Digitally (Re)Publishing Franklin’s 1734 Edition of James Anderson’s Constitutions of the Free-Masons: Typographical Challenges and Unexpected Rewards

Paul Royster, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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Presented at the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Annual Convention, Richmond, Virginia, March 28, 2009.

Abstract

A presentation about the origin, typography, and design of the 2006 digital edition of James Anderson's The Constitutions of the Free-Masons and about the online reception of a work that has turned out to be the single most popular document in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's institutional repository.

The first part is a discussion of how an 18th-century printed work is presented in a 21st-century electronic format, including design and editorial principles.

The second part discusses 1) the intentional outreach or marketing efforts by the developer, and 2) the viral or non-intentional links and adoptions created by internet users.

The third part is a recruitment invitation for editors of other 18th-century texts that might be included in the electronic texts series.