TRANSCRIPTION

 If you choose to get involved in transcribing old manuscripts, although the basic task when transcribing a manuscript is to type what is on the page, there are some rules that apply and some of them only as reminders as a natural inclination might be to correct a misspelled word or add punctuation where common sense dictates. 

     The initial conversion of a document’s contents is a verbatim transcription, known as “literal transcription”. What you see is what you type, an exact copy. If it is then used as an editorial working copy with someone cleaning it up for their use, the original material remains unaltered and available. 

     When transcribing the log of the Catalpa Expedition from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Freemantle, Australia, to rescue six Fenian prisoners and get them to New York City while appearing to be just a routine whaling voyage, the entries in the log dealing with the days that the actual rescue was made were first literally transcribed for archiving with a second version, although keeping the same form, having misspellings corrected and punctuation added, and a third version of only the dialogue between the Captain of the British gun boat and the first mate of the Catalpa that had been in one large block paragraph put into dialog form as in a novel or a play. These last two versions were for easy public consumption. The original is for History.

      Depending on which site you may find a manuscript, some have specific procedures to follow if your intention is to produce a transcription for that site, while others are open to the use of Google Docs.

     The original authors may have had certain writing habits and should be treated consistently. Individual patterns of capitalization, the use of contractions, and care or carelessness in spelling often provide unexpected insights into the author of the manuscript or log. 

    Some words are hard to decipher because of spelling and/or penmanship. Keep calm and replace it on your transcription with a dash between brackets [-]. That let’s someone know that you did not change anything, just could not figure it out and allows the reader, if they so choose, to investigate the source material to just find what the word is, or hoping it turns out to be the very word they hoped it would be and their research benefits. In this case you did not change the word and determine the gist of the entry, but let the future know there is a need for clarity.

     I have, on more than one occasion, gone back to fill in the dashes because I got to a point of familiarity with not only the penmanship but the personality of the author that I figured out the word or came upon it in a later entry written more clearly.

     There are those times when you might be rather certain that you got a tricky word correct yet still have doubts. Put your best-guess transcribed phrases or words in brackets with a question mark at end e.g. [worship?]

     For misspelled words that were easy to read but are to remain misspelled, follow the word with sic in brackets[sic].

    If words are in the margin with directions as to where they go, it is the author doing what we all do in rough drafts occasionally, drawing an arrow from what we wrote to where we will put it in the final copy, as you are not altering any info, put the “marginalia” where the author intended it to be. 

      If text in margin does not have a clear insertion point, add bracket text at the end of that page. 

      Log keepers could be artistic from stick-figure style to somewhat elaborate drawings of scenes and whales. List illustrations at end of daily entry. This lets anyone reading your transcription know there is some neat stuff in the original.

      There will be flourishes added for no apparent reason. One log keeper ended his “so ends this day” with the tail of the Y looping down into the next entry. Remember, though, underlining is not a flourish.

      Do not standardize wind directions. Write them as written no matter how it grates against your nautical knowledge and experience. Even what seems to be an innocuous entry of a mild breeze has added to research on climate as whalers took weather readings in the 19th century in more places than people actually went unless they really had to.

     Ripped pages are fun. Some are conveniently horizontal or vertical, and these are type as they look with a notation at the end that they look that way because of a tear.  Others may be diagonal and in this case, as odd as it looks, copy as is with a notation that informs a reader that the page was torn that way. 

      Remember to type what you see, even if tempted to 'correct' something.

If you are using an archive site that has instructions how it wants its transcriptions done, If you are using their manuscript you do them a great service by following their procedures as your work might be part of a larger process of getting transcribed manuscripts available to anyone. 

     Research "odd" words, and place names when possible. These can often lead you places.

     The log keeper of the whale ship Arnolda was good at keeping detailed entries, but lacked spelling and grammar skills which makes reading his entries a bit of a chore as much is incorrectly spelled phonetic attempts.

     The initial transcription as is:

   Monday August 8

Commences with wind from the NNE lying a back

heading NW by N at 1,30 Pm wore ship and ly a back

head NE by E at 2.30 it light up saw a sail a stern

wore ship and stood to the NW at 3 tacked to the ENE

and NE it was the Martha saw a nother sail a head

it shut in a thick fogg and strong breese reeft

the top sails furled the main sail the Middle and 

Latter part fresh gales and snowing a part of the time

at 2 AM wore ship to the NE saw the ice all around

ly a back put the time saw 4 sails one a boiling[?]

Lat a bout 69[79]. 50

   Long a bout 173.00

     This is what future researchers will encounter.

     The second, more readable version available to those who do not want to deal with the original and which is easier to read is done by someone further down the line.

“Commences with wind from the NNE. Lying back.

Heading NW by N. At 1:30 p.m. wore ship and ly back.

Heading NE by E. At 2:30 it light up. Saw a sail astern.

Wore ship and stood to the NW. At 3, tacked to the ENE

and NE. It was the Martha. Saw another sail ahead.

it shut in a thick fog and strong breeze. Reefed

the top sails, furled the main sail. Middle and

Latter part, fresh gales and snowing a part of the time.

At 2 a.m wore ship to the NE. Saw the ice all around.

Lie back. Put the time. Saw 4 sails. One was boiling

Lat about 169 [79].50

Long about 173,00

     Whatever is done with the second transcription does not affect the original and can be modified according to need.

     The primary rule is to remember you are not getting paid to do this research but are restoring history on your own time. 

     Enjoy the task.