We're using cookies to make this site more secure, featureful and efficient.

Issue 2580: MacNab in Diagrams: publisher and publication data (+ extra info)

Object
The MacNab Dances in diagrams (Publication)
Submitter
Wanda van Taanom (taanom_421)
Assigned to
Viktor Lehmann
Priority
Normal
Disposition
Fixed
Description

Hans and I have in our collection a hard copy (one of the few) “Private limited edition – not for sale - Copyright Angus Henry - June 2000. And also the ‘final’ hard copy published by the RSCDS. On the inside of the front cover it says “First published in Scotland in 2007” (with copyright notice 2006 Angus Henry). This last publication also has in the appendix added The Duke of Gordon’s Welcome to Aberdeen and Tir Nan Og. Read about the long and difficult history of this publication in the strathspey-mailing list-archives (search for MacNab between the first and last date of 2000 and idem in the years 2005 / 2006 / 2007. Treads f.i. Messages 29783, 23200, 41866, 42667, 44942 and finally Angus’ message: 47946 Jan 26, 2007 …… “However, I can happily advise that the RSCDS is publishing a major work, an A5 booklet of my diagrams for all the MacNab dances in the two books, plus the ‘Duke of Gordon’s Welcome to Aberdeen’ and ‘Tir
Nan Og’ and the booklet is due out in time for Winter School. If you like it, buy (all proceeds to RSCSD!), and it might encourage more to come.”

But perhaps it feels correct after all to name in SCDDB Angus Henry as the publisher !

NB see extra info tab : not 5 but all 29 dances now have their Angus-Henry-diagram.

Previous Actions

  • Date  July 30, 2021, 11:29 p.m.
  • User  Wanda van Taanom (taanom_421)

New issue submitted

  • Date  Dec. 21, 2022, 10:20 p.m.
  • User  Viktor Lehmann (tone2tone)

Assigned changed to »tone2tone« (previously »None«)
Disposition changed to »Being handled« (previously »New«)

Hi Wanda, I am not fully aware of what you are going for here. “The MacNab Dances in diagrams” shows Angus as publisher on our database. Three publications “MacNav Dances Vol 1”, “Vol 2” and “Scottish Dances colleceted by Mary Isdal MacNab” show RSCDS as publisher, as they ARE the publisher. As Angus states by himself, “… that the RSCDS is publishing a major work…”. For the publications re the RSCDS, he did the bulk of work, so he is more like the editor in this instance, but not the publisher. I can’t put him in that capacity unless the editors’ team says otherwise. (NB I deleted the last sentence of the extra notes that didn’t make any sense anymore.)

  • Date  Dec. 22, 2022, 1:49 a.m.
  • User  Murrough Landon (murrough)

Hi Viktor, I think the policy is a little variable. Sometimes it seems more appropriate to use “publisher” less as formal issuer but rather as who caused to be published. So an editor who did the work of preparing a publication which appeared thanks to an organisation might perhaps appear as “publisher” in SCDDB. Probably in some cases and not others.

  • Date  Dec. 22, 2022, 2:09 a.m.
  • User  Anselm Lingnau (anselm)

The MacNab books (the ones with the full dance descriptions) were published by the RSCDS but to my knowledge Angus Henry had nothing to do with these. Angus did come up with the diagrams booklet independently and that was eventually taken on board by the Society – I’d have to dig out my copy to see exactly what it says on the cover, but I’m fine with him being credited as the publisher. In any event we received our copies of the diagrams from Angus directly (not via the Society) so the RSCDS wasn’t involved in the creation of the MacNab dances “crib source” in the SCDDB.

The MacNab dances have given us their share of controversy over the years because their real provenance is impossible to establish (I personally still believe that Mrs MacNab made most of them up out of thin air, the fanciful and absolutely unverifiable “got it from an old geezer in Nova Scotia”-style blurbs notwithstanding) and the dance database does not have a notion of “dance collector” – which is why they’re mostly set to “deviser unknown” in the database.

  • Date  Dec. 22, 2022, 4:53 p.m.
  • User  Viktor Lehmann (tone2tone)

Disposition changed to »Fixed« (previously »Being handled«)

Hi Wanda, I checked the “MacNab Dances in Diagrams” publication that you submitted the issue for. Angus has been the publisher for this all along; the RSCDS was never listed as publisher for that. The other MacNab Dances publications are not to be credited to Angus; according to the team, he wasn’t involved in the creation of the dance books, just the diagram book going along with it. The information you mentioned has been part of the database all along, at least since 2017, I can add nothing new to the discussions or information, so I will close this issue now and leave things as they are. Thanks for your input though!