[Next Project] The Clue by Carolyn Wells

[Sergio Tellez]

Hello.

I would like to add Carolyn Wells's novel "The Clue" to the SE corpus. I have installed the SE 2.10.0 toolset and I'm currently using Python 3.12.4 to work on this ebook production, if that's okay to use for this project.

Scans: The Clue by Carolyn Wells | Internet Archive

Transcription: The Clue by Carolyn Wells | Project Gutenberg

GitHub Repo: STellez71124-UC/carolyn-wells_the-clue

I would also like to propose the book's frontispiece by Frances Rogers as a potential cover. The PD proof I offer for this artwork would be the IA scans of the J. B. Lippincott company edition. Thank you!

[Alex Cabal]

Sure, sounds good. Robin will manage this with Vince reviewing.

The frontispiece might work but you should try finding a copy of the
original painting. The scans require a lot of color correction and might
not be high resolution enough.

On 9/30/25 9:27 PM, Sergio Tellez wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I would like to add Carolyn Wells's novel "The Clue" to the SE corpus. I
> have installed the SE 2.10.0 toolset and I'm currently using Python
> 3.12.4 to work on this ebook production, if that's okay to use for this
> project.
>

> Scans: The Clue by Carolyn Wells | Internet Archive <https://
> archive.org/details/bwb_P9-CTN-025/page/n9/mode/2up>
> Transcription: The Clue by Carolyn Wells | Project Gutenberg <https://
> www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54869>
> GitHub Repo: STellez71124-UC/carolyn-wells_the-clue <https://github.com/

> STellez71124-UC/carolyn-wells_the-clue>
>
> I would also like to propose the book's frontispiece by Frances Rogers
> as a potential cover. The PD proof I offer for this artwork would be the

> IA scans of the J. B. Lippincott company edition. <https://archive.org/
> details/bwb_P9-CTN-025/page/n9/mode/2up> Thank you!
>
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[Sergio Tellez]

Thank you Alex!

Hello Robin. I couldn't find a better quality version of the frontispiece image, but I found a different painting that could serve as a good cover image in my opinion. The CC0 artwork is "A Gentlewoman" by J. Alden Weir and is available at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. I'm yet to start the book's proofread, but I believe could represent the novel's murder victim.

[Alex Cabal]

Try playing around with the frontispiece a little, I would prefer that
rather than another generic portrait.

On 10/1/25 12:03 PM, Sergio Tellez wrote:
> Thank you Alex!
>
> Hello Robin. I couldn't find a better quality version of the
> frontispiece image, but I found a different painting that could serve as
> a good cover image in my opinion. The CC0 artwork is "A Gentlewoman" by

> J. Alden Weir <https://www.si.edu/object/gentlewoman:saam_1909.7.72> and

> is available at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. I'm yet to start
> the book's proofread, but I believe could represent the novel's murder
> victim.
>

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[Robin Whittleton]

It’s a nice enough image, but to me at least it doesn’t jump out. Maybe proofread first, then come back to this if you don’t find anything more aligned with the story?

-Robin

On 1 Oct 2025, at 19:03, Sergio Tellez <documentacion...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you Alex!

Hello Robin. I couldn't find a better quality version of the frontispiece image, but I found a different painting that could serve as a good cover image in my opinion. The CC0 artwork is "A Gentlewoman" by J. Alden Weir and is available at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. I'm yet to start the book's proofread, but I believe could represent the novel's murder victim.

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<cover-clue-test.png>

[Sergio Tellez]

Hello Robin and Alex.

As far as I'm aware, a better reference for this particular artwork isn't available on online purchase sites like Abebooks or Sotheby's, or other resources I'm familiar with. 

I've played around with the frontispiece as suggested and I think I obtained an improved result, but I don't know for sure if it's up to SE standards. I processed the image with a free 4x Digital Image Upscaler and managed to diminish the fabric-like pattern the original scan had. I then tweaked the contrast and color balance to a slight degree for a more pleasant look, and later downsized to 1400x2100 px for cover usage.

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask if I should label this work as the first installment in the "Fleming Stone" collection, as Mr. Stone appears to be a recurring character in Carolyn Wells's novels. Thank you.

[Alex Cabal]

Looks better, but try to play with the color balance. The dinner shirt
should be closer to white - it's orange-yellow on the page.

On 10/1/25 5:15 PM, Sergio Tellez wrote:
> Hello Robin and Alex.
>
> As far as I'm aware, a better reference for this particular artwork
> isn't available on online purchase sites like Abebooks or Sotheby's, or
> other resources I'm familiar with.
>
> I've played around with the frontispiece as suggested and I think I
> obtained an improved result, but I don't know for sure if it's up to SE
> standards. I processed the image with a free 4x Digital Image Upscaler
> and managed to diminish the fabric-like pattern the original scan had. I
> then tweaked the contrast and color balance to a slight degree for a
> more pleasant look, and later downsized to 1400x2100 px for cover usage.
>
> I would also like to take this opportunity to ask if I should label this
> work as the first installment in the "Fleming Stone" collection,

> <https://www.goodreads.com/series/84091-fleming-stone> as Mr. Stone

> appears to be a recurring character in Carolyn Wells's novels. Thank you.
>

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[Sergio Tellez]

Thank you Alex!

This is my second attempt at color correction. I believe it's a closer approximation to the original image's intended look withour the muted colors from the scanning process.

[Alex Cabal]

Much better, but I think you can still get closer to white. Increase the
color temperature further till the shirt is closer to white. Then we'll
be there. Presumably the woman in the foreground is dead and therefore
her skin is a deathly pale compared to the other figures.

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[Sergio Tellez]

Thanks!

Maybe this version could be the one to use. Thank you for helping me know more about image color correction. It's a very interesting topic and an art in itself!

[Robin Whittleton]

Seems like we’re decided on this approach, so I’ve uploaded the image to the artworks DB and assigned it to this project.

For what it’s worth I did attempt to denoise it a bit further, but couldn’t improve it beyond this.

-Robin

On 2 Oct 2025, at 03:15, Sergio Tellez <documentacion...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks!

Maybe this version could be the one to use. Thank you for helping me know more about image color correction. It's a very interesting topic and an art in itself!

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<The Clue WHITE.jpg>

[Sergio Tellez]

Thank you Robin!

I performed one final attempt to make the most of the frontispiece scan. Perhaps the results of my second denoise effort with free online tools could produce the desired cleaner look, but I'm also attaching a version of the approved image with a slight tweak in contrast levels as a backup option. I apologize for dedicating most of the messages on this email thread to altering the cover and its colors.

[Alex Cabal]

Looks good!

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