Record revealed
Copyright registration form for Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The Irish author completed this form to register his ownership of a play titled Dracula; or the Un-Dead, a dramatic adaptation of his seminal novel. This would later have consequences for a classic film.
Images
Image 1 of 2
The copyright registration form in full.
Image 2 of 2
Close-up view showing Bram Stoker as the author and ‘proprietor of the sole liberty of representation or performance’ living at 18 St. Leonard’s Terrace, Chelsea, London, S.W.
Why this record matters
- Date
- 19 May 1897
- Catalogue reference
- COPY 1/1108
This form shows that Dracula; or the Un-Dead was performed at the Lyceum Theatre (where Bram Stoker worked as a manager) on Tuesday 18 May 1897. The registration form was completed the following day, and the novel Dracula was published a week later, on Wednesday 26 May.
At this time, authors would put on a ‘copyright performance’ as a way of establishing their intellectual property rights over their creative work. The quality of the production was not important and the audiences were invited rather than being made up of genuine members of the public.
In 1922, German film director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau produced his film Nosferatu which was based on the Dracula story. Stoker’s widow, Florence, successfully sued Murnau for copyright infringement and the German courts ordered that all copies of the film should be destroyed. However, a few survived and the film is now considered a classic.
Blogs and podcasts
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Blog
What links Dracula and Tess of the d’Urbervilles?
What connects Bram Stoker’s tale of vampires with Thomas Hardy’s west country heroine? This blog has the answer, hidden in our collection of copyright registration forms.
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Podcast
Jane Austen: from beginning to end
This podcast, commemorating the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death in 1817, explores the author's life and work at the The National Archives, where her original will is held.
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Blog
The unexpected beauty in copyright registration: Robert Jackson’s photographs
With the Fine Arts Copyright Act of 1862, individuals and companies could register photographs, paintings and drawings for copyright protection. This blog investigates.