VL Oliver's "Caribbeana" - now re-published in full...
Jim Lynch
Please be advised that Vere Langford Oliver's 1914 extremely rare and valuable
6-book set of bound newsletters, popularly known as "Caribbeana", has been
re-published by CanDoo Creative Publishing, and is now available for purchase.
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CanDoo Creative Publishing is a part of CanDoo Creative Concepts, and is
actively involved in re-publishing rare and valuable books and records in
Caribbean genealogy.
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The contents are printed on strong, thick paper for longevity (standard page
size, 8.5 x 11), and the books are designed to persist for at least 150 years
under constant use. Aimed at personal, private, research and public libraries,
they are hard-backed in maroon buckram with sturdy lay-flat bindings.
Standard additional features include three bookmark ribbons embedded in each
binding, cover and spine impressed with titles in gold leaf, and lined "Notes"
pages in the back of each Volume for the addition of personal family history
notes and references.
There was no Index to the original Volume 6, but this set does include a
newly-compiled replacement.
Please note:
- Volume 7 was necessary because the "Registers of St. Thomas and Middle Island"
(a single section with its own page numbers and index) and two sections of "West
Indian Bookplates" (both sections with their own page numbers and the first
section with its own index) were embedded in the last few volumes and led to a
certain amount of confusion.
- Volume 8 is also being made available with all of the indexes repeated again -
mainly for institutional and/or research purposes, but may be of use as
something of a guide to individuals who are purchasing one Volume at a time.
Photographs of the books soon will be added (this week) to the full description
available on the "Caribbeana" web page... Details and prices may be found at
http://www.candoo.com/olivers/caribbeana.html
With limited personal time I am willing to do a limited number of lookups for
individuals; for each lookup I will need a full name, approximate date range and
island/country. As you can see, there are 286 pages in 8 Indexes, and well over
2,000 pages in the whole set to cover.
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PRICES
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All of the volumes are available to be shipped as 7-volume or 8-volume sets, and
may also be purchased and shipped individually.
The folowing prices include
- individual bubble-pak and shrink-wrap
- packaging and documentation
- shipping by surface parcel post to anywhere in the world
Volume 1 - 434pp - US$ 175 - ISBN 1-894488-00-8
Volume 2 - 439pp - US$ 175 - ISBN 1-894488-01-6
Volume 3 - 428pp - US$ 175 - ISBN 1-894488-02-4
Volume 4 - 435pp - US$ 175 - ISBN 1-894488-03-2
Volume 5 - 372pp - US$ 175 - ISBN 1-894488-04-0
Volume 6 - 179pp - US$ 125 - ISBN 1-894488-05-9
Volume 7 - 175pp - US$ 125 - ISBN 1-894488-06-7
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Total separately - US$1125
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7-Volume set - US$1025 - save US$100
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Volumes 1-7 US$1125
Volume 8 - 286pp - US$ 125 - ISBN 1-894488-07-5
(- Indexes only) -------
Total separately - US$1250
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8-Volume set - US$1150 - save US$100
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PAYMENT DETAILS
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**PLEASE NOTE: I require payment in FULL before shipping.
For fastest response, payment should be bank drafts in US$ drawn on a US bank
and payable to "CanDoo Creative Concepts". I can also accept Postal Orders or
Post Office Money Orders (- NOT stamps or foreign stamp vouchers, please).
Personal cheques/checks drawn on a US bank will take three weeks to clear
(sorry, the Canadian banks are pretty slow, too). No foreign currency
cheques/checks.
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SINGLE-VOLUME STRATEGY
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The Volumes are available individually. If this is your choice of purchase, may
I suggest starting with either a free lookup or ordering the Index Volume 8.
>From there you will know where your targets lie and can start by purchasing only
the Volumes most important to your research.
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JUSTIFICATION OF HIGH PRICES
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I have already had the usual questions about the prices quoted for these
books... and I offer the following in explanation:
- The cost and the time of acquisition of these volumes has been staggering,
such that this Project alone has brought the other ones I am working on to a
halt. Of almost 30 insitutions I asked for material assistance worldwide in this
Project, none would arrange for even an ILL book loan due to the extremely
fragile condition (which is understandable and is their duty to preserve their
stock).
The sources who would supply me with copied material insisted on restricting
what they would send me. I have therefore had to scrounge around and find what I
could to put together a patchwork from about 5 different sources to complete the
set.
- These books are being produced in limited runs - 40 or 50 sets at a time - and
it is impossible to achieve any kind of efficnency doing such restricted
numbers.
- Shipping is included. Canada Post is notoriously expensive and notoriously
slow - a standard letter to the USA takes seven to ten working days to arrive.
Even the surface mail to a moderate distance will cost me more than the base
charge I added for shipping, not to mention the packaging protection and box/es.
- The books are fundamentally aimed at family libraries, where beauty, dignity
and strength would be the preferred character of such valuable books sitting on
family bookshelves. Family history is a very private affair, and it is likely
that many of these will end up the same place the first editions did - in
private hands with family notes and papers to be passed on to future
generations. And it must be remembered that the sets that do end up in Public
Libraries or Research Institutions will need all the sturdiness and strength
they can be endowed with for the rigors of those environments.
- In previous "Projects" I have been asked to try and produce books that are of
cheap and light construction for quick reference - almost a "disposable" version
for backpack use. After thorough investigation and consideration my response on
every count has been that there would be very little difference in end price and
that the major object is to have the information contained in them last for
another 150 years. The disposable route is not one that I can justify.
These books will surely appreciate in value and become collectors items, as the
originals and my previous Projects have done. They are complete, extremely well
made and will be of lasting value.
So for multiple reasons- there are others - I ask you to bear with me on the
expense. I am not operating a scam.
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REFERENCES
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Don Mitchell's recent Bibliography of Caribbean references lists this set among
the most rare ("scarce") books to find.
http://www.books.ai/index.html
A couple of years ago I was told by an antiquarian bookseller in the UK that an
original set - if it ever came on the market - would easily fetch upwards of
US$10,000 at auction.
A reprint of the First List of "West Indian Bookplates" (wich makes up one-third
of Volume 7) was recently listed by an on-line bookshop at US$350.00
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CanDoo Creative Concepts' other activities:
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Previous Projects:
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- Vere Langford Oliver's "History of Antigua",
a genealogical work in three large volumes
http://www.candoo.com/olivers/index.html
10 x 15 inches, 1" to 1-1/2" thick, 400 to 500 pages each volume, originally
printed about 1895/99. 25 Limited Edition sets have already been produced and
were sold last year.
The price of US$1,000 per set includes shipping via parcel post.
A second printing is being considered: please indicate your interest by clicking
on this link and writing to <mailto:oli...@candoo.com>.
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- "Old Barbados Newspapers",
http://www.candoo.com/projects/newspapers.htm
Volume 1: Barbados Globe & Colonial Advocate - 280 pages
September 4, 1837; February 8 & 15, 1838; March 28, 1839 to April 9, 1840
Published February, 2000
ISBN 1-894488-08-3, price US$250 plus shipping.
Volume 2 : Barbados Mercury & Bridge-town Gazette - 364 pages
October 8, 1815; January 15, 1839 to January 28, 1840
Published February, 2000
ISBN 1-894488-09-1, price US$250 plus shipping.
Or, US$450 plus shipping for the pair.
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- 1791 Jamaica Almanack
The next Project is already in progress (but on pause), and is complete with an
integral contemporary colour map of Jamaica which details the earthquake damage
done to the Port Royal harbour installation.
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Please see my Projects page for current and future endeavours.
http://www.candoo.com/projects/index.htm
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Other Caribbean genealogy resources from CanDoo Creative Concepts
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May I also draw your attention to my (free) Caribbean genealogy resources. Any
and all suggestions, contributions and additions would be welcome.
- The Caribbean Surname Index:
http://www.candoo.com/surnames/
- The Caribbean Genealogy Resources pages:
http://www.candoo.com/genresources/
http://www.candoo.com/genresources/details.htm
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COMMENTS AND APPEAL
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The most logical premise in the loan or copying of such genealogically valuable
material is that if the condition is such that if the risk is reasonable for one
final copy to be made, then more serious consideration should be extended in
that direction - as long as the reproduction intent is genuine and distributed,
rather than private and closed (or even disposable).
The importance and value of a publication is not in its shell, but its contents.
Refusing to allow photocopies to be made because it might cause slight damage
does not extend the life of the item, rather it closes the door forever on the
information contained therein when the time comes that it is either too fragile
to read or cracks to the touch and falls to dust.
I understand and respect fully the refusals i have received in my requests for
such material. However it is unlikely that the material owned by every single
source that I polled was in such bad condition that it could not have been
photocopied (at my expense).
Both institutions and private individuals please note that for copies of
material on request I offer to pay for the copying, to pay for the shipping, and
to provide a free book or set of the material, including shipping, upon
publication in return for the assistance made available.
So far no one has been interested in either this specialised are of Caribbean
gfenealogy records, nor in the costs incurred in such short production runs. I
ask for your understanding and your cooperation for future "Projects".
Thank you for your atttention...
Regards,
James C. "Jim" Lynch
416-968-9749
http://www.candoo.com/
http://www.candoo.com/signature.html