[DCRM-L] Name authorities for engravers

[Deborah J. Leslie]

Dear colleagues,

I'm of two minds about a potentially useful (also, potentially stupid) descriptive phrase on headings or references for engravers, and I'd like to hear other perspectives. (I know I could shoot this question to Autocat, but would like to hear first what those say who are likelier to have dealt with this and similar issues.)

When faced with a surname only followed with "sculp." or variation on something I'm cataloging, I can sometimes spend quite a long time figuring out whether this person has already been established in NACO because I don't know his first name. My proposed remedy: make a reference on the NAR from the surname only with "sc." as a descriptive phrase, so that someone scanning a heading result list would quickly zero in on the "sc." (example: 400 Starling, ‡c sc.). You can find headings already established in NACO with "sculp." used as an addition to a surname-only heading to break a conflict (example: 100 Andre, ‡c sculp.).

The problem of course is that "sc." and its variations mean "engraved it," not "engraver."  

Would it be appropriate to continue the practice of using the abbreviation of a Latin verb phrase as a descriptive phrase? Or would it be more appropriate to provide an English approximation of what "sculpsit" indicates rather than using the phrase itself (example: 100 Rivers, ‡c engraver). In any case, would it be helpful to provide cross references when a name appears on works without a forename but with "sculp."?.)

This has become a pressing topic for us since we're in the midst of a grant project to catalog and digitize images relating to Shakespeare, and we'll be submitting lots of NARS for engravers. I'd be grateful to hear your thoughts.  

__________________________ 
Deborah J. Leslie, M.A., M.L.S. 
Head of Cataloging 
Folger Shakespeare Library 
201 East Capitol St., S.E. 
Washington, D.C. 20003 
202.675-0369 
djleslie at folger.edu | http://www.folger.edu 


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