Boots Quadruplet

Take a look at this amazing set of double dips, sent to me by Kerry from New Zealand (Thanks, Kerry!), a reader of this blog. The photographer who took this photo has apparently captured an iconic war image. What’s funny about the use of this image here, is that they look like World War I or II boots, and two of these books cover more recent wars. All except the Morpurgo book are published by the adult market. At least two of the three are recommended for teens.

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The cover of War: Stories of Conflict edited by Michael Morpurgo (from UK, apparently not in the US, Macmillan 2005) is a pretty straightforward use of the image. In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason (HarperCollins 2005, c1985), incidentally popular required reading for high school students, is a clear use of the Rule of Three. Hiroshima Joe by Martin Booth (Macmillan: Picador 2003, c1985) changes up the color of the photo by monochromizing it. And Beaufort by Ron Leshem (Delacorte 2008) intensifies the contrast and completely turns it upside-down. All except Hiroshima Joe, stay fairly true to the (probably) original colors in the photo.
Two of these are under the Macmillan umbrella, though one from the adult and one from the children’s market. And one available in the UK, but not in the US. So here’s the question. Is the use of an image tracked at least within a publisher and it’s houses? If so, are there rules of use?

War: Explores many aspects of war, featuring conflicts from the Crusades to 1970′s Beirut and the Falklands. (South Lanarkshire Council). Age: Teens. Reviews 1.
In Country: Vietnam War. Adult book, recommended for YAs by SLJ. Reviews 1, 2,. Censorship Attempt: Book Controversy at Delphi High (defeated).
Hiroshima Joe: World War II. Adult.
Beaufort: Set in Lebanon in 1999. Adult book, recommended for mature YAs by Booklist. Reviews 1, 2.

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