SC - Pynson book in Longleat collection

[Terry Nutter]

Hi, Katerine here.  Lord Ras responds to me:

><< One of these days, the information in the Pynson *may* become publicly
> available; but it's not clear just now either whether or when.
>  >>
>
>What are the specific reasons that the Longleaf family are refusing to make
>the manuscript public?

They've been hoping to recoup the family fortunes by having a facsimile
edition published (with the editor's work unpaid) and then nabbing the
proceeds.

But this turns out to be irrelevant.  I've been checking back and forth
with Connie Hieatt.  The Longleat family explicitly told her that the
book was not available in any other form, and provided her with a microfilm.
I sent her the UMI reference.  She's checked.  Her conclusions: the UMI
reference is clearly legit.  Since nobody in their right mind microfilms
a delicate manuscript of book *twice*, that is almost surely the one of
which she has a copy.  The print she made from it is clear and legible (as 
much as these things ever are).

We conclude that the Longleat family simply has no clue as to the implications
of the existence of a UMI microfilm.  (She had thought that they'd had theirs
privately made.)  Anybody can get a copy.

As I said, if true, it would be wonderful news.  And it appears to be true.

One also infers that either the problems with the copy reported on this list
derive from the specific machine on which it was produced, or they are no 
worse than normal problems of dealing with such copies.  -- Or some madman
really *did* have to microfilms made; but even were that so, it hardly
makes sense to suppose that the book suffered that badly between them.

Cheers,

- -- Terry