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Paul Moews · 09-19-2006, 11:31 AM

Example Scanned Books Tweaked for the Iliad

My Iliad was promptly repaired and now functions nicely – Thanks Irex!

I have been scanning old out of copyright books into PDF files. It pleases me to see discarded and inexpensive books, brown with age and foxing, turned into nice black and white images on a computer screen. Many of them display very well on the Iliad and if the page size fits the Iliad screen they are as easy to read as the original. The problem is the page size; the margins on many books need to be reduced so that the print block shows full size on the Iliad screen.

Most of these books are available as PDF files scanned by Google. I’ve looked at a number of Google’s PDF offerings and to my surprise found many of them to be very poorly done. Project Gutenberg has also converted a number of the books to text but often without illustrations. The Iliad’s 16 gray levels are capable of displaying gray scale images quite well and many of the example books have black and white illustrations.

A word about resolution – these books were scanned at 600 bpi and then had their file sizes reduced in Adobe Acrobat by downsizing to 300 bpi. The Adobe Acrobat downsize algorithm removes bits from the edges of the letters – quite visible at higher magnification. The books look better on the Iliad at 600 bpi but at a considerable cost in storage space. One book – Little Masterpieces, Volume I – is presented in both 300 and 600 bpi.

Here are 40 books, two in two versions, which have had their margins tweaked for the Iliad. Of course they can be viewed on other devices. You will find the PDF files at http://djm.cc/dmoews.html - scroll to the bottom of the page. Many thanks to David Moews for hosting these files.

Seeing Europe with Famous Authors – Edited by Francis W. Halsey

Volume I Great Britain and Ireland Part One

Volume II Great Britain and Ireland Part Two

Volume III France and the Netherlands Part One

Volume IV France and the Netherlands Part Two

Volume V Germany Austria Switzerland Part One

Volume VI Germany Austria Switzerland Part Two

Volume VII Italy and Greece Part One

Volume VIII Italy and Greece Part Two

Volume IX Spain and Portugal

Volume X Russia Scandinavia and the Southeast

This series of 10 small books was copyright 1914 which coincided with the beginning of WWI – the major powers all declared war early in August of that year. The illustrations are of Europe at peace just before the start of war. They are small pocket-size books – 4 x 6 inches in size – and approximately 200 pages long. Each contained 16 pages of illustrations on coated paper, 8 pages on 4 sheets preceding page 1 and 8 more pages preceding page 96. A frontispiece and title page were also printed on coated paper. Nicely and economically done they were published by Funk & Wagnalls and printed in the United States. Halsey claimed that these were not guide books but could enlarge the knowledge of people familiar with Europe and serve as a substitute for those who had never visited. This series is already available as text from Project Gutenberg but the illustrations are lacking. They are also available from Google but extremely poorly done. These scanned copies included all the illustrations and I have separated and arranged them so as to show to their best advantage on the Iliad. Some are faded but the 16 gray levels available on the Iliad produce quite acceptable images.

Library of Little Masterpieces – Various Editors

Published by DoubleDay, Page and Company for The Review of Reviews Company, 1909

Little Masterpieces Volume 1 Thackeray Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 1 Thackeray Edited by Bliss Perry (600 bpi version)

Little Masterpieces Volume 2 Ruskin Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 3 Carlyle Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 4 Macaulay Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 5 Hawthorne Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 6 Irving Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 7 Poe Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 8 De Quincey Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 9 Lincoln Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 10 Lamb Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 11 Webster Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpieces Volume 12 Franklin Edited by Bliss Perry

Little Masterpiece Volume 37 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

Little Masterpiece Volume 38 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

Little Masterpiece Volume 39 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

Little Masterpiece Volume 40 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

Little Masterpiece Volume 41 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

Little Masterpiece Volume 42 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

Little Masterpiece Volume 43 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

Little Masterpiece Volume 44 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie

This is a handsome 44 volume set for The Review of Reviews Company. They are about 4 x 6 inches with an embossed red binding, a tissue protected frontispiece, and a Title page embellished with red type. Volume 1 is available in both 300 bpi and 600 bpi versions.

Stories of the Universe – The Stars – George F. Chambers

Library of Valuable Knowledge – The Story of the Solar System – George F. Chambers

Library of Valuable Knowledge – The Story of Eclipses – George F. Chambers

George Chambers was an English barrister who was also an amateur astronomer. He wrote extensively about astronomy and these three little books were published both in England and the United States near the end of the 19th century. In “The Story of the Solar System” he describes the 8 known planets – a number which is again accepted as correct.

A Treatise on Astronomy – John F. W. Herschel

A Treatise on Astronomy – John F. W. Herschel - Rotated Version

This is the American version of Herschel’s Treatise on Astronomy published in 1836. The pages are slightly reduced in size on the Iliad and a rotated larger version which shows half a page at a time is also provided. Of historic interest though it is fun to read his account of the types of scientific instruments and the state of geographical measurements. One amusing paragraph describes what a person situated on the moon would see when looking at the earth – p. 234 or p. 468 of the rotated version.

The Oxford Book of English Verse – 1250 – 1900

Chosen and Edited by Arthur Quiller Couch – 1918

From a tattered India paper copy – The pages are shown slightly larger than full size on the Iliad.

Mince Pie – Christopher Morley

The Miscellany of a Japanese Priest - Tsure-Zure Gusa – Translated by William N Porter

Christopher Morley was a journalist and novelist perhaps best known for his novel “Kitty Foyle”. Mince Pie is a collection of sketches written early in his career. The copy scanned was a discard from the Long Beach public library, well worn, and rebound at least once. The Miscellany of a Japanese Priest is the subject of one of the sketches – see p. 102 of Mince Pie. Mince Pie is also available at Project Gutenberg but without the illustrations.

Real Soldier of Fortune – Richard Harding Davis

Richard Harding Davis was a correspondent during the second Boer War. This book contains a biography of the young Sir Winston Churchill. The text is available at Project Gutenberg but without the illustrations. The portrait of Winston Churchill is well rendered on the Illiad – see p. 109. The pages are approximately 5 by 7 inches but include a good deal of white space. A 4 by 5.9 inch portion includes all of the text and allows the pages to be shown full size on the Illiad.

The War on All Fronts

The War in Eastern Europe – John Silas Reed – pictures by Boardman Robinson

John Reed was a famous journalist. His account of the Bolshevik revolution is available at Project Gutenberg. Robinson was a Canadian born illustrator and cartoonist. This is an account of their trip through Serbia and Russia from April to October 1915. The pages are about 5 by 7 inches but eliminating some of the extensive white space allows them to be shown at almost full size on the Iliad. Also available from Google but poorly done.

The Pentecost of Calamity – Owen Wister

Owen Wister is best known for his novel the Virginian. This little book was published in 1915 and is a discussion of the origins of WWI. A bit difficult to read – I believe he blames the war on the Germans, specifically their fondness for order and discipline. I’ve omitted the many blank pages and some of the white space.

It seems to me better to read these books reproduced as they were published. Marks and additions by earlier owners are preserved and one better gets the sense that one is reading an old book. For example the copy of “Mince Pie” still includes the pocket for the library card and a due date slip – it seems to have been a popular book – see the two pages at the end of the book.

Comments?

09-19-2006, 11:31 AM	#12
Paul Moews Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jul 2006	Example Scanned Books Available - Comments? Example Scanned Books Tweaked for the Iliad My Iliad was promptly repaired and now functions nicely – Thanks Irex! I have been scanning old out of copyright books into PDF files. It pleases me to see discarded and inexpensive books, brown with age and foxing, turned into nice black and white images on a computer screen. Many of them display very well on the Iliad and if the page size fits the Iliad screen they are as easy to read as the original. The problem is the page size; the margins on many books need to be reduced so that the print block shows full size on the Iliad screen. Most of these books are available as PDF files scanned by Google. I’ve looked at a number of Google’s PDF offerings and to my surprise found many of them to be very poorly done. Project Gutenberg has also converted a number of the books to text but often without illustrations. The Iliad’s 16 gray levels are capable of displaying gray scale images quite well and many of the example books have black and white illustrations. A word about resolution – these books were scanned at 600 bpi and then had their file sizes reduced in Adobe Acrobat by downsizing to 300 bpi. The Adobe Acrobat downsize algorithm removes bits from the edges of the letters – quite visible at higher magnification. The books look better on the Iliad at 600 bpi but at a considerable cost in storage space. One book – Little Masterpieces, Volume I – is presented in both 300 and 600 bpi. Here are 40 books, two in two versions, which have had their margins tweaked for the Iliad. Of course they can be viewed on other devices. You will find the PDF files at http://djm.cc/dmoews.html - scroll to the bottom of the page. Many thanks to David Moews for hosting these files. Seeing Europe with Famous Authors – Edited by Francis W. Halsey Volume I Great Britain and Ireland Part One Volume II Great Britain and Ireland Part Two Volume III France and the Netherlands Part One Volume IV France and the Netherlands Part Two Volume V Germany Austria Switzerland Part One Volume VI Germany Austria Switzerland Part Two Volume VII Italy and Greece Part One Volume VIII Italy and Greece Part Two Volume IX Spain and Portugal Volume X Russia Scandinavia and the Southeast This series of 10 small books was copyright 1914 which coincided with the beginning of WWI – the major powers all declared war early in August of that year. The illustrations are of Europe at peace just before the start of war. They are small pocket-size books – 4 x 6 inches in size – and approximately 200 pages long. Each contained 16 pages of illustrations on coated paper, 8 pages on 4 sheets preceding page 1 and 8 more pages preceding page 96. A frontispiece and title page were also printed on coated paper. Nicely and economically done they were published by Funk & Wagnalls and printed in the United States. Halsey claimed that these were not guide books but could enlarge the knowledge of people familiar with Europe and serve as a substitute for those who had never visited. This series is already available as text from Project Gutenberg but the illustrations are lacking. They are also available from Google but extremely poorly done. These scanned copies included all the illustrations and I have separated and arranged them so as to show to their best advantage on the Iliad. Some are faded but the 16 gray levels available on the Iliad produce quite acceptable images. Library of Little Masterpieces – Various Editors Published by DoubleDay, Page and Company for The Review of Reviews Company, 1909 Little Masterpieces Volume 1 Thackeray Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 1 Thackeray Edited by Bliss Perry (600 bpi version) Little Masterpieces Volume 2 Ruskin Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 3 Carlyle Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 4 Macaulay Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 5 Hawthorne Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 6 Irving Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 7 Poe Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 8 De Quincey Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 9 Lincoln Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 10 Lamb Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 11 Webster Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpieces Volume 12 Franklin Edited by Bliss Perry Little Masterpiece Volume 37 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie Little Masterpiece Volume 38 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie Little Masterpiece Volume 39 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie Little Masterpiece Volume 40 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie Little Masterpiece Volume 41 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie Little Masterpiece Volume 42 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie Little Masterpiece Volume 43 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie Little Masterpiece Volume 44 Fiction Edited by Hamilton W. Mabie This is a handsome 44 volume set for The Review of Reviews Company. They are about 4 x 6 inches with an embossed red binding, a tissue protected frontispiece, and a Title page embellished with red type. Volume 1 is available in both 300 bpi and 600 bpi versions. Stories of the Universe – The Stars – George F. Chambers Library of Valuable Knowledge – The Story of the Solar System – George F. Chambers Library of Valuable Knowledge – The Story of Eclipses – George F. Chambers George Chambers was an English barrister who was also an amateur astronomer. He wrote extensively about astronomy and these three little books were published both in England and the United States near the end of the 19th century. In “The Story of the Solar System” he describes the 8 known planets – a number which is again accepted as correct. A Treatise on Astronomy – John F. W. Herschel A Treatise on Astronomy – John F. W. Herschel - Rotated Version This is the American version of Herschel’s Treatise on Astronomy published in 1836. The pages are slightly reduced in size on the Iliad and a rotated larger version which shows half a page at a time is also provided. Of historic interest though it is fun to read his account of the types of scientific instruments and the state of geographical measurements. One amusing paragraph describes what a person situated on the moon would see when looking at the earth – p. 234 or p. 468 of the rotated version. The Oxford Book of English Verse – 1250 – 1900 Chosen and Edited by Arthur Quiller Couch – 1918 From a tattered India paper copy – The pages are shown slightly larger than full size on the Iliad. Mince Pie – Christopher Morley The Miscellany of a Japanese Priest - Tsure-Zure Gusa – Translated by William N Porter Christopher Morley was a journalist and novelist perhaps best known for his novel “Kitty Foyle”. Mince Pie is a collection of sketches written early in his career. The copy scanned was a discard from the Long Beach public library, well worn, and rebound at least once. The Miscellany of a Japanese Priest is the subject of one of the sketches – see p. 102 of Mince Pie. Mince Pie is also available at Project Gutenberg but without the illustrations. Real Soldier of Fortune – Richard Harding Davis Richard Harding Davis was a correspondent during the second Boer War. This book contains a biography of the young Sir Winston Churchill. The text is available at Project Gutenberg but without the illustrations. The portrait of Winston Churchill is well rendered on the Illiad – see p. 109. The pages are approximately 5 by 7 inches but include a good deal of white space. A 4 by 5.9 inch portion includes all of the text and allows the pages to be shown full size on the Illiad. The War on All Fronts The War in Eastern Europe – John Silas Reed – pictures by Boardman Robinson John Reed was a famous journalist. His account of the Bolshevik revolution is available at Project Gutenberg. Robinson was a Canadian born illustrator and cartoonist. This is an account of their trip through Serbia and Russia from April to October 1915. The pages are about 5 by 7 inches but eliminating some of the extensive white space allows them to be shown at almost full size on the Iliad. Also available from Google but poorly done. The Pentecost of Calamity – Owen Wister Owen Wister is best known for his novel the Virginian. This little book was published in 1915 and is a discussion of the origins of WWI. A bit difficult to read – I believe he blames the war on the Germans, specifically their fondness for order and discipline. I’ve omitted the many blank pages and some of the white space. It seems to me better to read these books reproduced as they were published. Marks and additions by earlier owners are preserved and one better gets the sense that one is reading an old book. For example the copy of “Mince Pie” still includes the pocket for the library card and a due date slip – it seems to have been a popular book – see the two pages at the end of the book. Comments?