All Scanned Copies are Not Equal

In 1846 William E. DuBois authored the first substantial history of the U.S. Mint Cabinet, today held by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and known as the NationalNumismatic Collection. The summer 2008 issue of The Asylum described Pledges of History as follows:

DuBois presumably inquired directly with his father-in-law Adam Eckfeldt in reference to the origin of the Mint Cabinet. The Google Books copy of Pledges, scanned in2015 at the British library, is a desultory black and white affair conveying little charm of the original. While the content is faithfully preserved for the purposes of textsearch, researchers working from this copy will find little in the way of historical inspiration.

The Newman Portal copy is a full-color reproduction taken from the Eric P. Newman library. Warts and all, the damp stained copy more effectively transports the reader back tothe time of issue. Quirks such as the odd insertion of a color plate depicting "the pearl of great price" (was this a leftover from some other project?) ask the user to criticallyassess the physical copy within the context of the era. While physical copies are ideal, not all scans are equal, and, like collectors of physical books, researchers will do wellto search out the best virtual copies.

Image: cover of Eric P. Newman copy of Pledges of History

Link to Pledges of History on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/523984

Link to Pledges of History on Google Books:
https://books.google.com/books?id=vCVkAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA30&dq=pledges+of+history&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNs-b42p3gAhXB6IMKHU1cDS0Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=pledges%20of%20history&f=false