How often does someone cryptically cite a source on 18cWoman? "Check Baumgarten", they say, or "Catchpenny". Instead of half a dozen people writing to the list to ask what they're talking about, or how to find it, use the Source List to find the source without having to clutter up the list and without having to wait for an answer.
The 18cWoman Source List is on the Web at http://people.csail.mit.edu/sfelshin/18cWoman/source-list.html. You can also find it via the Links section of the 18cWoman Web site on groups.yahoo.com. The Source List is a work in progress. Here is how it grows:
I try to add every source that gets cited in a message on the 18cWoman list, especially if it cited more than once. But it's hard for me to keep up. You can help by mailing me additions; see below.
When adding information from 18cWoman messages, I take non-original information (titles, authors, publishers, etc.) without asking, but contact the person who posted the message before using descriptions or reviews. That decision gets a little subjective (if you say "A Midwife's Tale is based on Martha Ballard's diary", is that really an original sentence on which you hold copyright?) but I do the best I can.
Copy and paste the "form" below into an email message, fill it out, and email it to Sue Felshin <sfelshin@alum.mit.edu>.
If you don't give me enough information, then I'll hold your submission until I can bug you for what I need ... but it might be months before I get around to it.
If I don't add your submission within a week, it means I was too busy, and your request got buried in my inbox. Feel free to bug me on a weekly basis to add your submission, since if you wait for me to get to it on my own, it could take weeks or months.
-------- Name: Type of work: Medium: Creator: Collection: Publisher: Location: Date: ISBN: Brief description: Availability: Review: --------
Name: title of book, article, etc.; name of artwork (if any); designation of artifact (if possible), e.g., sacque gown, busk, hair pin, Martha Washington's wedding gown. Required.
Type of work: e.g., book, article, engraving, clothing. Required unless obvious.
Medium: most relevant for art and artifacts; e.g., oil, watercolor, wood, brass, silk and linen, paper, parchment.
Creator: name of author, painter, carver, etc., if known. Required unless anonymous. Even a partial description is helpful, e.g., for a carved busk, "English sailor".
Collection: if in a collection, descriptor of collection; e.g., name of book; name, volume, and issue of journal.
Publisher: publisher of book or journal.
Location: location of publisher for written work, location of artifact for artifact.
Date: date of publication for written work, date of creation for art or artifact; can be precise, vague, or range, e.g., 4 July 1776, 1770s, 1720-1740. Required; if you're not sure, give an approximation, e.g., "1970s?", "before 1800".
ISBN: if applicable.
Brief description: a phrase or a sentence or two, describing the general content and/or specific content and/or the usefulness of the book. Required. I will accept multiple reviews. Please specify how you would like to be identified, e.g., by name, by email address, as "anonymous".
Availability: For a written work or print, is it in print? Widely available in bookstores? Available used? Rare/antique? Are there reproductions available, e.g., a facsimile, a picture in a book, a scan on the Web? List as many sources as desired. Not useful for widely reproduced items such as the Declaration of Independence, but very useful for relatively rarely reproduced items such as Catchpenny.
Review: If desired. I will accept multiple reviews. Please specify how you would like to be identified, e.g., by name, by email address, as "anonymous".
Please see the Source List for numerous examples.
Come to think of it, there's no reason not to have entries for people, too. Here is an example:
Name: Copley, John Singleton
Type of work: human, male
Creator: father Norwegian, mother of Martian stock
Location: born in Atlantis, moved to El Dorado in 1756
Date: b. ???, d. 31 Feb, 1799
Brief description: Painter of ... Typically worked in oils.
Review: Although his paintings are highly detailed, he often copied his own
and other works; it can be difficult to tell whether subjects are dressed
in their own or indeed any real clothing. This somewhat reduces the value
of his work as documentation.
Webmaster: Sue Felshin.