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December 19, 2011
When A Written Work Was Written
We often think of a handwritten work as a thing of the distance past. But I was filing some papers that I had gathered for previous projects when I ran across a copy of a rather massive paper in four segments on Šumma ālu by F. Nötscher (“Die Omen-Series ālu ina mēlê šakin,” Orientalia, NS 51-54 [1930]). The whole thing is handwritten. Here’s a sample,
Many Assyriologists and Egyptologists once wrote all or part of the works by hand. I frequently consult a 1963 edition of René Labat’s Manuel d'Épigraphie Akkadienne and it’s all handwritten with the signs carefully hand drawn. I need to go to a library to consult a newer, still mostly handwritten, edition.
Posted by Duane Smith at December 19, 2011 11:52 AM | Read more on Akkadian |
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Comments
You sent me rushing to the Library of Congress database to see whether my trusty Labat is the latest edition. It does appear to be (6th). I think I must know his handwriting as well as I know that of my close family members.
Among the reasons I can say I'd have been washed up as an Assyriologist I include my handwriting.
Posted by: Brooke at December 19, 2011 4:22 PM
I sat down next to Hugh Williamson at an Oxford Old Testament seminar and pulled out my laptop to start taking notes. He asked if I was going to be "clacking away" throughout the seminar. I replied "if it's interesting!" He got up and moved to the other side of the room. That was before we were properly introduced, and I was told by a colleague of his that he avoids computers and still writes his book manuscripts by hand. I never verified that from him, but it wouldn't surprise me, based on what I was able to observe. One thing several professors told me was a big problem for American students at Oxford was their difficulty with sitting for three hour exams and writing by hand the entire time.
Posted by: Daniel O. McClellan at December 19, 2011 6:12 PM
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