I got quite cross on my Oxford visit during August, because although I located a volume of excerpts, with a fragment of Eusebius, I was unable to obtain a reproduction thanks to the greed of Bodleian staff. A price of 29p for a black-and-white photo is not bad; but a price of £3.87 per greyscale (just a setting change on the same camera, which costs no more to take) is ridiculous, and a price of £17.20 for colour (ditto) is obscene.
Indeed I wrote there and then an email of protest to the head of imaging services, a certain James Allan. The professionalism and customer-focus of the Bodleian and that particular bureaucrat may be judged by his failure to even acknowledge it. As a result, I failed to note here the details of what I actually want to get; and have had to scrabble around for details of it again!
The book is volume 1 of a two volume anthology (Graeco-Lat. patrum bibliothecae novum Auctarium) of extracts starting with works by Asterius of Amasea from various unspecified manuscripts, edited by Francois Combefis: S. Patris nostri Asterii Amaseae episcopi, aliorum plurium… Ecclesiae graecae patrum… orationes & homiliae / opera ac studio R.P.Fr. Francisci Combefis. Published: Parisiis : sumptibus Antonii Bertier, 1648. The Bodleian shelfmark was R 6.16, 15 Jur. There is also a copy in Birmingham ML Special Collections, shelfmark “r f BR 62”.
The portion I want consists of columns 779-791. This is Greek text with facing Latin translation. I noted when I saw it to emphasise that the Greek text was really important, because the binding might work against me!
I also wanted some introductory matter. There were two title pages; then a letter Illustrissimo Franciae… covering 4 pages, and a single page headed Candido Lectori, which alone gave information about sources. The elderly paper means that at least a grey-scale image will be necessary.
Now to find someone who will sell me copies at a reasonable price!
You did see it?
Don’t you have a camera?
For some time I have a rule:
Never enter a library without a small pocket camera.
Wise man. I did see it, but sadly I did not have a camera with me. It’s not trivial photographing a folio-size page, you know. But you’re undoubtedly right, and I need to start practising and then doing.
After all, a lot of people have a camera in their mobile phone. I suppose the bureaucrats could try searching people for them; until some young lady decides to shriek “indecent assault”, whereupon the library is in deep doo-doo.
The funny thing is that the Bodleian is not as stupid as the British Library, as an institution. It seems to waver between hog-whimperingly nasty, greedy and stupid policies; and sensible, forward-looking ones. So they DO allow people to use cameras, under supervision (no doubt influenced by just this matter of mobile phones and the utter impracticality of stopping this); but only for 20th century books.
I’m also interested in the possibilities of clandestine photography. James Bond, where are you when we need you! But the last time I looked, I found that it doesn’t seem to be technically possible to do it in the way I would like; or not yet.