Copyright registrations from 1953 are available from this page. Registrations were classified by category, with renewals included in the same volume as original registration in most cases.
The following types of records are available here:
1953 original copyrights were due to be renewed in 1980 and 1981 (see the Copyright Office database for registrations for these years.) Original copyrights for 1953 renewals date from 1925 and 1926. All 1925 and 1926 copyrights have expired, even if they were renewed. 1925 copyrights could also be renewed in 1952, and 1926 copyrights could also be renewed in 1954. To find out more about researching copyright renewals, see this page.
To see if a book can go online, you may have to check not only the "Books" category, but also the "periodicals" category, if parts of the book first appeared in a periodical, and the "artwork" category if you want to scan any of the illustrations. If the book is a play, check the "Drama" category too.
| Copyright Registrations for Books, Pamphlets, Serials, and Contributions to Periodicals, January-June 1953 | |
|---|---|
| Books, pamphlets, and serials published in the United States | 23,178 |
| Books in foreign languages published abroad | 1,997 |
| Books in the English language first published abroad | 729 |
| Total | 25,904 |
| Contributions to periodicals | 1,790 |
| Renewals: Books, pamphlets, and serials | 1,778 |
| Renewals: Contributions to periodicals | 714 |
| Copyright Registrations for Books, Pamphlets, Serials, and Contributions to Periodicals, July-December 1953 | |
| Books, pamphlets, and serials published in the United States | 22,230 |
| Books in foreign languages published abroad | 1,685 |
| Books in the English language first published abroad | 756 |
| Total | 24,671 |
| Contributions to periodicals | 1,582 |
| Renewals: Books, pamphlets, and serials | 1,416 |
| Renewals: Contributions to periodicals | 540 |
| Copyright Registrations of Periodicals, January-June 1953 | |
| Periodicals | 30,232 |
| Renewals | 735 |
| Copyright Registrations of Periodicals, July-December 1953 | |
| Periodicals | 27,924 |
| Renewals | 1,257 |
| Copyright Registrations of Dramas and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery, January-June 1953 | |
| Class C: Lectures and other works prepared for oral delivery | 429 |
| Class D: Published dramatic and dramatico-musical works | 208 |
| Class D: Unpublished dramatic and dramatico-musical works | 1,593 |
| Total | 2,230 |
| Renewals, Class C | 6 |
| Renewals, Class D | 337 |
| Copyright Registrations of Dramas and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery, July-December 1953 | |
| Class C: Lectures and other works prepared for oral delivery | 365 |
| Class D: Published dramatic and dramatico-musical works | 292 |
| Class D: Unpublished dramatic and dramatico-musical works | 2,076 |
| Total | 2,733 |
| Renewals, Class C | 4 |
| Renewals, Class D | 288 |
| Copyright Registrations for Music, January-June 1953 | |
| Musical compositions published in the United States | 4,735 |
| Musical compositions published abroad | 4,837 |
| Total published music registrations | 9,572 |
| Unpublished music | 23,393 |
| Renewal registrations | 5,114 |
| Copyright Registrations for Music, July-December 1953 | |
| Musical compositions published in the United States | 4,403 |
| Musical compositions published abroad | 3,584 |
| Total published music registrations | 7,987 |
| Unpublished music | 20,623 |
| Renewal registrations | 4,746 |
| Copyright Registrations for Maps, January-June 1953 | |
| Class F: Maps published in the United States | 1,104 |
| Class F: Maps published outside the United States | 2 |
| Total | 1,106 |
| Renewals | 302 |
| Copyright Registrations for Maps, July-December 1953 | |
| Class F: Maps published in the United States | 1,351 |
| Class F: Maps published outside the United States | 3 |
| Total | 1,354 |
| Renewals | 441 |
| Copyright Registrations for Artwork, January-June 1953 | |
| Class G: Published works of art and designs for works of art | 745 |
| Class G: Unpublished works of art and designs for works of art | 931 |
| Class H: Reproductions of works of art | 373 |
| Class I: Published drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character | 272 |
| Class I: Unpublished drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character | 289 |
| Class J: Published photographs | 384 |
| Class J: Unpublished photographs | 237 |
| Class K: Prints and pictorial illustrations | 1,865 |
| Total | 5,096 |
| Renewals, Class G | 13 |
| Renewals, Class I | 2 |
| Renewals, Class J | 3 |
| Renewals, Class K | 35 |
| Total renewals | 53 |
| Copyright Registrations for Artwork, July-December 1953 | |
| Class G: Published works of art and designs for works of art | 645 |
| Class G: Unpublished works of art and designs for works of art | 891 |
| Class H: Reproductions of works of art | 280 |
| Class I: Published drawings or plastic works of a scientific or techn ical character | 334 |
| Class I: Unpublished drawings or plastic works of a scientific or tec hnical character | 313 |
| Class J: Published photographs | 269 |
| Class J: Unpublished photographs | 186 |
| Class K: Prints and pictorial illustrations | 1,895 |
| Total | 4,813 |
| Renewals, Class G | 17 |
| Renewals, Class I | 2 |
| Renewals, Class J | 6 |
| Renewals, Class K | 143 |
| Total renewals | 168 |
| Copyright Registrations for Commercial Prints and Labels, January-June 1953 | |
| Commercial prints and labels | 6,268 |
| Renewals | 44 |
| Copyright Registrations for Commercial Prints and Labels, July-December 1953 | |
| Commercial prints and labels | 5,382 |
| Renewals | 23 |
| Copyright Registrations for Motion Pictures, January-June 1953 | |
| Class L: Published motion picture photoplays | 511 |
| Class L: Unpublished motion picture photoplays | 1 |
| Class M: Published motion pictures other than photoplays | 570 |
| Class M: Unpublished motion pictures other than photoplays | 68 |
| Total | 1,150 |
| Renewals: Classes L and M | 241 |
| Copyright Registrations for Motion Pictures, July-December 1953 | |
| Class L: Published motion picture photoplays | 428 |
| Class L: Unpublished motion picture photoplays | 31 |
| Class M: Published motion pictures other than photoplays | 533 |
| Class M: Unpublished motion pictures other than photoplays | 43 |
| Total | 1,035 |
| Renewals: Classes L and M | 248 |
The above figures show original and renewal registrations for the categories shown above for the time periods shown, but do not necessarily represent the exact number of entries in these issues of the Catalog.
The images above were scanned by the Copyright Office, by Google, and by by the Universal Library Project, Greg Weeks, Michael Dyck, John Mark Ockerbloom, and the Penn Libraries. If you would like to contribute better copies, email onlinebooks@pobox.upenn.edu. (Please don't send any images by email unless I ask for them.)