2020 Essays

Try Burnt Oysters: Deciphering Marginalia

Cataldo, Emogene; Visco, Julianna Van

In an attempt to decipher a puzzling marginal note, “Try burnt oysters,” on fol. 84v, hands-on reconstruction in the laboratory, paired with textual research and analysis, opened several avenues for exploration. Our findings suggest that the author-practitioner knew or speculated about promising properties of oyster shells for making sand molds, but had yet to perfect a procedure for their successful use. In contrast to other more confidently phrased imperatives, such as in “Casting in frames” on fol. 118v, in which the author-practitioner writes in the first person, on fol. 84v he offers no tips, warnings, or reminders that would suggest a hands-on familiarity with the processes.