[Foundation-l] Some news from the German Wikisource

[Frank Schulenburg]

Hello all,

since the beginning of 2006 the German Wikisource is evolving in a very 
positive way and I would like to share some news with you.

== Digitization of a precious 16th-century handwritten mathematical 
schoolbook ==
In may 2006 Wikimedia Germany (the "Verein") financed the digitizing of 
a handwritten mathematical schoolbook called "Drei Register 
Arithmetischer ahnfeng zur Practic". The precious 16th-century 
manuscript has been scanned at the Center for Retrospective Digitization 
of the Lower Saxony State and University Library in Goettingen. Today 
about a quarter of the 210 pages has been transcribed and annotated in 
the German Wikisource. Actually a project in the German Wikiversity is 
dealing with the analysis of the book.

* 
http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:Pressemitteilungen/Rechenbuchprojekt 
(press report)
* 
http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Drei_Register_Arithmetischer_ahnfeng_zur_Practic:106 
(example page)
* 
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Drei_Register_Arithmetischer_ahnfeng_zur_Practic.djvu?page=181 
(the new DjVu-extension on Commons)
* 
http://de.wikiversity.org/wiki/A_und_B_haltten_einen_Stich_umb_Pley_und_Papyr 
(example from the project in the german Wikiversity)

== Third volume of the "Zimmerische Chronik" transcribed ==
At the beginning of September 2006 the third volume of the so called 
"Zimmerische Chronik" (a chronicle written by count Froben Christoph von 
Zimmern in the 16th century and published 1881 by the german historian 
Karl August Barack) had been transcribed. The transcription of the 
4-volume work is one of the biggest projects in the German Wikisource. 
The e-text-edition was initiated by a historian of the University of 
Freiburg im Breisgau, who actually acts as a scientific advisor for the 
project.

* http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Zimmerische_Chronik

== First publication of a handwritten letter of Fredrick Accum ==
Today German Wikisource announces the first publication of a handwritten 
letter of the german chemist Fredrick Accum to his brother Philip (April 
26th 1816). Accum emigrated to London in 1793 and became professor of 
chemistry and mineralogy at the Surrey Institute around 1803. Fredrick 
Accum, who is largely forgotten today, is one of the pioneers of the 
commercial production of coal gas for gas lighting. In his letter he 
gives a lively picture of the economic condition in London after the end 
of the napoleonic wars.

* 
http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Brief_Friedrich_Accums_an_seinen_Bruder_vom_26._April_1816
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Accum

To faciliate the work of the german Wikisource community in the future, 
the german "Verein" provided a budget of 1.500 EUR (about 1.900 USD) for 
the digitizing of old books and manuscripts. The members of the 
community themselves will decide conjointly how to spend this money on 
new projects.

Greetings,
Frank Schulenburg

Board member of Wikimedia Germany
Phone +49 (0)551 2726447
Frank.Schulenburg [at] wikimedia.de