The unfolding historical research project to find England's lost 1600's Lord Keeper, Sir Richard Lane!
There are days you will remember always. This was one of them!
Yesterday was quite a day. You’d have heard about it last night, but I was simply too tired to do anything but have a glass of wine, savor a bit of chocolate and wonder at the day I’d just had. Just because you put a lot of work into something doesn’t mean its going to lead somewhere interesting. Nor does it mean that it will be well received, let alone be referred to as “scholarly”…
Continue reading “One of the most interesting days of my life….”
We’ve been on the ground in England for a few days now. Although I wanted to spend a few minutes writing a quick report before now, this is the first chance we’ve had. I’m exhausted, but its been a great trip so far. To be sure, we’ve had a couple of disappointments, but also some major wins!
I’ve done about all I can to be ready. Its been four months of steady preparation, with the last month feeling a lot like a cattle drive! I have requested several dozen 400 year old documents for viewing in five different archives, have planned stops at around a dozen historic sites (including 4 churches), have arranged around a dozen appointments, will be giving three presentations and have arranged three happy hours / mixers. Now, its time to finish packing, relax, and settle into the reality that not everything is going to go my way.
But there are some very interesting possibilities twinkling on the other side of that long plan ride! This seems like a good time to go on the record with a few predictions that just might work out…
This is going to be a very big year for “the Quest”! There has been a breakthrough – a dramatic one – which I will be writing about once I am back from my trip to the UK. I always knew there would be a “right time” to start taking this story public, and I’ve decided that time is now. While I am in the UK, I will be giving two talks in Jersey, and will also be presenting my research into the historic “Trial of Strafford” painting at Westminster in London. Finally, a week after I return home, I will present the U.S. debut of the “Quest for the Lost Lord Keeper” at the beautiful Cherokee Castle in Sedalia.
Continue reading “Announcement! The Public Debut of “The Quest for the Lost Lord Keeper” !”
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)”
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)”
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)”
