[DCRM-L] weird ? in resource

[Jessica Grzegorski]

Hi Amanda,

I have cataloged a large number of early modern maps and atlases over the years, and I have seen the question mark used as a mark of abbreviation many times in 18th-century French maps and atlases. It seems to appear within engraved text rather than letterpress, as it does in your example and the additional one that Erin shared. I also think Erin is on to something with the theory that the "?" is emulating a mark of suspension from manuscript culture.

Considering that this practice appears in French atlases, I'm also curious about how widespread it was among French publishers and engravers, at least among those in the map publishing trade. I can't easily find examples in our collection here, since I've transcribed all of those "?"s as periods!

Best,
Jessica
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From: DCRM-L <dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu> on behalf of Sprochi, Amanda K. via DCRM-L <dcrm-l at lib.byu.edu>
Sent: Friday, March 1, 2024 11:26 AM
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Cc: Sprochi, Amanda K. <sprochia at missouri.edu>
Subject: Re: [DCRM-L] weird ? in resource


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Sorry everyone, I wasn’t clear. The weird ? appears in the resource, not the OCLC record—I’m doing an original for this as no one else has quite the same edition. It’s interesting to think that they may be emulating manuscript practice, although I’ve never seen a ? in the mss I’ve cataloged, they are usually specific abbreviations for specific combinations of letters. I was just wondering if anyone ran into the use of the ? in a resource to indicate, well, wildcards we’d call them now. I’m wondering if this is widespread, particularly French, or particularly this publisher.

aks



Amanda K. Sprochi, MA, MLIS, AHIP

Cataloger/Librarian IV

University Libraries

The University of Missouri

60 Ellis Library

520 S 9th St

Columbia, MO  65211

(573) 882-0461

sprochia at health.missouri.edu<mailto:sprochia at health.missouri.edu>

she/her/hers



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Jessica Grzegorski (she/her)
Head of Cataloging
(312) 255-3650
Newberry Library
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