SC - Fw: Re: [SCA-U] Copying Old Documents

[pat fee]

Phlip

Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.

phlip at morganco.net

Philippa Farrour
Caer Frig
Southeastern Ohio

The World's Need

So many Gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
When just the art of being kind
Is all this sad world needs.

- - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- -----Original Message-----
From: Sharon L. Krossa <krossa at ALUMNAE.MTHOLYOKE.EDU>
To: SCA-UNIVERSITAS at LIST.UVM.EDU <SCA-UNIVERSITAS at LIST.UVM.EDU>
Date: Tuesday, August 03, 1999 10:41 PM
Subject: Re: [SCA-U] Copying Old Documents


>At 10:01 AM -0700 8/3/99, Heather Rose Jones wrote:
>>On Mon, 2 Aug 1999, Alderton, Philippa wrote:
>>
>>> On SCA Cooks List, we are currently having a thread about an old Old OLD
>>> handwritten cookbook one of our members has, which has been passed down
from
>>> mother to daughter for many generations. The following is a quote from
the
>>> owner on its prevenence:
>>>
>>> >  Each generation recopies the recipies if they need it and addes their
>>> names on the back.  The first recipes were writen in a Scottish
Chieften's
>>> household in 1398, by a church trained scribe. <
>>
>>Fascinating, if true, but I've heard too many "family tradition" stories
>>along this line that don't prove out to take it at face value. Even "old
>>Old OLD" family books are extremely unlikely to date anywhere near back to
>>the 14th century -- especially if they've been in continuous use in the
>>meantime. And if the existing version of the supposed 14th century recipes
>>was actually written at a more recent date, then a whole host of
>>questions arises as to the basis on which they were assigned that
>>particular origin. As I say, fascinating, if true. But somewhat unlikely
>>to be true.
>
>Question -- does the book contain any 14th or 15th century
>handwriting? What are the exact texts of some of the oldest entries?
>Or by "recopies" does this mean each generation makes their own new
>copy and the copy in question is a copy of a copy .... of an old book?
>
>I know people who can date (and sometimes even locate the origins of)
>manuscripts by their handwriting and/or language, so if the book
>contains any original writing it would be easy enough to determine
>its age (at least to a century or so -- and I won't bother to get
>into the issue of forgery here ;-). I could myself probably pin the
>handwriting and/or language down to some rough age, though not with
>as great accuracy. (My supervisor is literally the man who wrote the
>book on Scottish paleography, and so I'm well aware of my
>shortcomings when it comes to handwriting evaluation! ;-)
>
>However, if it is a copy of a copy of a copy of an old book,
>everything becomes much more difficult...
>
>Of course, even if the thing is only a hundred or even 50 years old,
>it would still be worth preserving. History is history. :-)
>
>As a Scottish historian, I'm very interested to know more about this
>book. (Like, what are the names in the back? ;-)
>
>Regards,
>Sharon (who wasn't reading this thread until recently...)
>
>PS If she is that worried about copyright, she should see a copyright
>lawyer and/or look into depositing a transcription and photographic
>copy with the Library of Congress department that does the copyright
>registration (though normally these days copyright registration is
>not necessary for copyright -- it just allows you to sue for more
>than you could otherwise and makes copyright easier to prove). The
>LoC even has a handy web page to tell us all about it...
>
>http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
>
>Mind you, if the work can't be copyrighted, then the LoC will
>indicate that. But the LoC's FAQ even has a handy answer to whether
>you can copyright granny's diary, so if she is the legitimate heir of
>this book, then it would appear she (and only she) can copyright it.
>Sharon L. Krossa, krossa at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu

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