GDG- A Question on the Bachelder papers

[Dennis Lawrence]

I am planning to buy the complete set later this month but I have a question
about their history.  Another book that I was reading just the other day
said that Coddington should be recognized as the person who opened up the
Bachelder papers.  My question is did historians and other scholars not use
the papers prior to Coddington?  Were they written and just put away
somewhere and then rediscovered?  Were they considered out of vogue for much
of the early 20th century?  What is the reason why Coddington is credited
with opening up the papers?

Hello,

   Coddington talks about that in the preface to his work.  He states that 
Bachelder disappeared from the scene after his death in 1894.  He says 
that  when he asked about him at the GNMP in the early 60's no one was sure 
who he was.   Coddington tracked down his identity and his papers  to the 
New Hampshire Historical Society  and used them in his work.
t is his signature work.

  Ironically, as I type this Carl Orff's  O Fortuna  from Carmina Burana is 
playing on the radio  - his signature work.  Orff discovered the ancient 
texts in a monastery and put them to modern music -  A good   analogy for 
what Coddington did.

You know the 
tune!  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6471891

Take Care

Dennis





Dennis