Explorer David Livingstone's 1870 Field Diary and Select 1871 Letters: A Multispectral Critical Edition

FAIN: RQ-50707-14

University of Nebraska, Lincoln (Lincoln, NE 68503-2427)
Adrian Wisnicki (Project Director: December 2012 to May 2017)
Megan Ward (Co Project Director: December 2012 to May 2017)

Preparation for publication of on online critical edition of the 1870 Field Diary and select letters of David Livingstone (1813 - 73), the Scottish writer, abolitionist, missionary and explorer of Africa. (24 months)

We are applying for an NEH Scholarly Translations and Editions Grant in order to develop an online critical edition of the 1870 Field Diary and select 1871 letters of Dr. David Livingstone (1813-73), the Scottish writer, abolitionist, missionary, and explorer of Africa. This publication will conclude the already successful work of the peer-reviewed, NEH-funded Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project (2010-Present). Our new critical edition will feature a comprehensive scholarly apparatus that includes annotated transcriptions of Livingstone's 1870 diary and 1871 letters, a range of critical essays, and processed spectral images that clarify Livingstone's manuscripts and shed light on the history of their production and preservation. A user-friendly interface will allow scholars and the general public to study all our critical materials, while additional integration of new data into our existing archive will enable our work to be both interoperable and sustainable in the long term.

Associated Products

The David Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project (Web Resource)
Title: The David Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project
Author: David Livingstone
Abstract: The David Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project is a collaborative, international effort to use spectral imaging technology and digital publishing to make available a series of faded, illegible texts produced by the famous Victorian explorer when stranded without ink or writing paper in Central Africa.
Year: 2013
Primary URL: http://livingstone.library.ucla.edu/
Primary URL Description: Project website
Secondary URL: http://livingstone.library.ucla.edu/1871diary/index.htm
Secondary URL Description: The publication of Livingstone’s 1871 Field Diary: A Multispectral Critical Edition reveals for the first time the original record of a remarkable and traumatic period in the life of David Livingstone, the celebrated British abolitionist, missionary, and explorer of Africa. The date of publication coincides almost exactly with the date Livingstone completed this diary in Central Africa 140 years ago. The original, previously unpublished text of the diary has remained inaccessible until now, due to the fragility of the paper and the near-illegible script. The David Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project has restored the full text of the diary by using spectral imaging and processing technology to make the diary available through this electronic edition.

Livingstone Online (Web Resource)
Title: Livingstone Online
Author: Adrian Wisnicki
Abstract: Livingstone Online is a digital museum and library that allows users to encounter the written and visual legacy of famous Victorian explorer David Livingstone (1813-73). The site has a special section dedicated to the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: http://livingstoneonline.org/
Primary URL Description: The main Livingstone Online site.
Secondary URL: http://livingstoneonline.org/spectral-imaging
Secondary URL Description: The spectral imaging section of Livingstone Online

Spectrally Illuminating the Hidden Material History of David Livingstone’s 1870 Field Diary (Article)
Title: Spectrally Illuminating the Hidden Material History of David Livingstone’s 1870 Field Diary
Author: Adrian S. Wisnicki
Author: Megan Ward
Author: Roger L. Easton, Jr.
Author: Keith Knox
Abstract: This article presents preliminary results from the work to create a multispectral critical edition of Livingstone's 1870 Field Diary.
Year: 2016
Access Model: Subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Victorian Studies
Publisher: Indiana University Press

The Manuscripts of David Livingstone and New Frontiers for Spectral Imaging (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Manuscripts of David Livingstone and New Frontiers for Spectral Imaging
Author: Ashanka Kumari
Author: Adrian S. Wisnicki
Abstract: The presentation set out some of the major findings of the project to create a multispectral critical edition of Livingstone's 1870 Field Diary.
Date: 2016/07/12
Conference Name: Digital Humanities 2016

The Evolution of Spectral Imaging in the Study of Manuscripts (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Evolution of Spectral Imaging in the Study of Manuscripts
Author: Adrian Wisnicki
Abstract: This presentation considered the evolution of spectral imaging in manuscript studies using the two phases of the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project to illustrate the argument.
Date: 2016/07/12
Conference Name: Digital Humanities 2016

Spectrally Illuminating the Hidden Material History of David Livingstone’s 1870 Field Diary (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Spectrally Illuminating the Hidden Material History of David Livingstone’s 1870 Field Diary
Author: Adrian S. Wisnicki
Abstract: This paper set out some of the preliminary findings of the the project to create a critical edition of Livingstone's 1870 Field Diary. The paper was selected to be one of nine papers to represent the 2015 North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA) conference in a special issue of Victorian Studies
Date: 2016/07/10
Conference Name: North American Victorian Studies Association (NAVSA) Conference

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