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I have a question for anyone who might know about this sort of thing.

I bought a book from a Manhattan auction in NY for about $100,000.

I would like to digitize the book, but there is fading from light degradation on several pages. The book is about 100 pages total and it's from the 1930s. It is typewritten and it was mimeographed to make copies.

What is the best way to go about scanning the book, and also what can be done about somehow being able to track the ink of the fading text?




AFAIK usually the original is photographed under a particular light (and with specific filters or cameras) that depends on the specific kind of ink, see:

https://activehistory.ca/2018/09/recovering-contrast-in-fade...



You're looking for a digitization archivist; this is a bit small scale though - generally collections are larger.


Now I'm super curious; what kind of book that's not even 100 years old would sell for that kind of money?


I'll reveal the answer by the end of this decade when the copyright expires. The main reason I bought it is because it's not archived and transcribed on the internet already and it was frustrating me, so it became my Holy Grail, and then I was telling someone it was my Holy Grail and looking it up to show them, and that's when I noticed it was on the market.


Is the text the original typewriting (with artifacts from type impacting the page, or stenciled to prepare for mimeo) or is it mimeographed (which I always saw using turkey-red ink)?


As soon as possible, just take photos with an iPhone. Don’t put it off.

I wasted a lot of time trying to optimize the digitization process (I collect 15th/16th c books). Just do it.


I'll tell you for $50,000




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