This Treasures in Full collection is composed of The Canterbury Tales which were begun in 1387 by Early British writer Chaucer, the Two editions of are on display in this digital collection of the British Library. The two editions were created by a printer by the name of William Caxton in 1476 and 1483, less then a quarter of a century after Gutenberg invents the printing press. The acquisition of the first and second editions happened over a long period of time after passing through the hands of certain prominent owners, such as George III. The books were digitized in 2002 Keio University for the British Library.
Collection Principles
Although this is a relatively small digitization project consisting of only two of the British Library's best copies of the first and second editions, it is extremely well documented. The purpose of this collection is to allow users to view the two editions side by side and compare the characteristics of each according to style of text and changes in the text itself. Apparently the second edition was created after Caxton became familiar with a document that was very similar to the original Canterbury Tales. These pieces are irreplaceable to the British Library and to Great Britain. The library is very selective in choosing who is permitted to view the books, but in order to increase use of these books the library chose to digitize them. Creating both high and low resolutions for all pages in both books.
Object Characteristics
The images were captured using a very high end camera at Keio University in Japan. Each image is 4000x4000 pixels at 12 bit RGB. The books had a maximum opening space and needed a special platform for them to prevent access wear and tear on the over 500 years old books. There are two options for viewing the editions. You can view them one at a time or side by side for comparisons sake. You can only zoom in once to view the detailed lettering and ornate decorations in the beginning of each chapter. Once you have zoomed in, you can click to view the transcripts which are very helpful, at least for me. Some of the words do not seem to relate to any English that I am familiar with, but I am not sure if this is a result of the OCR or the old English in which the books were written in.
Metadata
As this is a library, an institution based on information, I thought it safe to assume that there would be provided a wealth of metadata on each of the objects digitized. Unfortunately I was not able to locate this information. There is quite a lot on Chaucer and Caxton and the printing press, but it is uncertain where the library holds the editions and in what why they index them, or these images. It was a bit disappointing. There is even a reference page provided for users who wish to know more.
Intended Audience
The collection was obviously intended for intensive scholars of both the Canterbury Tales and Caxton, they make this very explicit. That is not to say that this site does not contain information that other users may find helpful. It is a digital connection to the past, a representation of what used to be viewable but now viewing it would bring about its demise. The Internet opens many doors, but its curators must learn to make them available properly.
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