[DCRM-L] Eyewitness accounts

[Deborah J. Leslie]

I'm cataloging an eyewitness description of harsh conditions in London over the winter of 1623/1624, and was surprised that there isn't a genre term for eyewitness accounts anywhere I looked (RBMSCV, LCGFT, AAT). RBMS has relationship designator witness, which isn't going to help me here. I've cataloged a lot of purported eyewitness accounts of battles, executions, other events, and so  I reckon have most of you. Which makes me wonder why it isn't a thing—unless there's another term for the concept that I'm not thinking of.

I can't imagine that it wouldn't be a useful addition to our genre/form vocabulary. The only objection I can think of is that, as suggested above, many purported eyewitness accounts are heavily fabricated; this is especially true of execution speeches and the like. If that's the problem, my response is that it isn't up to the cataloger to decide the truth of the contents, but to describe its genre, which in this case presents itself as an eyewitness account.

Is there something I'm not thinking of, and any reason I shouldn't propose it as a new term to RBMSCV?

Hope nobody reads this until Monday as you all enjoy your weekend.

Deborah




_____________________________
Deborah J. Leslie [cid:4826f748-f342-42c8-909c-03ea6b7a487f]  | M.A., M.L.S. | Senior Cataloger | Folger Shakespeare Library | 201 East Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC 20003 | djleslie at folger.edu<mailto:djleslie at folger.edu> | www.folger.edu<http://www.folger.edu/> | Opinions her own
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