No, leeneia, he does hold copyright in the format of this edition, since he completely reset the music and edited the texts. The copyright notice on the title page reads

"©2005 Thomas B. Malone"

and there is also a notice on p. 2 (at the bottom, below the first of the hymns) that says

"This printed edition ©2005, Thomas B. Malone"

If I were to scan this edition and print my own copies of it and sell them without Mr. Malone's permission, I am quite sure he would have no trouble suing me for damages, whether I did it in the US or the UK.

If I were to scan one of the songs and post it where fellow Mudcatters could access it and use it to satisfy the kinds of curiosity and educational thirst evinced in this thread, I think Mr. Malone might be able to have it deleted and to get me in hot water with the ISP I used to post it, if he wanted to complain to them, though I don't think he would be able to get damages from me if he took me to court, and I highly doubt he's the sort to try to do so. But without his permission, it would definitely still be a violation of his copyright, technically, even if he had no interest in pursuing the issue.

All my opinion of course, and copyright laws do vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction despite the universality of the © symbol.

I agree that even if it were known who had inherited Ingalls' copyrights, there is surely no jurisdiction where they could now be enforced.

Haruo