Hi all,
I thought I'd pass this on to our list and digital classicist, since some of us may have had experience with similar techniques (I'm relatively sure I saw a talk on the question recently). Please make sure you cc Dr. Wisnicki, since he may not hang out in our circles!
I’ve come across a textual issue that I’m not sure how to resolve, and I’m hoping that someone on the list might have some suggestions or even the answer. I’m currently doing some research on the final African diaries of David Livingstone, the missionary and explorer. While keeping these diaries, Livingstone was often short of paper and, as a result, resorted to various expedients to keep the diaries going. One of these expedients was to take printed pages from books and newspapers, and, by turning the pages 90 degrees, to write his diary over the printed text, but perpendicular to it. Although perhaps legible at the time, these diary entries now are often difficult to decipher: Livingstone’s ink has faded and the printed text obscures what remains.
So, in other words, the diary entries have two layers of text: printed matter which runs horizontally across the page, and Livingstone’s entries which run vertically. I’ve scanned some of these pages and was wondering if there’s a way (or, perhaps, a program) by which I might remove the printed layer so as to make the handwritten layer freestanding and so more legible. Has anyone on the list dealt with (and resolved) a similar issue? If so, please email me at awisnicki@yahoo.com -- any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Dr. Adrian S. Wisnicki Honorary Research Fellow School of English and Humanities Birkbeck College, University of London