Posted by Scott Ellis (216.87.95.64) on May 13, 2003 at 23:48:53:
Hello All,
In case you didn't notice the news headline on the homepage, there is big news in our little community!
Bill McMurtry has been slaving away over a hot computer for quite a long time now, painstakingly transposing each plate of Bessler's Maschinen Tractate (MT) into digital representations of excruciating detail.
The copyright on Bessler's works ran out years ago, but the Library in Kassel Germany owns private property rights to the MT manuscript (a unique original), which Bessler left behind.
The Library's policy over the years has been to provide microfilm copies of the manuscript to researchers for a fee, but these copies have not been easy to come by, and they have only been provided under the strictest of proprietary conditions.
Because of the intensely laborious and personal way in which Bill has produced his "artistic impressions," the Library has rightfully recognized that the product of Bill's effort is his own to do with as he pleases.
And to Bill's tremendous credit, he has chosen to share the fruit of his labor with the Bessler community at large. On his website you can now find small, scaled-down versions of his digital reproductions, which will no doubt provide endless fertile ground for discussion, discovery, and experimentation for everyone in the Bessler community.
Thank you Bill.
We should remember that since these images are Bill's personal creations, he owns the copyright to them, as the Library has duly recognized. We should honor his generous gift to us by fully respecting and complying with the terms of his copyright. In sharing his work with us, Bill has displayed a genuine spirit of academic generosity and goodwill. We should be careful to return his favor in kind.
You can find Bill's work (and publication plans) here:
http://www.orffyre.com/mt.html
Best to All and Happy Hunting!
Scott