Bill,
 Maybe we can talk more in a month or so when I pull myself out of the
report deadline quagmire that I am currently in. Basically, George Miller
and I spoke (geez, maybe a year ago or so) about developing of a national
glass database to which we could all both contribute and reference. Perhaps
this would be below the "status" of venues where one could publish gray
literature relating to glass containers, but it might also be something we
consider incorporating into such a project.





----- Original Message -----
From: "LOCKHART BILL" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2003 4:44 PM
Subject: Publication Venues and Collectors


> Our recent thread on whether to or how much to associate with collectors
got me to
> thinking about a couple of aspects of publiction
>
> Archaeological publications, especially reports, are in essence reactive;
we research
> what we have excavated.  Many of the collectors' literature is proactive,
seeking to
> find out more about bottles in general or bottles in specific areas.
>
> We need more proactive archaeological research on bottles and bottle
making.  We
> see many more thing differently than collectors -- not just such things as
provenience
> instead of values or scarcity.  For example, collectors generally show
only the front of
> a bottle--because that is all they need.  They deal in complete
containers.  We need
> deep description because we frequently only finds fragments.
>
> This brings me to a quandry that I often face.  Since my main interests
are
> local/regional, where should I publish my findings?  The El Paso
Archaeological
> Society is generally interested in almost all my bottle articles, and our
regional
> conferences (mostly prehistoric) publish my historical papers, although I
am one of
> the few historical presenters most of the time (sometimes the only one).
>
> Maybe we need more "mid-range" publication sources.  I can submit articles
on
> solarized amethyst glass or depostion lag in returnable bottles to
Historical
> Archaeology, but what about a couple of new manufacturer's marks I have
traced?
> Or where do I go to publish a history and bottle chronolgy of a soda
bottling
> corporation that had branches in Arizona and New Mexico?
>
> I have turned to local historical societies for books and articles on
bottlers in local
> New Mexico towns and El Paso, thus adding to the "grey" literature.  And
maybe the
> grey literature is becoming more and more valuable.  With more and more of
us
> vying for the refereed journals, maybe reports and articles in magazines
will begin to
> have greater value.  Maybe even collectors magazines wil be more useful as
a
> venue for archaeologists.
>
> I look forward to feedback.
>
> Bill
>
> Only Historical Archaeologists know what "Time in a Bottle" really means.
>
> Bill Lockhart
> New Mexico State University
> Alamogordo, NM
> (505) 439-3732
>