Seeking a Marcellus pic for the cover of my book

[jmccall]

Greetings all,
I am in the process of publishing a biography of Marcellus (sacker of Syracuse) with Pen and Sword press and working to find a picture of the Capitoline museum seated Marcellus statue that someone has taken and is willing to let me put on the cover (with appropriate credit, of course). Is there any chance anyone on R.A.T. has or knows someone who has such a picture? If so, I would be incredibly grateful (free copy of the book when it is published grateful).
Here's a link to a flickr copy (it is licensed through Getty for an expensive fee, I'm afraid, else I'd go that way; I'm a high school teacher after all).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smbtravels/4094104337/
Thanks in advance,
Jeremiah McCall

[M. Caecilius]

I have no legal background, but wouldn't the copyright remain with, and any permission have to be granted by the Musei Capitolini anyway - never mind who took the photograph?

I can't remember what the rules were when I was last in Rome, but quite a few museums allow photographs for private use only, if at all. Their documentation centre (http://en.museicapitolini.org/servizi_sc...mentazione) seems to suggest you need permission.

I'm not sure what this costs - my only experience was with the museum at Lyon when I required a photograph of an inscribed tombstone. They were very, very helpful on all the lines, and I got the permission for use in my thesis (but that's not a published work, certainly not with a nice cover!). To avoid legal trouble - unless people who have experience with publishing and the Capitoline Museums can give an all-clear - I'd contact the Museum or your publisher.

You could also look for alternatives, if you're not too set on that statue and wish to avoid such issues. For instance, it'd be easier to find someone who owns a coin (e.g. Crawford 439/1 type (50 B.C.), portrait of Marcellus with a triskelis behind/Marcellus carrying spoils into tetrastyle temple.

Wishing you luck,
Max C.