Engle had communication with Marsh, which is not surprising. Engle might have more records about Marsh - I am not sure. Murphy also talked with Steve Slater of Lakeview Hamster Colony and relays that Slater knew of Marsh operating a motel in Mobile. This is presented as a difficult life far removed from his success in the hamster business. Eventually, Murphy says, Marsh had a quail breedery in California. I know there are copies of a Quail Manual, based on his Hamster Manual, but I have not yet gotten a copy. Murphy says that Marsh recently died. As he wrote in 1985, all of these stories are fading history. I have been unable to find Murphy. I think Murphy should have been born around 1945, based on him looking to be about 25 in a picture of himself he put in his article saying that it was taken in 1971.

Smith hardly mentions Gulf Hamstery or Marsh. For his 2009 story, he obviously was able to contact the Engle family. He cites papers about Lakeview and the Slaters. I do not think they talked.

The 2008 Helms article is strange for several reasons. I have no idea why it was published in The Seattle Times. People in Seattle as a whole have no particular interest in either hamsters or Mobile, Alabama. The author of this piece never wrote anything else for The Seattle Times and I can find no other online presence or publications for this person. I have no idea how Helms could have gotten information about Marsh or hamsters while living in Seattle. The article suggests that Helms did research in Mobile, and must have been physically present there, but if that is the case I would have expected publication in a local newspaper. That still might be the case, and the Seattle article could be an adaptation of the original in Mobile, because sometimes news stories are adapted and republished. However, I could not find any other copy of this story online. Still, it would not surprise me if Mobile papers were not distributed online.

If anyone has more sources then share. I would like to ask questions of all these people - Murphy, Engle, Slater, Smith, and Helms. Smith would be the easiest to find because his piece is not old and he must be a science professional.  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  03:08, 12 January 2016 (UTC)

Wish to meet the copyright holder of The Hamster Manual
I had imagined that The Hamster Manual might be in the public domain. It was self-published in 1948 by Gulf Hamstery, and often self-published works from this era do not have the copyright renewed. I further new that Gulf Hamstery went out of business in the 1950s.

I checked the copyright renewal database and found the entry for The Hamster Manual. Its copyright was renewed in 1975 by Martha Newell, whomever that might be. 1948 publication with renewal means 95 years of copyright by the Commons:Commons:Hirtle chart, so this book would be in the public domain in 2043.

Just the same, if anyone can identify Marsh's heirs or the copyright holder for this book, I would like to ask them if they have any plans for using it. I wish they would donate it to Wikipedia. I think it has been out of print since 1951 at the latest, and it is still great hamster advice. I wish I could distribute it in this Wikipedia article. If anyone knows of a way to contact the copyright holder then please direct me.  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  03:15, 12 January 2016 (UTC)

Copyright of images
I put two images in this article. On the Commons Copyright Noticeboard I got an opinion from another user that these images seem to be in the public domain. At Commons:Commons:Hirtle chart, the rule is that works published in the United States between 1923-1977 without a copyright notice are in the public domain. These ads were published without a copyright notice.  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  01:00, 13 January 2016 (UTC)

Contact with Marsh family
I contacted people who I think are the descendants of Gulf Hamstery founder Albert Marsh. I talked a little with a younger family member who is present in social media but I think this person knows less about family history, and I have asked them to refer me to an older family member who might know more of the old stories. The conversation is ongoing. I intend to ask them if they have any scrapbook, photo albums, or even family stories that could be relevant to the development of this article.  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  15:15, 26 February 2017 (UTC)