Month: February 2018

“Da Vinci Code” Style Forensics: Symbols and Secrets Lurking Within the Pages of an Ancient Law Book (Part II)

I was surprised when the staff at the Middle Temple Archives office introduced me to the obscure craft of papermaking, and the hidden signatures that lie within the pages of old books…

In Part I of this article, we discussed the forensics of book structure, paper types and how to spot various restoration and repair techniques when authenticating an ancient book.  In this article, we step into the world within the paper itself, identifying the craftsman’s watermarks in the pages of my copy of Lane’s Reports, and attempting to “fingerprint” the sheets within that book to the specific screen mould each sheet was produced from.  I believe it possible to extend this analysis to “reverse engineer” the original screen moulds used to make each sheet of paper within my book… Continue reading ““Da Vinci Code” Style Forensics: Symbols and Secrets Lurking Within the Pages of an Ancient Law Book (Part II)”

“Da Vinci Code” Style Forensics: Symbols and Secrets Lurking Within the Pages of an Ancient Law Book (Part I)

I was surprised when the staff at the Middle Temple Archives office introduced me to the obscure craft of papermaking, and the hidden signatures that lie within the pages of old books…

 

The invention of the printing press in the middle 1400’s may have “unlocked the door” to the information age, but it was decidedly NOT flung open.  It required the long, slow process of building the components of the publishing industry and markets to pry that lumbering retardment from its casings!  Continue reading ““Da Vinci Code” Style Forensics: Symbols and Secrets Lurking Within the Pages of an Ancient Law Book (Part I)”

Designing a Memorial for a Historic Figure (and his Wife)

This quest really began when I wondered what it would be like to visit the grave of the author of the ancient book I’d recently purchased at a Denver antique book store. At first, I doubted there would be any discoverable record of him at all.  And initially, there wasn’t. My searches returned a sea of flotsam references to this or that person named “Richard Lane” over the centuries, or someone simply named “Richard”  who lived on a “lane” somewhere!  But when I began combining his name with words from the title of his 1657 book, I finally encountered articles that introduced me to the man. What I could read of him was intriguing, though.  I found myself repeatedly choosing to look into  “one more thing”  before setting it aside and going on with my life…

Continue reading “Designing a Memorial for a Historic Figure (and his Wife)”

Heading Back to the UK! – April 2018

One year ago, it seemed high time to get serious about this quest. And I did.

Publishing my research seemed the best way to provide the accountability to ensure I got the history right. And, since some things can only be done (or understood) in person, I decided I had to make a trip to London and Jersey a priority.  That trip (last May) was not only fascinating and rewarding, it threw gasoline on the fire of this project. And in the year since?  Somehow it seems in the nature of research that answering one question raises several new ones, so a year later my list of “in person” tasks is now even longer and more pressing than last year’s.

My bucket list of other travel destinations will have to wait for some other year.  The UK is calling, and I must go!

Continue reading “Heading Back to the UK! – April 2018”