Handbook for translators of Spanish historical ... - University Library

PALEOQRAPHY
emd should "be adjusted to the condition of the reader's eyesight,
the kind and condition of the manuscript, and the
reader's reaction to natural or artificial light.
Experience and our investigation have shovm that natural,
or daylight — "but not direct sunlight— is the most adequate
illumination for the correct reading of manuscripts.
Sometimes even with adequate light, however, it is often
difficult to read a manuscript and it is necessary to tilt
it to the angle that will give the "best results. This remarkably
simple expedient yields amazingly profitable results.
Occasionally an apparently "blank page of a document,
when tilted to face the same light at the proper
angle, will suddenly as if by magic, reveal a full page of
legible handwriting.
VThen adequate natural light is not available, the use
of artificial light becomes a necessity. The artificial
light used shovLLd be that which most closely resembles natural
light. This fact cannot be too strongly emphasized
in order that the best results may be obtained in reading
original documents, and in order that the life of the reader's
eyesight may not be prematurely shortened. It is
true that reading a white, glaring, printed page of a book
is ordinarily more injurious to the eyesight than reading
a time-mellowed light-absorbing page of manuscript, but
the intensity with which an avid reader of manuscript is
prone to focus his gaze upon difficult passages often results
in extreme strain eind event\ial injury to eyesight.
This assertion applies especially to the reading of photostatic
and microfilm copies of manuscripts. Indirect lighting
seems more closely to approximate natural light than
direct lighting. As a general and flexible rule, it may
be stated that persons with brown or black eyes require more
intense light than those with blue or gray eyes.
In reading faded handwriting, it is sometimes a problem
to distinguish between a manuscript that is absolutely
blank and one that has some writing on it. Adequate light,
either cast directly on the object or transmitted, usually
reveals the answer to this problem. Transmitted light is
especially helpful in reading faint lines, and water marks,
provided there is no writing on the reverse side of the
manuscript. Light may be transmitted by placing the manuscript
against a window pane, or by placing it over a plane
of clear glass with an electric light under it.
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