 |
 |
I fully endorse these very salient points made by Andrew. Yo Hodson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cook, Andrew" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 5:54 PM Subject: Re: Separating and mounting maps from 19th century reports Three points about British Parliamentary Papers: 1. The more people butcher sets of BPP, 'given that there are several other copies ... in more easily accessible locations', the fewer sets are left to consult. Repeatedly destroying just one more because there were plenty left was what killed off the dodo in Mauritius, and deforested Easter Island. Will the person butchering the last set, please turn out the light in the archives of parliamentary democracy. 2. The sets 'in more easily accessible locations' are subjected to heavier use, and suffer the most damage and casual depredation, particularly damage to and loss of folding maps. Not even the most important libraries, and the libraries of last resort, can keep pace with this heavy use, nor make good the gaps which result. 3. It is not necessarily the case that the maps in all copies of a PP are from the same printing or issue. They can also differ in content. This is one of the bibliographical questions about BPP which await fuller investigation, after Susan Gole alerted us to the phenomenon a few years ago in her work on maps of the Mediterranean in BPP. Andrew S Cook MA PhD FRHistS FRSA Map Archivist, India Office Records The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB +44 20 7412 7828 -----Original Message----- From: A forum for issues related to map & spatial data librarianship [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Humphrey Southall Sent: 10 January 2007 17:18 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Separating and mounting maps from 19th century reports I am not allowed to say anything about the funding for this, but this is about something we need to do in the near future. I also apologise to anyone offended by the proposed act of vandalism! The reports of the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions form part of the vast body of British Parliamentary Papers, i.e. big fat volumes, mostly quarto in size. However, unlike most BPP volumes, they of course include a large number of maps bound in. With the exception of the very first Boundary Commission, for 1831-2, the maps are usually much larger than the ordinary pages, so they are inserted folded. Over the years, there were fewer and fewer ordinary pages, so by the mid-20th century the report consisted literally of a box containing a set of folded maps. However, this is about the 1868, 1884 and 1917 reports. We need to scan a set of these maps both as the first stage of a project to construct vector boundaries and to create scans as a resource in their own right. We have had a set of the reports on long-term and informal loan, and we have just been told by the actual owners they do not want them back: they are disposing of the rest of their collection of BPP reports, and are donating to us the ones they have loaned. Here comes the vandalism bit: given that there are several other copies of the reports in more easily accessible locations, and given that the bindings for our copies are in very poor condition, I am proposing to have the books taken apart with the aim of creating a really good set of the maps, both for scanning and for long-term preservation. The maps are mostly printed on thin and fairly brittle paper (i.e. high acid), so so long as they are stored as part of the volumes and have to be un-folded and re-folded each time they are used, they will be subject to continuing damage. My guess is that they need to be permanently mounted on some kind of backing sheet. Has anyone experience of a project like this? Not having to scan the maps in situ within the books will cut the cost of scanning, giving us a budget to pay for restoring the maps (while, sadly, butchering the books). Can anyone suggest possible contractors? Best wishes, Humphrey Southall ==================================== Humphrey Southall Reader in Geography/Director, Great Britain Historical GIS Project Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth Buckingham Building, Lion Terrace, Portsmouth PO1 3HE GIS Project Office: (023) 9284 2500 Home office: (020) 8853 0396 Mobile: 0796 808 5454 About Britain: http://www.VisionOfBritain.org.uk About us: http://www.gbhgis.org ************************************************************************** Experience the British Library online at www.bl.uk Help the British Library conserve the world's knowledge. Adopt a Book. www.bl.uk/adoptabook The Library's St Pancras site is WiFi - enabled ************************************************************************* The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete this e-mail and notify the [log in to unmask] : The contents of this e-mail must not be disclosed or copied without the sender's consent. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the British Library. The British Library does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. *************************************************************************