Hello all, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Blaze Welling, and I am a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Waterloo in the English Language and Literature department. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dr. Acheson on the Early Modern Marginalia Research Network (EMMRN) project for almost a year now.
In March, Dr. Acheson and I had the opportunity to go to the Renaissance Society of America (RSA) 2024 Conference in Chicago. To make the most of this trip, we jumped at the opportunity to visit the Newberry Library to see some early modern materials, specifically some versions of Richard Blome’s A Description of the Island of Jamaica; With the other Isles and Territories in AMERICA, to which the English are Related, viz, […] Taken from the Notes of Sr.Thomas Linch Knight, Governour of Jamaica and other Experienced Persons in the said Places. Illustrated with Maps […]. (Yes, the title is that long).
As a new scholar in the field and someone who has not worked with early modern materials, this experience was eye-opening. The opportunity to look at texts predating 1800 was fascinating and the value that was placed on these materials at the Newberry was a humbling experience that I’m grateful for.
I have included some photos of a 1672 version of the Blome text that we were able to look at. This 1672 imprint of A Description of the Island of Jamaica […] (Figure 1) made all the repository research I had conducted come to life. Being able to touch a text that was written so long ago (and without gloves!) was such a unique and wonderful opportunity. This visit gave me a newfound appreciation for the work Dr. Acheson set out on with the EMMRN and made me grateful that there are spaces that value books and their rich histories as much as they should be.
Finding a label of the text (See Figure 2) that we can only assume was the owner of this version made this history come to life for me. Someone held this text, valued it, and claimed it as their own in the form of marginalia such as this. It does make you wonder where this book travelled with Nickolls among many other likely unanswerable questions. Who had it before 1742? Were maps removed for personal use and never returned? These questions motivate me to continue my search in the archives and attempt to find some answers to what seems unanswerable now. I think this is the inclination of early modernists and reflects the heart, patience, and determination that is required to research such materials.
Thinking about the work done on the EMMRN and seeing these materials and the life that comes along with marginal notes came to life was exciting as a new scholar. I can see how pulling the signs of use of A Description of the Island of Jamaica […] together can give us a picture of how English-speaking people received information about their new imperial economy and the places in which it was developing.
I’m eager to see where this project goes and what other opportunities it will provide me and the many other scholars using the network for their research interests.