Category: Blog

Book Traces – Stauffer

The book traces event held by Dr. Stauffer was enjoyable and piped my interests as an archivist. The event was well described by Dr. Stauffer as he outlined his goals to us in the class. The goals were to use texts dating from the 1800’s up to 1929, the age of copyright, to find annotations written by their original owners and to interpret the meaning of these annotations and what the book represented in the 19th century. He explained how books back then were shared possessions and that they often switched hands. People used to communicate using books and was a common form of messaging, such as how we have electronic texting and emails today. His books were host to a variety of materials, love letters, lecture notes, analytical satire, physical  we can better understand 19th century culture and values. The class event went really well, with each of us receiving a copy of one of his historical books from his library in Virginia. He was incredibly excited to share his findings and for us to interpret them.

He gave me a book that was heavily transcribed by the original owner. It seems as if he was making fun of the book by adding lines of his own and adding his own form of humor between the pages. It seemed like this copy was meant to be passed to a friend because of the way it is written. Its a lot of language devices to make the text humorous and more enjoyable for the next reader. The book is a book of poems and are very sappy and romantic in nature. Its possible to believe that this person hated that form of writing and wanted to make light of it and belittle the lesser known author.

The lecture after class was a little less comprehensive due to time constraints and topics he was focusing on. the presentation regarding flowers in books was somewhat shaky towards the end and I felt that he got really nervous presenting to the large group that appeared. Every teacher from the history department was there and there felt like a pressure from the back of the room. He wasn’t a 100% confident on the flora in the books which also lead to a rough patch in his lecture since it was focusing on that exact flora he couldn’t name. The flora is often symbolic as he describes in his speech and is used to mark a passage often in memory to the life of a loved one or to add depth to a poem or piece of scripture. It seems like an easy fix with some identification help and I could be misinterpreting the situation at the end of the lecture. In comparison to his class lecture, I felt that he was much more enthusiastic and dealt with the smaller group on a personal level and a fluidity that you couldn’t find in his group lecture. I left the class feeling inspirited to help with archival work and better prepared to keep an eye out for annotations in books. They provide insight to that era’s thoughts, feelings, and culture. To me these things are irreplaceable and once we lose them, they’re gone forever to history. understanding the feelings of an era allows us to better understand our future. Another reason history and culture need to be respected and observed.

-Review by Cory Price

Book Traces with Andrew Stauffer was SO COOL!

Last class, we had the honor of having Andrew Stauffer conduct a lecture about his project on book tracing. We were also able to attend his talk in the library. Both talks were extremely eye opening and informational. Throughout the paper I will discuss types of materials that were often stored in books, the content of marginalia, the purpose of further research and what I found most interesting from the talk.

First and foremost I appreciated Stauffer’s passion for his project and movement because it made me more inclined to learn about it and ways in which I could be involved. Stauffer began his presentation by showing the audience pictures of artifacts that he and his students found in books. A common practice in the 1800s was storing locks of hair on the inside of books. Some stored locks of hair to remember their child’s first haircut, or as a memento from one distant friend to another. There was a needle and thread found in books that once belonged to a seamstress. Flowers and other botanicals were mostly found in books of poems. It dawned on me that, although it seemed strange to me, people stored personal items in books because it was always with them. Sort of how our phones are always with us- it is like an extension of ourselves. It was common for people to adventure on their day-to-day lives with a book in hand. It is not as common today, as social media has become our source of entertainment, and the access of books is now at our finger tips.

Before books were simplified to an app on our cell phones, physical books were a convenient way for people to interact and communicate with one another. Books served many purposes for soldiers in war. For instance, Stauffer showed pictures of written memories between two veterans, a soldier’s geometrical calculations of what angle he should point his missile to successfully shoot a target, and even one troop’s location on an unfinished sketch of a map. It was interesting to see the differences in content and use of marginalia in specific books. Like the love notes written back and forth between two lovers in a book of poems, or the thoughts of a grieving mother who just lost a child, or son to war. Often found in personal books were meanings of what lines in the poem meant to the owner, along with how he/ she identified with the content. Some owners even crossed out parts of the text and wrote it in their own words, which I found to be hilarious. It displayed humor, self-pity, and sense of self in a society. Shauffer showed us one example of a young woman who questioned her faith in God, herself and “mankind” who did everything to stifle and suppress her. I found this very interesting because despite my passion for empowering women, I always had this misconception of what women were like centuries and decades ago. Many assume that because women were suppressed and kept from gaining higher education that we would not find many traces of them in books, but we did- and they had a lot to say. Many of the traces found today were written by women. This information was the biggest take away piece for me. I would love to find out if there are book traces of famous women leaders and if they have personal, case by case information leading up to historic events such as women gaining the right to vote and furthering their education. For this very purpose, book traces is a movement built upon more than sentimental value.

There is significance in knowing to whom books once belonged to, and the content of their annotations because it gives us an understanding of what people were like and how they interacted with each other. We also see how books have evolved from physical to a digital form with textual-like characteristics to simulate the real thing. For instance, instead of finding an imprint of flowers in today’s books, we would find digital illustrations of a flower pinned on a page, or leaf designs around the trim of a picture. Techniques of book markers or imprints of flowers are still used today, in this way. These little details are still important to us because we still hold on to them even as we evolve into a more digital way. There is much meaning to be found in book traces that we will never discover until we look beyond the pages.

 

Questions for Andrew Stauffer

Will there come a point when all of our books, past and present, will become digitized?

Libraries and their resources are free to use but many databases require a paid subscription or a subscription via the university to use the material. Will we ever do away with this?

Does a digitized book still hold the same meaning as having the physical copy in hand?

Why do we teach annotation today?

3 Questions for Professor Stauffer

  1. Will evidence of life in the early 21st century that is presented by digital copies of books be difficult to convey? There are resources that allow people to annotate pieces of text online, but would that be enough for future scholars?
  2. Should librarians alone really get to decide which books are valuable enough to continue being housed and cared for? And what happens to the books that are “weeded” out? Could this lead to libraries simply having computers available for their patrons to use?
  3.  Has the use of books impacted any major historical events? Which ones?

Questions for Andrew Stauffer

  1. Do you work with any books outside of the 19th century? Do you have any Victorian era books in your own personal collection?
  2. Do you foresee specialized collections of 19th century works springing up to acquire these vulnerable texts? Or current collectors of 18th century books expanding their collections to include 19th century ones?
  3. What is your favorite/coolest piece of social-historical content you have found or worked with, within a 19th century book?
  4. How heavily do you personally annotate books that you read? Do you leave messages or evidence for future scholars to find?

Book Traces, Questions -Cory Price-

Is the book traces and other such facilities similar to it, supported by the federal government? Are they full time jobs? What wages do they demand?How are print copies not an essential component to mission of academic research libraries?

Would you consider the view of the library as a place to hold physical records an archaic viewpoint? Will it continue to shift to Digital? Is there such thing as a classic novel anymore?

Is it wrong to keep books in collections off limits, if there’s digital copies to be found? Of course you can still special request a book, but if its in critical condition, why not preserve it? Also what is a free VS paid subscription? How many of these texts can I access today?

 

 

Manuscript S (it may sound familiar)

…had had her doubts about the quality of the flour because it had something strange about it, but nobody said or thought it was at all a bad pudding for the large family. It would have to do. Any chef would have blushed madly at such a dessert.

At last, the dinner was all done; the table was cleared, the hearth swept, and the fire lit. The presents found in the corner, perfect apples and oranges, were put upon the table and a shovel full of chestnuts on the fire. Then, all of the Cratchit family drew round the hearth, patriarch Bob Cratchit called a circle – meaning there would be a treat and at Bob Cratchit’s elbow stood the family display of love: a custard cut without a knife.

They had sweet stuff from the jug, and Bob took it out with a smile while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and crackled noisily he said, “A Merry Christmas to us all my dears. God bless us!” while all the family rejoiced. “God bless us everyone!” said Tiny Tim, the last of all. He sat on his father’s knee with his mother by his side. Bob held his little hand in his own as if he wished to keep a secret from the boy.

“Tell me of Tiny Tim, Spirit,” said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before. “He will live?”

“I see a vacant seat,” replied the Spirit “at a poor chimney corner and a crutch, without an owner, carefully preserved. The child will die.”

“No, no,” said Scrooge. “Oh no dear Spirit! Say he will be spared!”

“None other of my race,” returned the Spirit, “will find him here. What then? If he be likely to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

Scrooge hung his head as his own words were quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with shame and grief.

“Man!” said the Ghost, “If man you be in heart and not demon for what wicked thoughts you have about what the surplus is and isn’t. It may be what man should live and what man shall die! You are more withered and less fit to live than millions of others. Oh God, to hear the heartless pass judgement on the helpless in the dust!”

Scrooge crumbled before the Spirit’s rebuke, and cast his eyes upon the ground. But, he raised them slightly, on hearing his own name.

“To Scrooge!” said Bob, “I’ll give you Mr. Scrooge, the founder of…”

– Charles Dickens (a very messy draft of a Christmas Carol)

Transcription of Manuscript L

(Places with question marks are words that I could not decipher the hand writing so I just put what I could make out)

I am now apprehensive for his general health – he still lye(?) the Benefit of Exercise(?); Exercise!(?) returns the doctor I never heard that he lyed (?) any; he might for night(?) I know, walk to the Alehouse – but I believe he was always carried home again. It was however unlucky for those who delighted to echo Johnson’s Sentiments – that he would not endure from them today, what he shapes he had yesterday by his own Manner of treaty(?) the subject made them fond of repeating; and I fancy Mr. B— has not forgotten that though his friend one Evening in a gay Humour talked in Praise of Wine as one of the Blessings permitted by heaven when had with Moderation, to lighten the load of life and give Men strength to endure it; yet when in Consequence of such talk, he thought fit to make a Bacchanalian Diseonese(?) in its forever Mr. Johnson contradicted himself somewhat roughly as I remember, and when to assure himself often: (cut off word) he added there words- you might allow me sir at length that it produces Truth- in Vine Verities you know sir —that’s replied Mr. Johnson, would be lye: left so a Man, who knew he was not a Syar (?) when he was sober. When one talks of giving and taking the lye familiarity, it is impossible to forbear recollecting the Transaction between the Editor of Ojian and the authors of the Journey to the Hebrides: it was naught of value (?) to me however, that Mr. Johnson never bore his antigorite the lightest Degree of Ill Will, he always kept those Laurels which belonged to him as a Writer separate from those which he had to do with as a man: but I never did hear him say in private one malicious Word of a sublick (?) enemy, and of W. Macpherson I once hear him speak respectfully — though his reply to the friend who asked him if any Man living could have written such a book is well known, I have been often rejected — Yes sir, many men, many women, and men Children. I enquired of him myself if their story was authentic and he said it was: I made the same enquiry concerning his acct. of the State of Literature in Scotland, which was rejected up and down at one time by every body—how knowledge was divided among the Scots like bread in a sieged Town, to every man a mouthful, to no man a Belly full.

-Samuel Johnson (Possibly)

Transcription of Manuscript Letter T

This would be needed for our sycamore. “Have you told your father?” “I have not yet told him sis.” That’s very hard for you, Mayem! How have you managed it then? She briefly selected her feeler, on which he made no comment, but taking her to the house as if she were a little child. He had thought the undergrowth to a shot where the trees were older and standing at wider thickness. Among them was the tree he had spoken of, an elm, huge, hollow, disheveled and heathen; with a rift in its side. “Now go inside”, he said before it gets any darker. You will live there-everything you want. At any sake, if you do not, you must do without it. I’ll keep watch and point the lawyer, then you can help she. “What am I to do, sis?” She asked the puzzled maiden. Go inside, of you will see, when you are near, wave your hand reaching at that hole. She shoved into the opening. The cavity within the tree formed a lofty circular compartment four or five feet in diameter. To which daylight entered at the foot, and also through a normal hole almost six feet from the ground. Making the shot at which a light haltered appeared in the tree’s spine. The decayed wood of cinnamon-brown, forming the inner surface of the tree, the warm evening show reflected in at the foot, swallowed the cavity with a faint mellow retinue. But Mayem has heard it was time to feed their things. Her eye has tree caught by objects of quite another quality. A layer white offering.