Author’s Mistakes

Well said Rande Bly. It has been interesting reading in the Gazette; I hope this nailed the coffin shut.

We lost the only one that could answer the questions over 51 years ago, so there is bound to be guessing and mistakes over the years in various texts.

John Styler

Prospect Heights, Il

In Agreement

While frequently in disagreement, with Mr. Bly
today his comments about published authors and their occasional mistakes was right-on. He makes reference to the very
true cleche about “babies & bathwater,” and I might add the biblical quotation re: ” . . . throwing the first stone.” Surely all our
readers are aware that there is no such thing as a “perfect” reference book. Regardless of how much time and effort has gone
into the research for a (redundant, on-purpose) research book, mistakes can occur especially with new discoveries made by others.

Is it not wonderful to collectors and students that research continues? We are not talking about spelling or grammatical errors, here,
that is the publisher’s error not the author’s.

Over the years that I have been collecting and trying to learn-about, a totally different type of American glassware, I have learned
which published authors that I have more trust-in. And, yes they are quite likely to acknowledge-if-not-actually-publish retractions and/or corrections. Unfortunately, there is one-or-more authors who refuse to do either of these admissions. (No names, here.)

Terry Smith

Signal Hill, CA