From: t.n.corns@bangor.ac.uk Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 9:13 AM To: milton-l@richmond.edu Subject: Re: FW: Announcement of the Milton Window Project I would have made this response off-line, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious email address associated with the project. I'd like to say just three things: (1) I think it's first-rate and applaud its initiators (2) it's really rather expensive to send cheques in dollars from the UK and there may be a case for establishing a British bank account for contributors with the same problem and (3) I'd be happy to enclose details with the next mailing to members of the British Milton Seminar, not all of whom are members of Milton-L (and it would be useful to make similar provision with the Milton Society of Japan and the Milton Society of Korea). Every good wish for the project. Tom Corns From: Roy Flannagan [Roy@gwm.sc.edu] Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 9:17 AM To: milton-l@richmond.edu Subject: Re: Fletcher's facsimile Dear Carl, if I may, I don't know of anyone is around today who might want to try to duplicate Fletcher's effort or even try to collate ten or fifteen copies each of the first and second editions, with various issues, of Paradise Lost. Taking images of one copy, as has been done with the Shakespeare First Folio, and putting those images on the Web, would be useful. I have noticed since I first started scanning facsimiles of Milton's poems in manuscript that one can blow up parts of the scanned images to reveal bleed-through, flyspecks, Miltonic coffee stains (is that how he managed to write so much?), and other bits of interest to bibliographers--or appraisers looking for forgeries. I have not seen the facsimile of Milton's poems that you mention as having been done in 1926, but I might be cautious about how and what it might reproduce, depending on photographic technology available in 1926. All photographic or Xerographic images are apt to be very clever fakes, some of which have been designed to white-out smudges or pieces of broken letters so as to make the images on the page more acceptable to a modern printer or publisher--as you said, the pages of the 1926 facsimile look as if they represent type impressions dug into heavy rag paper (and sold at a high price). It would be nice to have more practicing analytical bibliographers working on Milton manuscripts and printed texts, but the work-load of dealing even with The Doctrine and Diiscipline of Divorce, or the masque is daunting even to those used to collating 17th-century texts. Best wishes, Roy Flannagan >>> carlb@shore.net 12/20/00 11:58AM >>> Thanks Prof. Flannagan for your cautionary comments. Would you say it's time to revise the Fletcher edition? It would be nice to see something on the Web, but I suppose the limitation of graphic resolutions on-screen might make it even less satisfactory than a printed text for representing original pages(?). I have a curious book printed in 1926: "The Noel Douglas Replicas, John Milton, Minor Poems." It indicates that "The copy reproduced is that in the British Museum." If you are familiar with this text, how accurate is it in terms of flies and commas and bleed-through etc.? And how was it reproduced --some kind of photographic process? It is printed on heavy rag paper and almost looks like it's set in type. -Carl ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roy Flannagan" To: Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 8:14 AM Subject: Fletcher's facsimile > Fletcher's notes and transcriptions are indeed very helpful but they are > not always trustworthy, nor is the facsimile process (for reproducing the > shades of paper or the ink bleed-through or the specks that might be dead > flies on the Xerox glass, or commas) always technically > perfect. Fletcher's transcriptions need to be verified by reference to his > images, then those images need to be checked against the original > editions. Then there are the press variants that Fletcher didn't catch! > > Who is collating Milton editions and manuscripts, out there? > > Best wishes, > > Roy Flannagan > From: Carol Barton, PhD [cbartonphd@earthlink.net] Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 7:54 AM To: milton-l@richmond.edu Subject: A clarification: Milton Quadricentenary Window Project With apologies for cross-posting: The cut/paste gremlins seem to have struck again! The announcement of the Milton Quadricentenary Window Project should have included a statement indicating that all contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. This is a not-for-profit organization sponsored by the USM Fund, as the acknowledgment letter all donors will receive confirms. Happiest of holidays to all, Carol Barton From: Jameela Lares [jlares@ocean.otr.usm.edu] Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 9:45 AM To: milton-l@richmond.edu Subject: Re: Fletcher's facsimile If Roy Flannagan or any other editor cares to speak to this, I am wondering to what extent this early reception article is still useful: William Riley Parker, "Fletcher's Milton: A First Appraisal." Papers of the Bibliographic Society of America 41 (1947): 33-52. Are there additional useful comments in print? Jameela Lares Associate Professor of English University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5037 +(601) 266-4319 ofc message +(626) 577-5810 home/fax (sabbatical) On Mon, 18 Dec 2000, Roy Flannagan wrote: > Fletcher's notes and transcriptions are indeed very helpful but they are > not always trustworthy, nor is the facsimile process (for reproducing the > shades of paper or the ink bleed-through or the specks that might be dead > flies on the Xerox glass, or commas) always technically > perfect. Fletcher's transcriptions need to be verified by reference to his > images, then those images need to be checked against the original > editions. Then there are the press variants that Fletcher didn't catch! > > Who is collating Milton editions and manuscripts, out there? > > Best wishes, > > Roy Flannagan > From: Shore.net [carlb@shore.net] Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 11:58 AM To: milton-l@richmond.edu Subject: Re: Fletcher's facsimile Thanks Prof. Flannagan for your cautionary comments. Would you say it's time to revise the Fletcher edition? It would be nice to see something on the Web, but I suppose the limitation of graphic resolutions on-screen might make it even less satisfactory than a printed text for representing original pages(?). I have a curious book printed in 1926: "The Noel Douglas Replicas, John Milton, Minor Poems." It indicates that "The copy reproduced is that in the British Museum." If you are familiar with this text, how accurate is it in terms of flies and commas and bleed-through etc.? And how was it reproduced --some kind of photographic process? It is printed on heavy rag paper and almost looks like it's set in type. -Carl ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roy Flannagan" To: Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 8:14 AM Subject: Fletcher's facsimile > Fletcher's notes and transcriptions are indeed very helpful but they are > not always trustworthy, nor is the facsimile process (for reproducing the > shades of paper or the ink bleed-through or the specks that might be dead > flies on the Xerox glass, or commas) always technically > perfect. Fletcher's transcriptions need to be verified by reference to his > images, then those images need to be checked against the original > editions. Then there are the press variants that Fletcher didn't catch! > > Who is collating Milton editions and manuscripts, out there? > > Best wishes, > > Roy Flannagan > From: Cynthia A. Gilliatt [gilliaca@jmu.edu] Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 7:58 AM To: milton-l@richmond.edu Cc: 'Milton-L@Richmond.edu' Subject: Re: FW: Announcement of the Milton Window Project I'm sure I'm not the only person to ask this - but will such a contribution be tax-deductible? (It's that time of year ...) I surely will contribute something, no matter what, but would like to know if I should tag my check GIFT/DONATION for the IRS. Thanks, Cynthia G. -- JMU SAFE ZONES PARTICIPANT Cynthia A. Gilliatt English Department MSC 1801 James Madison University Harrisonburg VA 22807 gilliaca@jmu.edu http://raven.jmu.edu/~gilliaca/ 540-568-3762 or 6202 From: Creamer, Kevin [kcreamer@richmond.edu] Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 7:22 AM To: 'Milton-L@Richmond.edu' Subject: FW: Announcement of the Milton Window Project John Milton Quadricentenary Window Project With the gracious support of The University Of Southern Mississippi Foundation, the John Milton Quadricentenary Window Project Committee is pleased to announce the formal inception of the John Milton Quadricentenary Window Project, which will provide for the installation of a commemorative stained glass window at the site of Milton's burial, in the parish church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, The Barbican, London EC2, England, in honor of his four hundredth birthday on December 9, 2008. As it is currently envisioned, the Milton Window will be designed by stained glass artist John Lawson, and manufactured by Goddard and Gibbs Studios of London, which also created the Alleyn Window on the opposite side of the church. It will feature floral images on the outer panels adapted from watercolors lovingly done by Jane Elizabeth Giraud in June of 1846, to illustrate the many species of flora mentioned in Milton's poetry. These will border an appropriate selection of verse from Paradise Lost in the central panel, and there will be a thornless rose at the window's crown. Although the design is only in the "drawing board" stage at this writing, plans are underway for a sealed box to be embedded in or mounted beneath the window frame, containing a parchment listing the names of all contributors, regardless of the amount of the individual's donation. Given that Milton's remains spent the better part of 116 years without so much as a marker to record the place of his burial, this tribute is long overdue: the first monument to England's greatest epic poet was not installed at St. Giles, Cripplegate until 1793, after a scandal involving the possible desecration of his grave. The only other memorial to him in all of London at that time was the Benson/Rysbrack bust at Westminster-which was haughtily rejected when it was originally proposed as a "disgrace" to the Abbey's hallowed walls--and there are not many more, even today. At the present time, the site of the poet's birth and his Bunhill Row home and the locations of the many houses he occupied in the vicinity of the Square Mile during his lifetime are unremarked-though there is Corporation of London blue plaque on the house at 4 Cheyne Walk to remind passersby that this is the place where George Eliot died, and another a few blocks away identifying the house in which Oscar Wilde lived. Shakespeare, of course, is lavishly memorialized throughout England, and in London, and Donne and Johnson and Dickens are well represented, too. Not so John Milton, and not so for far too long. You can help us demonstrate the commitment of Miltonists the world over to doing what we can not to "willingly let it die" by creating a lasting affirmation of our love and respect for the rich legacy Milton left us, and undo some of the devastation wreaked by Hitler's bombs on the little church that has stood in its present location since the reign of William the Conqueror as well. All donors will receive an acknowledgment letter signed by all of the members of the Committee, and they will also be invited to participate in a formal unveiling ceremony at St. Giles, Cripplegate church on or about December 9, 2008, followed by a formal reception. That may seem a long way off, but given the time it will take to establish sufficient funds to justify a contractual commitment with Goddard & Gibbs, obtain the required approvals for construction from the parish and the Crown, establish a contract with the manufacturer, and complete the installation, it's critical that we establish a financial base as soon as possible. Please look for the Milton Quadricentenary Window Project display at the Milton Society of America dinner in Washington, D.C. at the end of this month, and contribute whatever you can afford. Pre-printed postage-free envelopes will be available for that purpose. If you wish, you may also mail a contribution to the attention of Ms. Janice K. Delancey, Assistant Director of Business Services, at the following address: USM Foundation (Fund 93A) The University of Southern Mississippi Box 10026 Hattiesburg, MS 39406 Make your check payable to "USM Foundation," and note "Fund 93A, Milton Window" on the memo line. While the Foundation is not yet equipped to process VISA or Mastercard transactions electronically, they will be pleased to do so by telephone. You can reach USM at (601) 266-5602, or fax (601) 266-5735 for this purpose. Should your response be as enthusiastic as we hope, the Milton Quadricentenary Window Project Committee has pledged to utilize any excess funds that may remain when the cost of the Project is paid in full to promote, sustain, and otherwise support such related projects as the Milton Cottage Trust; the Milton Society of America; the placement of blue plaques at the sites of Milton's Bread Street, Bunhill Row, and Westminster residences; and the Church at St. Giles, Cripplegate, in the latter case to ensure that the Window is properly maintained and preserved by the donees. Our formal charter is available for donor inspection on demand at USM. The history of the Church and additional details about this Project and its origins may be viewed at http://www.stgilescripplegate.com/, along with photographs of the Window site and Milton's gravestone-and an interesting piece of little-known Miltonic history. The committee members, Carol Barton, Philip Birger, Albert C. Labriola, Jameela Lares, John T. Shawcross, and John M. Steadman, thank you for your generosity, and wish you the best and brightest of Happy Holidays! From: Roy Flannagan [Roy@gwm.sc.edu] Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 8:14 AM To: milton-l@richmond.edu Subject: Fletcher's facsimile Fletcher's notes and transcriptions are indeed very helpful but they are not always trustworthy, nor is the facsimile process (for reproducing the shades of paper or the ink bleed-through or the specks that might be dead flies on the Xerox glass, or commas) always technically perfect. Fletcher's transcriptions need to be verified by reference to his images, then those images need to be checked against the original editions. Then there are the press variants that Fletcher didn't catch! Who is collating Milton editions and manuscripts, out there? Best wishes, Roy Flannagan