American Era History Resources – Antiquarian History Ebooks
American Era History Resources – Antiquarian History eBooks by Spencer Holly
What is American Era History ?
American era history is not about American history, only, but about world history since the dawn of America. The exact dawn of America is debatable; did America begin when the Puritans began to colonize America, in the early 1600’s, or did it develop slowly and then begin with the Revolutionary War ?
In general, I would say that American era history includes world historical events that have occurred since the early 1700’s. I arbitrarily mark the beginning to include the life of Benjamin Franklin who is a prime example of American spirit; his life story was one of rags to riches and world wide prominence; his was a living and breathing example of what is possible.
American history, and the American era, at large, is a defining period because it represented a break from the old world that, in time, affected a large part of the existing world. Because of the then modern printing presses, this is a well-documented era, that is a nearly endless resource of for historical study and research.
Unfortunately, many of those old, antiquarian (antique) books have been lost to the ages. However, many do survive, and have been reprinted and republished, and many more have been used as resources by modern researchers, etc.
And many American era antiquarian history books have been, and are being preserved through digitization; they are being converted to electronic books, i.e., ebooks.
This is a wonderful development for many reasons because it has extended the life of books that may otherwise have eventually been lost, and the knowledge they contain is being added to our ever growing knowledge base. In a way, the creation of ebooks is retroactively modifying our existing knowledge base.
And this knowledge is now available to the average person. Prior to this, antiquarian history books were not really available to masses of people, as are ebooks. The books are often rare, and hard to find, and expensive. And they really are not suitable for every day reading; they are delicate, and the simple act of reading them can destroy them.
And this new-old knowledge is valuable, and adds new perspective to existing perceptions. Antiquarian history books are very similar to any modern history book. They contain all of the usual elements; they are nonfiction, contain facts and figures, anecdotes, and a record, and/or descriptions of events, and their sequence, etc.
They have an intrinsic historical value simply because of their age, regardless of whether they are a work of fiction, or nonfiction. While the historical value of nonfiction books is obvious, works of fiction can also have an historical value; for example, the fictional stories written by Mark Twain teach us about the people, racial attitudes, and morals of the times in which they were written.
Antiquarian history books retain their original historical value and content, and also provide a charming perspective of the times in which they were written. For instance, a modern reader of a Civil War history will gain a unique historical perspective through the eyes, words, phrases, and style of an author who created their work in the post-Victorian era. The dramatic prose, and phraseology, are wonderful, and extremely fun to read. The reader cannot help but smile at colloquialisms that we now find silly, or even embarrassing, but fun.
The Future of American Era Antiquarian History eBooks is Now.
An ebook version of an American era antiquarian history book has many advantages, such as:
1) Cost and availability. Antiquarian books will no longer be hard to find, or rare.
2) You can actually read them; they won’t be destroyed by using them.
3) Obviously, they won’t wear-out, or degrade with time.
4) They are easy to store.
5) Their information is still valuable, readily available, and easy to search.
6) The original printed book version can be enhanced with modern multimedia effects.
7) Readability is enhanced; and the publication can be colorful, and soundful, and printable, and bookmarkable, and searchable. It can include slideshows, and music, and video, and audio, and can include additional information and resources.
Of course, there are always disadvantages to ebooks. For example, you need a computer, or some kind of electronic device to read the ebook. If your ebook is designed for a computer, then you need to read it at a desktop computer, or a laptop. Unless you have a laptop, it would be difficult to sit in your easy chair and enjoy your ebook.
I’m sure in the future there will be electronic devices that have all the multimedia capabilities of a desktop computer, packaged in a device that can be easily accessed while you’re sitting in your favorite chair, or sitting on an airplane, etc.
Digitization of antiquarian history books is the Gutenberg Press of the current era.
