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EMROC at 10: A Real Group Effort

As incredible as it feels to be marking EMROC’s tenth year, it’s even more overwhelming to consider the many people who have come together to make this project of recipe transcription happen. Originally, we had planned to name these people in the Early Modern Studies Journal’s account of EMROC’s work, but it quickly became apparent that there was not nearly enough room for that. Instead, we’ve made a very, very long web page on which we can begin to record the names of those whose contributions have gotten EMROC off the ground, and kept it going.

Without the active cooperation of libraries, this project could never have actually started. Heather Wolfe, Curator of Manuscripts at the Folger Shakespeare Library, has made so much of EMROC possible with her dedication to both teaching paleography and making manuscripts searchable. Folger folks past and present – especially Owen Williams, Mike Poston, Eric Johnson, Paul Dingman, Sarah Powell, and Emily Wahl – have stepped in time after time to make encoding smoother, before, during, and after Transcribathons. And the Folger’s docents have adopted recipe transcription as an ongoing project, much to EMROC’s benefit. More recently, we have been lucky to work with Julia Nurse, Elma Brenner, and Caroline Butten at the Wellcome Collection, as well as Pamela Forde and Gail Chapman at the Royal College of Physicians. And Kathryn Harvey at the McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph was among the first to host EMROC on the road.

EMROC has long thought of transcription as a project fit for students and multiple levels, and we have grown thanks to their work. We are particularly lucky to have had the following instructors and students involved in EMROC projects: Liza Blake and students at University of Toronto; David Goldstein and students at York University (Canada); Ian MacInnes and students at Albion College; Marissa Nicosia at Penn State Abington; Nancy Simpson-Younger and students at Pacific Lutheran University; Rob Wakeman and students at Mount Saint Mary College (especially Tori Kuhr) and The University of South Florida; Emma Marshall, Grace Murray and students at The Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies at The University of York (UK). Along the way, there have been other satellite groups during our transcribathons at places like The Newberry Library, The Huntingdon Library, Stanford University, and more.

And of course the many students that have transcribed with Steering Committed members at The University of Texas Arlington, The UNC Charlotte, North Carolina State University, The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, The University of Akron, The University of Essex, and The University of Saskatchewan.

In particular, the Steering Committee would like to thank our Research Assistants and Placements Daniel Glombitza, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science; Monterey Hall, University of Colorado Colorado Springs; Julia Jaegle, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science; and Katrina Rutz, University of Colorado Colorado Springs; Catilin Walsh, University College London; Jessie Foreman, University of Essex; and Chiara Leon-Briones, University of Essex. And we would be remiss if we didn’t note the contributions of the following students (many now graduated!): Samantha Snively, Joul Smith, Brianne Weber, Erin Spinney, and Jennifer Caro-Barnes. 

Much appreciation, too, goes to our Advisory Board:

  • Rebecca Bushnell, School of Arts and Sciences Board of Overseers Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania.
  • Michelle DiMeo, Curator of Digital Collections, The Chemical Heritage Foundation.
  • Patricia Fumerton, Professor of English, University of California, Santa Barbara, founder and director of the English Ballad Broadside Archive.
  • Janelle Jenstad, Associate Professor of English, General Editor and Director of The Map of Early Modern London
  • Stephen Schmidt, Food Historian, principal researcher and writer for The Manuscript Cookbooks Survey
  • Anne Stobart, Clinical Herbal Practitioner, Honorary Fellow at the University of Exeter
  • Georgianna Ziegler, Associate Librarian and Head of Reference Emerita, Folger Shakespeare Library.

And of course, we’d like to think the three founding Steering Committee members who have since taken up different roles in EMROC: Michelle DiMeo, Rebecca Laroche, and Amy Tigner

EMROC is truly a crowd-sourced effort, with over a thousand transcribers contributing their time to transcription. None of EMROC’s work would be possible without the work of these people, and many others who have pitched in with transcription efforts. Who knows how many more might be involved in the years to come! 



Ready, Set, Transcribe!

Today will full of fantastic Transcribathon events, with talks and Zoom Rooms. And we’ll be transcribing all day, so come join us! If you want to connect via Twitter, we’ll be at #EMROCtranscribes as well as #EMROCis 10.

Click Here to Start Transcribing

Drop in check out one (or more!) of our events:

  • 7 AM EDT/ 4 AM PDT / 11 AM GMT: Transcription Begins! We’ll start the day out tweeting about what we find in the manuscript, and with tips for getting going.  Get ready to transcribe here. Join us with the hashtags #EMROCTranscribes and #EMROCis10
  • 11 AM EDT / 8 AM PDT / 3 PM GMT: Live Q&A with presenting scholars via Zoom link, available via the Wellcome Eventbrite page.
  • 3 PM EST / 12 PM PDT/ 7 PM GMT:  Zoom Room closes 

Getting Ready for the Transcribathon!

It’s nearly #EMROCtranscribes day! I hope you’ve had a chance to listen to the introduction to Mary Hawker’s book and our wonderful speakers (Rachel Rich, Edith Snook and Tim Underhill), who bring some fascinating insights into working with recipes and recipe books. (Links to the recorded talks and registration for the speaker Q&A can be found in our previous post.)

In case you missed it, we also have a page that outlines how you can prepare for the transcribathon — such as setting up a FromThePage account or finding the sign-up for each page. The actual texts won’t open for transcription, however, until we kick things off at 11:00 GMT/7:00 EST on 4 November. The countdown is beginning…

One other thing that you could do, if you were so inclined, is to answer a little survey (no more than five minutes) so we can get a sense of our community members and your interests — it helps us to understand what you’re looking for in our transcribathons. Thank you!

We can’t wait to talk transcribing with you on Friday!

Come Join Us for Investigating Recipes Transcribathon (11/4)!

EMROC is excited to be partnering with the Wellcome Library and the Royal College of Physicians for its Fall transcribathon, set for November 4. We’ll be virtually celebrating EMROC’s tenth anniversary, and we invite you all to mark the occasion with transcription!

This year, we’ll be transcribing Mary Hawker’s manuscript (MS 9304) from the Wellcome Collection, and  a collection of medical receipts and prescriptions (MS 502) from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in London. The Folger will be providing support via the FromthePage transcription interface.

Experts on recipe manuscripts — Rachel Rich, Edith Snook, and Tim Underhill — will be onhand to discuss their video presentations on November 4 as well. Click here to register for their talks,  and see the schedule for below.

To take part in transcribing, there’s no need to register in advance, but if you’d like to attend the November 4 talks from the Wellcome, please sign up here. This page will offer quick info on preparing to use FromThePage on the day.

To learn about Mary Hawker’s manuscript from the Wellcome, check out these links:

  • A video tour of the Hawker manuscript, including glimpses of foreign recipes, medicinal recipes, and edits to recipes. 

To learn about the Royal College of Physicians MS 502, check out the RCP Transcribathon Page, where you can tour the manuscript and read up on snails in medical recipes. And while you’re at it, check out these blog posts from the Pamela Forde of the RCP:

PDF Version

Events:

  • 7 AM EDT/ 4 AM PDT / 11 AM GMT: Transcription Begins! We’ll start the day out tweeting about what we find in the manuscript, and with tips for getting going.  Get ready to transcribe here. Join us with the hashtags #EMROCTranscribes and #EMROCis10
  • 11 AM EDT / 8 AM PDT / 3 PM GMT: Live Q&A with presenting scholars via Zoom link, available via the Wellcome Eventbrite page.
  • 3 PM EST / 12 PM PDT/ 7 PM GMT:  Zoom Room closes 

 

Fall 2022 Transcribathon Set for November 4: Investigating Early Modern Recipes

EMROC is excited to be partnering with the Wellcome Library and the Royal College of Physicians for its Fall transcribathon, set for November 4. We’ll be celebrating EMROC’s tenth anniversary as we transcribe Mary Hawker’s manuscript from the Wellcome Collection, and  a collection of medical receipts and prescriptions from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in London. The Folger will be providing support via the FromthePage transcription interface.

A panel of virtual presentations is already scheduled – check it out at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transcribathon-2022-investigating-recipes-live-qa-session-online-tickets-389251801617 — and there’s much more to come. Stay tuned, but please know we’re looking forward to seeing you and your students there!

 

Wellcome MS MS.9304