As I remarked a while back, the works of Methodius were published in Russian by Evgraf I. Loviagin (d. 1909). The second edition appeared in 1905, and although very rare, a copy does exist at the University of Chicago. So I wrote to them and asked for a copy, but heard nothing.
Today I’ve had an email back:
We can digitize this book here and the fee would be $20.00 US. The book is in poor condition and we will put it online with the other books we scan locally. We would send you a pdf file or point you to a url for it. Would you like us to proceed?
I’ve said ‘yes’, of course. It’s 289 pages, so that’s not really very much. Quite how I send a piddling sum like that I don’t know — maybe stick a 20 dollar bill inside a card! — but I’ll manage it somehow.
Good news, all the same; and making it generally available is also a good thing. Let’s hope the results will OCR OK.
Well done, the University of Chicago.
They would probably take a check. Do you have a US bank account?
If not I’m happy to write one for $20 and donate it to your efforts!
They probably would, but I haven’t heard back yet. They seem to be a bit understaffed.
I don’t have a US bank account — wish I did — but I appreciate the offer (although I’d certainly repay you) and may take you up on it. The fees charged by UK banks to write a dollar cheque were extortionate, the last time I looked.