Preserving American Era History Antiquarian Books

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What is an Antiquarian Book ?

An antiquarian book is simply an old, or antique book. As with other types of antiques, there is no hard and fast rule as to how old an object must be in order to be called an antique. Most would agree that a book that is 100 years old is an antique, however, would a 90 year old book not qualify ?

Some experts would say that an object is antique if it comes from a former time. However, a former time is really in the eyes and perspective of the individual. I would consider a book about the Depression to be from a former time, and a book about World War II, I would consider as being in the current time, while my children would see both books as being from a former time.

I arbitrarily have come to define as antiquarian any book published prior to 1923. This is a convenient date because most, if not all, books published prior to 1923 have lost copyright protection. In a manner of speaking, since they have expired, and they have become part of the public domain, they have reached old age. Such books are excellent candidates for preservation.

While I think that all antiquarian books are worth preserving, I am partial to nonfiction, and historical works because they possess the seeds and roots of modern day thought, and heritage, and help us make sense of ourselves, and our current world.

American Era History

I am especially fond of American era history because of the impact that this period has had on world history, at large. American era history is the history of the modern world.

It isnt that America has had such an impact on the world that American history is world history, its just that I believe this era has been witness to profound changes in the world, at large. American era, per se, simply defines a period of world history.

The exact dawn of American history is debatable; did America begin when the Puritans began to colonize America, in the early 1600s, or did it develop slowly and then begin with the Revolutionary War ?

In general, I would say that American era history includes world historical events that have occurred since the early 1700s. I arbitrarily mark the beginning to include the life of Benjamin Franklin who is a prime example of American spirit; his life story was one of rags to riches and world wide prominence; his was a living and breathing example of what is possible, and his life
spanned the old world, and the new world.

Because of people like Franklin, and the modern printing presses of the time, this is a well-documented era, that spawned countless books, and articles, and pamphlets, etc, etc, that
are rich sources of historical study and research.

Unfortunately, much of this documentation, in the form of old, antiquarian books, have been lost to the ages. However, many have survived, and have been reprinted and republished, and made available to many generations of researchers and scholars..

And many antiquarian books have been, and are being preserved through digitization; they are being converted to electronic books, i.e., ebooks.

This is a wonderful development for many reasons because it has extended the life of books that may otherwise have eventually been lost, and the knowledge they contain is being added to our ever growing knowledge base. In a way, the creation of ebooks is retroactively modifying our existing knowledge base.

And this knowledge is now available to the average person. Prior to this, antiquarian history books were not really available to masses of people, as are ebooks. The books are often rare, and hard to find, and expensive. And they really are not suitable for every day reading; they are delicate, and the simple act of reading them can destroy them.

And this new-old knowledge is valuable, and adds new perspective to existing perceptions. Antiquarian history books of this era are very similar to any modern history book. They contain all of the usual elements; they are nonfiction, contain facts and figures, anecdotes, and a record, and/or descriptions of events, and their sequence, etc. Some even include illustrations, and etchings, etc

They have an intrinsic historical value simply because of their age, regardless of whether they are a work of fiction, or nonfiction. While the historical value of nonfiction books is obvious, works of fiction can also have an historical value; for example, the fictional stories written by Mark Twain teach us about the people, racial attitudes, and morals of the times in which they were written.

Antiquarian history books retain their original historical value and content, and also provide a charming perspective of the times in which they were written. For instance, a modern reader of a history telling the story of the building of the Panama Canal will gain a unique historical perspective through the eyes, words, phrases, and style of an author who created their work in the post-Victorian era, and who very likely actually visited the Canal. The dramatic prose, and phraseology, are wonderful, and extremely fun to read. The reader cannot help but smile at colloquialisms that we now find silly, or even embarrassing, but fun.

The Future of American Era Antiquarian History eBooks is Now.

An ebook version of an American era antiquarian history book has many advantages, such as:

1) Cost and availability. Antiquarian books will no longer be hard to find, or rare.
2) You can actually read them; they won't be destroyed by using them.
3) Obviously, they won't wear-out, or degrade with time.
4) They are easy to store.
5) Their information is still valuable, readily available, and easy to search.
6) The original printed book version can be enhanced with modern multimedia effects.
7) Readability is enhanced; and the publication can be colorful, and soundful, and printable, and bookmarkable, and searchable. It can include slideshows, and music, and video, and audio, and can include additional information and resources.

Of course, there are always disadvantages to ebooks. For example, you need a computer, or some kind of electronic device to read the ebook. If your ebook is designed for a computer, then you need to read it at a desktop computer, or a laptop. Unless you have a laptop, it would be difficult to sit in your easy chair and enjoy your ebook.

I'm sure in the future there will be electronic devices that have all the multimedia capabilities of a desktop computer, packaged in a device that can be easily accessed while you're sitting in your favorite chair, or sitting on an airplane, etc.

Digitization of antiquarian history books is the Gutenberg Press of the current era.

The End
EBJ20090324015

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About the Author:
American Era History Publications. Preserving American history one book at a time.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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