Editing Historical Documents: A Handbook of Practice

by Michael E. Stevens, Steven B. Burg

Overview

This volume is aimed both at more experienced editors, who may wish to skip over the advice offered in the introduction, as well as at those who are new to the craft and want to know how to begin work on publishing historical documents of interest to them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761989592
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/15/1997
Series:	American Association for State and Local History
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.34(w) x 9.35(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Michael E. Stevens and Steven B. Burg are both at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

chapter 1 About the Authors
chapter 2 Preface
chapter 3 Introduction
chapter 4 What, Why, How and for Whom?
chapter 5 Selection and Arrangement of Documents
chapter 6 General Principles of Transcription and Proofreading
chapter 7 Transcription: Types of Sources
chapter 8 Presenting the Text
chapter 9 Principles of Annotation
chapter 10 Forms of Annotation
chapter 11 Special Issues of Access and Indexing
chapter 12 Front and Back Matter
chapter 13 Bibliography and Short Titles
chapter 14 Index

Editorial Reviews

Historical editors have long wanted a reliable handbook that would provide easy access to the innumerable issues and practices that they daily deal with in their profession. Editing Historical Documents provides a wonderfully diverse examples of current documentary practice with full citations to the sources used as examples. With an emphasis on the descriptive rather than the prescriptive, this guide shows the range of options available to editors as they make the choices that will affect their editions and determine the policies and styles for the best possible rendering of their documentary collections. The handbook couples a lively, clearly written narrative of theory and practice with a selection of concrete examples drawn from the wisdom of generations of historical editors. The handbook is logically arranged and is readily accessible to the novice as well as the experienced documentary editor.--John P. Kaminski, Association for Documentary Editing

From the Publisher

Diverse examples of current practice demonstrate the range of options available to editors as they determine the policies and styles for the best possible rendering of their documentary collections. The introduction and first chapter offer advice on how to begin, and discuss the fundamental questions of purpose, audience and comprehensiveness. The largest section examines transcription. Finally, annotations and systems of access and indexing are covered. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Historical editors have long wanted a reliable handbook that would provide easy access to the innumerable issues and practices that they daily deal with in their profession. Editing Historical Documents provides a wonderfully diverse examples of current documentary practice with full citations to the sources used as examples. With an emphasis on the descriptive rather than the prescriptive, this guide shows the range of options available to editors as they make the choices that will affect their editions and determine the policies and styles for the best possible rendering of their documentary collections. The handbook couples a lively, clearly written narrative of theory and practice with a selection of concrete examples drawn from the wisdom of generations of historical editors. The handbook is logically arranged and is readily accessible to the novice as well as the experienced documentary editor.

John P. Kaminski