Many works appear in multiple editions for a variety of reasons: some authors change their work from edition to edition (or printing to printing); sometimes works are edited to appeal to a new audience or conform to new literary conventions; sometimes texts change in the publication process. This exercise provides an opportunity for students to analyze and interpret multiple editions of the same text in order to focus on issues of textual stability, editorial choice, and critical apparatus. Students are asked to compare textual variance in order to explore historical and cultural contexts, as well as material value. This requires them to closely examine textual, material, and visual characteristics between texts. In this process they analyze editorial decisions and seek to determine what might be learned about the edition’s intended audience. Students are then asked to produce a 1-2 page, thesis driven essay in which they develop some ideas about the editorial process.
The exercise template link provides a template for developing multiple edition assignments.
The data table link provides suggestions of texts in the Rare Book Room that have been approved for use for multiple edition exercises, with call numbers and some notes for the pedagogical uses of these works.
The catalogue link provides a summary of the data table, and the gallery link provides all the images of the suggested texts on a single page.
If you have any questions or suggestions, or if you would like to add your assignment to our archive—please contact us. Thank you!