UMI ID #
STC 2084
AUTHOR: Read, Alexander
TITLE: The manuall of the anatomy or dissection of the body of man
PAGES: Images 176, 207, 269, and 302
Q1:How should we record the numbers that appear in and at the beginning of paragraphs? Should any of the paragraphs be treated as "numbered paragraphs" (in the sense that the number should be preserved as the value of the "N" attribute of the <P> tag)?
A: I would treat these numbers simply as part of the text, and treat the paragraphs as simple paragraphs that happen to contain numbers:
<P>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The bran ches of the trunke de scending.</NOTE>
1. Intercostall inferior arteries in numer eight.
2. <HI>Phraenicae</HI> two. 3. <HI>Cae liaca</HI>
one. ... </P>As a rule, if it is not clear that something qualifies for specialized treatment, it can safely be captured as straight text. If you're not sure whether a fancy treatment is justified, use the simpler treatment instead. This is almost always the safe thing to do: we don't lose any text that way, and we don't perpetrate any incorrect markup: better LESS markup than WRONG markup.
Let me add:
The confusion caused by this instruction (about numbered paragraphs) suggests that it is perhaps one of the instructions that should be dropped. If there are any other instructions like this: instructions that are too hard to apply, or require too much interpretation to be applied consistently, or do not seem to be worth the effort that they cost, please let us know. You are the people who actually have to implement the instructions and we value your opinion. The processing of these first few books is intended not only to give us an opportunity to comment on your product, but to give you the opportunity tocomment on our instructions.
Within the next few weeks we will be assessing how well the various instructions have fared. In a few cases, we'll try to clarify them; in other cases we will try to simplify them, perhaps radically. the result will, I hope, be a new version of the instructions (version 2.0, I guess) that will be easier and cheaper for you to follow without costing us much in the way of useful markup. So if you have comments to make, now is the time to make them!
Q2: What should we do with the block of text that appars after the apparent end of the document (after the "FINIS")? Should it be a <DIV!>? Should the centered lines in italics be <HEAD>s? Should the rest be captured as <P>s?
A: Without looking further into the book, this looks to me like a prime candidate to be called <BACK> matter -- material after the end of the body of the book proper.
If you put it in <BACK>, then all of your suggestions sound exactly right:
-- the centered italic lines become <HEAD>s of <DIV1>s
-- the blocks of text under each <HEAD> can be captures as <P>s. (Some of the <DIV1>s seem to have two paragraphs each, one in roman, on in italic).</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1>
<HEAD>The explication of the first Figure.</HEAD>
<P>1. The hairy scalp. 2. The fore-head. 3. ... </P>
</DIV1>