The previous segment of this series celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Herald of Christian Science looked at the first publication, in 1903, of the German edition, as well as the decision to translate Mary Baker Eddy's primary work, Science and Health, into German. These major steps opened the way for The Christian Science Publishing Society to begin an international healing mission that is still going on today.
When a book takes a central role in articulating spiritual truth, the protection of its copyright is crucial. As Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures began to be known outside the borders of the United States of America, more people became interested in publishing their own translations of it. If copyright questions over creative property are vexing for people whose works are pirated today, these questions were even more difficult in the early 1900s, when transportation and communication were far less speedy or convenient.
In 1914, when the Trustees under the Will of Mary Baker Eddy—the owners of Mrs. Eddy's copyrights to her works—learned that several people in Europe were working together to publish their own editions of Science and Health in English and other languages, they took immediate action. The Board of Trustees of The Christian Science Publishing Society were advised that to protect Mrs. Eddy's international copyright on the book, they should proceed with official translations of Science and Health into French and other languages.
