Dobby Shoe Cleaning Paragraph Elimination

[davewitley]

No: HPFGUIDX 43708

Phyllis wrote, concerning the differences between recent COS editions:

> (1) *Neither* the original US nor the original UK hardback editions 
> included this scene, and it was subsequently added into the US 
> paperback edition but not into the UK paperback edition; or
> 
> (2) *Both* the original US and original UK hardback editions 
included 
> this scene, and it was subsequently deleted from the UK paperback 
> edition but kept in the US paperback edition.
> 
> Since I have neither the US or UK original hardback editions, I 
can't 
> offer a resolution - is there anyone out there who has these 
editions 
> who can help?

I have a hardback British copy of COS purchased January 1999 (so 
probably not first edition but unlikely to have changed).  It seems 
to be the same as the later paperback edition cited by Eloise.

Without knowing which editions Edward Olson used, it's hard to say 
what the list of differences in the Lexicon means for this debate.

The deleted text (if indeed deleted rather than inserted) does 
provide an answer to something that always puzzled me - why did 
Malfoy bring Dobby to the meeting?

I don't believe a shoe cleaning rag constitutes 'clothing' within the 
meaning of the act: after all, the reason the elves wear pillow 
cases, tea cosies etc is precisely because these items are *not* 
clothing and therefore safe from the master's point of view to hand 
over to an elf.

David