Amy, 

The fact that your donor is dead helps you out a lot.  Per the Bono
extension act, any unpublished work prior to 1978 gets protection as if
it were under the provisions of the 76 Act.  This means life of the
author plus 70 years.  The key is you'll have to determine when the
authors died to calculate when the 70 years began to toll.   That is
unless you want to push a fair use theory.  This, of course, assumes
that your work was not published or copyrighted.  However, none of this
is intended as legal advice and I advise you to consult with an attorney
before moving forward. (I won't have my license until October
unfortunately)  I hope that helps. 

Chris Garmire

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