The use of copyrighted materials in "Clarence," is worth a substantial discussion.

Copyrights existed in 1903, however by contemporary standards they were very weak. Until 1891, for example, U.S. publications could reproduce European publications with impunity.

The term of copyrights was only twenty-eight years with the possibility of a fourteen-year extension, so in 1903, any work composed before 1861 was indisputably in the public domain (this would stand until the revised act of 1909).

In practice, the notion of copyrights hardly applied at all to magazine articles and fantastic fiction. Not all of the magazines in question even carried a copyright notice, and those that did had little incentive to enforce copyrights. For example in 1897, Cosmopolitan had printed a drastically altered "unofficial" rewrite of H.G. Wells "War of the Worlds." The martians in the Cosmopolitan version were humanoid and fifteen feet tall.

Close imitations of works were hardly considered a "violation" no matter how blatant. Fundamentally, while pseudo-intellectuals like King might devour cheap fiction, they held the authors and the work in contempt, and did not regard the work as "real."

Thus, Clarence made considerable use of copyrighted sources, despite the strong influence of Bucher, Wallace, and Marsden, all of whom were fundamentally disposed to careful honoring of the rights of authors (Horatio King cannot seriously be considered to be in this category - he speaks strongly of such subjects, but "Being Horatio King" caused Marsden to paraphrase Samuel Johnston in sayingt "as a LARP it was both good and original - unfortunately the part that was good was not original, and the part that was original was not good." Walker, who was no mean plagiarizer himself, would later say that, "The shame in that game was not the extent of King's plagiarism, but the discredit he did to those he stole from."

Nevertheless, "Clarence" cannot reasonably be regarded as Plagiarized by the standards of the day.

The use of copyrighted material does have some interesting effects, however. For example the use of the ill-starred "Captain Nemo II" from Bracebridge Hemyng's " Dick Lightheart; or, the Scapegrace at Sea," is an example. Hemyng's work incorporates many episodes of the Verne work, however it is bloodier and badly written, with an idiot hero. The description by contemporary reviewer Jess Nevins is quoted elsewhere, but is profoundly irresistable.

LARP as Art

King would be particularly vociferous in this direction. Both before and after "Being Horatio King," he ridiculed Live Roleplay as a serious subject, and mocked Marsden and Walker most heartily.

I was horrified to see Ollie Atkinson refer to the work of the European LARPtiste Mikhail Jung as "a fine work of art" (Vol. XI, No.4, Winter 1916 p 23 "Jung Hearts Beat Until Stopped"). What balderdash and bumptiousness! I have begun to see this pretension to artistry among American LARPtaesters. When I desire to see art I shall walk over to the Corcoran Gallery, or see the Opera. The suggestion that LARP is art is offensive and ludicrous, on a par with the suggestion that the discordant strains commonly known as negro music and nowadays called "jazz," are "art." Or wilder those who suggest that films, which have emerged from the nickelodeon to be shown in Gayety houses where minstrel shows used to caper, when dressed up with the French word "Cinema" become "art."

I suppose that in some cases the actual written content of LARP could be art, but I know of only one case where such a thing has occured, and I feel safe in saying that the mass of LARP players (who are likely those who want to go to a converted music house and watch a the near-nude filmed cavortings of the likes of Theda Bara) did not understand a work of LARP with artistic content and unanimously failed to master it. I speak of course of "Being Horatio King," which despite repeated requests I have declined to re-run, as I have no better a prospect of finding an audience with sufficient education to understand it!

The "LARP as art" debate would involve veteran Clarence player Clovis Lee Munger, Jr,

"As a sort of odd twist of fate, I find myself having to concur with the odiferous Horatio King on something - suffice it that we agree only in the result and that our reasons differ, mine being generally not the result of a mind which is not so deficient in social qualities and general intelligence as that of Mr. King.

LARP is not art. This is not an argument which need be made, but since it has been put forward, I find that I must add my voice to its refutation. Mr. King's game was most certainly not art, being rather a pile of cow-dung which ought to have been set upon by the street cleaners, and washed away to some place for the treatment of sewage, lest it endanger the public health.

LARP which pretends to be art is decadent and disastrous, and prone to firing the Anarchist and Communist spirit. To go about pretending to be somebody else is not art, though to play them as if one were on stage is not such a bad thing, save that it is done for fun and entertainment only and not with any thought of trying to put ideas into one's head.

I have never been able to abide that raucous form of LARP in which the players stroll about and say things such as "I am in love with Mary" as if they were in fact in love with Mary. It is one thing to say "My character is in love with Jane's character Mary," but quite another to walk about as if one were in love.

To say that this sort of thing is anything but a play-game is not only ludicrous, but compellingly dangerous - we risk opening the gates of evil, and letting out a spirit which might turn us all to monsters as sure as the creatures of Doctor Moreau. Rapine and anarchy needs must follow. If I think myself to be a murderer, how long before I find myself staring down at the bosom of my loved one, gently heaving in sleep with loaded pistol and an anarchist's gleam in my glassy eyes. Nay, how long before my dear golden hair daughter be defenestrated to bounce along the streetcar tracks of Wisconsin Avenue coming to rest in cold repose! Cannot the creation of a fantasy personage in my mind lead to such undoings!

No LARP is dangerous enough without being branded ART! It is no more ART than "Flaming Youth" or the dreadful Godless novels of Fitzgerald. It is, I needs must agree, no more art than the jungle negro rhythms that now routinely distribute the animal impulses of the Black African among our godly youth! It is no more art than the evil stylings of the Communist Henrik Ibsen which disturbed my youth, and have now God save us come to gain acceptance such that some legitimate drama-houses will play them.

To make LARP to be ART is to open the pages of this magazine to the Communists and the Anarchists, and make it a vehicle for their teaching. I for one say that those who style LARP to be art as are destructive as all others who seek to destroy the fabric of our society, and that they ought to be hoisted to a place of honor beneath the nearest lampost, for the improvement of our genetic stock, and the rule of law!

Notes - the above letter is probably one of the last contributions of Horatio King to the LARP Community before his unfortunate demise. Writing in 1920, King had been dead for two years, however while he remained an active contributor to Metagame until 1938, there is no evidence that Clovis Lee Munger Jr. played a game at any date after 1912, and it is probable that he had read King's comments and wasn't aware that the latter is dead.

The 1916 reference is to a proposal to bring Jung (who was then living in Switzerland in exile) to the United States following the presentation of one of his early works at Brandeis (presented by U.S. GMs). The proposal amounted to nothing, but built interest for Jung's own arrival in 1919 in which he created a sensation that was not to be rivaled until the advent of Dawn Roz, nearly a decade later.